My Hall of Fame

I have always admired Pete Rose's win-at-any-cost grit, the Charlie Hustle in him that ran out every single. His 4,256 hits are a feat that may never be matched. If performance on the field is the standard, Pete Rose belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame ballot states: "Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played." By that definition, Ty Cobb (one of the nastiest, dirtiest players in the history of the game), Babe Ruth (a drunken, womanizing lout), a whole flock of steroid-users, some hardcore racists, and a few woman-beaters ought to be excluded. Apparently, Charlie Hustle bet on games, and he certainly had a huge edge over other sports bettors and even the bookies setting the lines. He has repeatedly and publicly lied about his betting. Whether this should disqualify him from the Hall is, of course, the subject of huge debate.

Binion's Horseshoe's Poker Hall of Fame was based on quality of play. The criteria were all performance-related: One must have played poker against acknowledged top competition, played for high stakes, played consistently well, gained the respect of peers, and stood the test of time. The Binion's honor has been accorded to Johnny Moss, Nick "The Greek" Dandolos, Felton "Corky" McCorquadale, Red Winn, Sid Wyman, Wild Bill Hickock, Edmund Hoyle, T. "Blondie" Forbes, Bill Boyd, Tom Abdo, Joe Bernstein, "Murph" Harrold, Henry Green, "Red" Hodges, Henry Green, "Puggy" Pearson, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, Jack Straus, "Sarge" Ferris, Benny Binion, "Chip" Reese, "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Jack Keller, Julius Oral "Little Man" Popwell, Roger Moore, Stu Ungar, Lyle Berman, and Johnny Chan.

These guys could play. I have played against some of them, watched others, and read about most of them. They are players with whom you wouldn't want to sit down at a poker table, especially in their prime. That said, if your daughter wanted to date some of these guys, you'd bar the door, shotgun in hand. But based on the criterion of greatness as players, most of them, like Pete Rose, warrant inclusion regardless of character issues.

I have my own Hall of Fame. Like Binion's Horseshoe's, I don't consider character. What sparks my list is a positive contribution to poker, playing a major role in making the game what it is today. Some of my honorees overlap those in the Binion's Poker Hall of Fame, albeit for different reasons. While negative character won't knock you off my list, fostering a positive image for the game helps you to be on it. I don't consider figures from the distant past, such as Hickock, Hoyle, and President Ulysses S. Grant. Most named are also winning players, and some of them are great ones. Here is my Hall of Fame, in no particular order:

Benny Binion - For more than 25 years, the World Series of Poker ( WSOP ) has been poker's biggest event. We owe its existence and prominence and all the growth it has brought to the game to Benny Binion, who founded the first event!

Doyle Brunson and Chip Reese - Two-time WSOP winner Doyle Brunson is the creator of Super/System , the first modern world-class work on poker. But he is much more than that. Doyle is the last of the old-breed gamblers, with iconic status, the grand old man of the game. A behind-the-scenes power in the business, he's influenced more decisions affecting live poker than you can imagine. And although you don't see it, where there is Doyle, there's Chip Reese. These are two guys who together exhibit that the whole is greater than the sum of the very impressive parts. Their synergy has contributed to the success of the WSOP , brought you Chinese poker, sustained the high-limit rooms, and much, much more.

Bobby Baldwin and Steve Wynn - Yes, Bobby won the WSOP and wrote the hold'em section of Super/System , but that's not why he makes my list. He and Steve have been poker's biggest supporters in Vegas history, with the Golden Nugget, the Mirage, and Bellagio. Bobby continues in this role today at Bellagio. They are class guys who have provided us all with class places to play.

Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman - Producer of the World Poker Tour , Steve's use of the lipstick camera to show holecards has made televised poker an exciting event, reaching tens of millions of new potential players. Lyle is the business brain behind the WPT , and also brought cardroom poker to new parts of America . Like Baldwin and Wynn, he has provided quality playing sites. Like Doyle and Chip, he has been a behind-the-scenes industry power.

Card Player Magazine - Card Player has been the poker community's voice for 17 years, a unifying force binding the poker world together. Original owners Phil and June Field, then Linda Johnson, Denny Axel, and Scott Rogers, and current owners Barry and Jeff Shulman all deserve great credit for service to the game. The Fields and Linda also get kudos for creating and sustaining the poker cruise industry. Also, Steve Radulovich, longtime editor and current editor in chief, deserves mention here.

Richard Floyd, California Cardroom Association and the Oaks Card Club - Former California Assemblyman Floyd introduced the law that legalized all forms of poker in California after a decade of legal wrangling. There are too many people to list who deserve credit for fighting the battle in California , most of whom were associated with the CCA. The Oaks Card Club fought the appeal won in 1990, which provided Floyd the firepower to deal with the matter legislatively.

Mike Sexton - Nobody has done more for the legitimacy of poker. Mike's creation of the Tournament of Champions (along with Chuck Humphrey) has an important place in the game's history, and as a World Poker Tour commentator, he transcends all prior efforts at reporting televised tournaments. He is poker's "Mr. Credibility," leading the game to mainstream acceptance.

Randy Blumer - On Jan. 1, 1998 , Randy opened PlanetPoker, the world's first real-money Internet poker room, changing the game forever. Many sites have come and gone, and some sites are bigger, but Planet was first and has staying power. (Disclaimer: I work for PlanetPoker, but would include Randy even if I didn't.)

David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth - There may be greater poker theorists than David, but if there are, they haven't talked to me. I think he's the best, and certainly none better have shared their wisdom with millions of players over three decades. Mason brought David's advice to the masses, and en route became the world's largest publisher of quality poker information.

Dana Smith and Chuck Weinstock - Dana Smith's Cardsmith Publishing, featuring an array of poker books, and Chuck Weinstock's ConJelCo software and videos have served the poker industry well.

Honorable Mention

Howard Lederer - I think of Howard as the Richard Petty of poker. A true champion, he will help poker competitions move into the American mainstream, just as Petty did for NASCAR. He'll have help from the likes of Phil Ivey, Phil Gordon, Mickey Coleman, Mark Gregorich, John Hennigan, Daniel Negreanu, and Evelyn Ng in creating the new, respectable face of poker, bringing corporate sponsorship sooner rather than later.

Mike Caro - Poker's senior promoter and commentator, Mike was a key player in the California poker boom. Notable for an accumulation of contributions, he played a lead role in Huntington Park 's battle for legalized poker in California . Part of the original California Cardroom Association with the likes of June Field and the Bike's George Hardie, Mike also anticipated the Internet wave, with websites, forums, and a role in PlanetPoker.

Corky McQuorcodale - Corky brought Texas hold'em to Vegas in 1963.

David Sharp, Rick Giante, and Jan Bowman - These cardroom managers brought public poker to the East in 1991 and 1992, at Resorts International, Bally's Park Place , and Foxwoods.

Jack Binion - Jack, the son of Benny Binion, has made Mississippi a mandatory stop for players. About 20 percent of the U.S. population lives within 600 miles of Tunica, and Jack has made the game theirs in a first-class way.

20th-Century Poker-Playing Presidents - Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, FDR, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon Johnson imbued the game with mainstream credibility.

Ken Churilla - Ken was the first to amass poker info on the Internet. His work has been absorbed into gocee.com , which is also worthy of note, as are CardPlayer.com , pokerpages.com , and PokerPortal.uk.com . The web is the future, and these guys get it.

Amarillo Slim Preston - After winning the World Series , Slim went on a whirlwind publicity tour, appearing on all the talk shows, which back in those days had huge market reach. He founded the Super Bowl of Poker tourneys, spreading the success of the WSOP concept. He personified his era's Marlboro Man image of the game.

Chris Moneymaker - Chris' 2003 talk-show appearances weren't as impactful as Slim's, because media is so much more fragmented these days, and Chris lacks Slim's folksy style. Nonetheless, by turning a $40 Internet satellite buy-in into a WSOP title and payday, Chris captured the imagination of millions of players.

Kenny Rogers – The Gambler introduced poker terminology to millions, with a sense of story that captures the highs and lows of the player's life. It has become a theme song for the game.

Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson - The Cincinnati Kid depicts the old road warriors who traveled from town to town looking for big games. The epic struggle between the hotshot youngster and the wily veteran plays itself out daily, both in tournaments and ring play.

Matt Damon, John Malkovich, and Edward Norton - These Rounders stars brought private games to life and introduced a new generation of big-screen viewers to the game.

Tom McEvoy Tom stepped up from being a $10$20 player to the world champion, winning the 1983 WSOP limit hold'em and no-limit hold'em championship events. He parlayed his WSOP titles into a business life, among other things, writing the earliest classic text on tournament poker and serving as a coach. He helped tournament poker's growth by bringing it to multitudes of low- and middle-limit players, and remains a prominent spokesman.

Rec.gambling.poker - Spun off in 1995 from predecessors alt.gambling and then rec.gambling, this Usenet group began public discourse of poker on the Internet. Unitedpokerforum.com and Twoplustwo.com offer better strategic advice nowadays, but RGP will always have a place and will always have been first. An unregulated, freewheeling character is part of this site's quirky charm. Some RGP and UPF posters helped with the research for this column.

James Garner - Maverick was and always will be a powerful poker icon.

My list, like poker, is very white and very male. But poker is changing, becoming more racially and gender diverse, and future lists will be more inclusive. My list is also very American West dominated, partly because the West has been my turf, but mostly because the modern growth of poker has largely been driven from California , Texas , and Nevada .

Others might choose different criteria to warrant recognition. Some would choose other honorees based on my criteria. I expect to hear howling from advocates of those I've left off the list. I've created a special e-mail address for the next month or so: [email protected] . Please write to suggest, vent, or whatever. If enough people send in worthwhile comments, I'll make another column of it.

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas - please see his ad below. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com . John Bond is an attorney and free-lance writer in South Florida .