KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals today have announced that former General Manager
Cedric Tallis has been voted into the Royals Hall of Fame. Tallis will be posthumously inducted
during a private luncheon on Friday, June 28, followed by an on-field recognition prior to the Royals
game that night vs. the Cleveland Guardians.
Tallis was placed on the ballot by the Royals Hall of Fame Executive Board and elected through the
Royals Hall of Fame Veterans Committee voting process. The veterans committee vote considers
the candidacy of non-field personnel in addition to players and managers no longer eligible for
election by Regular Phase Royals Hall of Fame Voting. The committee consists of 16 voting members
selected by the board, comprised of Royals Hall of Fame Members, Royals Club Executives and
media members. Candidates must be named on at least 75% of all ballots cast to be elected.
Tallis was named Executive Vice President and General Manager of the new American League
expansion franchise in Kansas City on Jan. 16, 1968. He got the job after impressing the club founders
Ewing and Muriel Kauffman during their November 1967 visit with California Angels Owner Gene
Autry. It was Tallis, then serving as the Angels Vice President and Business Manager, who showed
Mr. and Mrs. K around the Angels operations. On their return home, the couple was convinced they
would make a bid for the new franchise and Tallis was the person they could trust to lead it.
“Nearly every first in Royals history can be traced back to Cedric Tallis. In fact, he was the first Royals
associate, all of us have followed in his footsteps,” said Curt Nelson, Senior Director of the Royals
Hall of Fame. “On the field and off, Cedric laid the foundation that brought the Royals so much early
success.”
Tallis acquired five future Royals Hall of Famers in an amazing series of trades over the ballclub’s first
four years. He brought Amos Otis to Kansas City in December of 1969; added veteran Cookie Rojas
in June of 1970; Fred Patek in December 1970; then John Mayberry in December of 1971; and finally,
Hal McRae in December of 1972. The scouting and player development team Tallis put together
added six more future Royals Hall of Famers during his tenure: Paul Splittorff, Steve Busby, George
Brett, Dennis Leonard and Willie Wilson through the draft, along with Frank White from the Royals
Baseball Academy.
The inaugural 1969 Royals posted the best record of the four major league expansion clubs that
season (69-93-1). In year three, the 1971 Royals became the first of the four to post a winning record
(85-76). It took 10 seasons before one of the other three 1969 expansion clubs posted a winning
campaign, by which time the Royals had recorded multiple postseason appearances. Although
he left the ballclub in 1974, those early Royals championship were won largely with the incredible
foundation of players brought to Kansas City under Cedric Tallis’ leadership. Tallis passed away on
May 8, 1991 at age 76.
