By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In addition to family and good health, Bob Howsam counts memories as one of life's most cherished possessions.

The former Reds general manager and chief executive officer, who is considered the architect of the Big Red Machine and had a hand in the team's success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, added another memory to his stockpile Thursday.

Along with retired Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Sr. and 19th century pitcher Will White, Howsam was elected into the Reds Hall of Fame by the Cincinnati Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

"Nobody could be prouder than I am about being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame," Howsam said from his home in Arizona. "That's my club. That's my city in a way, and I'll never forget it."

Howsam, Griffey and White will join the 61 other managers, players and front office executives already enshrined in the team's Hall of Fame. They will be honored during a pregame ceremony Aug. 29 at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds won 1,266 games, four National League pennants and two World Series championships during Howsam's tenure as general manager from 1967-1978 and 1983-84.

He also served as the team's CEO from 1973-1978 and 1983-85.

A thriving farm system and two key trades helped propel the Reds to success in the 1970s.

Howsam first traded for outfielder George Foster in May 1971, and then traded three players to the Astros on Nov. 29, 1971. The Reds received in return second baseman Joe Morgan, outfielder Cesar Geronimo and pitcher Jack Billingham, among others.

"I thought I had given Houston the championship for that year," Howsam said. "But what our future held would be so much more important. We surprised everybody and went on and won that year."

The core pieces - Pete Rose, Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, Foster and manager Sparky Anderson - were in place for a speedy and powerful lineup built to play on the artificial turf at new Riverfront Stadium.

From 1972-76, the Reds won 63 percent of their 802 games, three National League pennants and the World Series in 1975 and 1976.

Howsam was named the Sporting News' Executive of the Year in 1973 following a 95-win season in which more than 2 million fans visited Riverfront Stadium.

"He's the one that cemented everything together in terms of getting young players ... with the mix of Pete, Joe, Johnny and Tony," Griffey said. "He orchestrated the whole club."

Griffey became an integral member of the Big Red Machine as its everyday right fielder in 1975.

"At the time, we were the best in the business," he said. "We were a very proud team. We were very businesslike. We did what we were supposed to do."

Griffey spent his first nine of an eventual 19 major-league seasons (1973-1981) with the Reds before a November 1981 trade sent him to the Yankees.

He later returned to Cincinnati and played for the Reds from 1988-1990, before ending his career with the Mariners in 1991.

In 1,224 career games in a Reds uniform, Griffey batted .303 and stole 23 or more bases in three seasons (1976, 1978, 1980).

"I didn't think I would ever achieve this," said Griffey, who has worked as a special assistant to the Reds general manager since 2001. "At the same time, I was hoping I was good enough that I would get into the Reds Hall of Fame.

"Now that that's happened, I'm very proud that it has."

White played with the Reds from 1878-1880 and 1882-86 during a 10-year professional career.

The first major-leaguer to wear eyeglasses - he became an ophthalmologist in retirement - White won 30 or more games in five seasons and led the American Association with 40 wins in 1882 and 43 in 1883.

The right-hander ranks among the Reds' all-time pitching leaders - dating from 1876 - in wins (227), losses (163), complete games (389), games started (396), innings pitched (3,497 2/3) and ERA (2.25).

The best season of his career came in 1882, when he went 40-12 with a 1.54 ERA, 52 complete games in 54 starts and 480 innings pitched.

A native of Caton, N.Y., White died on Aug. 31, 1911, in Canada.

"He was recognized as one of the top few pitchers in the game," Reds team historian Greg Rhodes said. "He'd be a perennial Cy Young (Award) candidate if he was around today. He was that good."