Bill Madden, sportswriter for the New York Daily News, wrote that Maglie would never be a Hall of Famer unless "there’s a Hall of Fame just for pitchers whom you wanted to have the ball in a game you had to win."
Maglie did appear on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1964 and 1968, but he never got more than 6.5% of the vote.
In spite of a slow start in the minor leagues and the four years he was banned for pitching in the Mexican League, Maglie became "one of the most accomplished pitchers of his era," according to Joseph Durso of the New York Times.
His .657 career winning percentage ranked 22nd among major leaguers as of August 2020, and he had a 23–11 record against the Dodgers, archrival of the Giants, including a streak at Ebbets Field where he won 11 of 12 decisions.
From a sabermetric analysis, Maglie's 5.9 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was the NL's 10th best, and he had a career WAR of 34.2, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
In The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (2001), sabermetrician Bill James ranks Maglie as the best pitcher in baseball for 1951 and says that Maglie probably would have won the Cy Young Award in 1951 had it been in existence at the time.
During his 10-season career, Maglie  pitched in three World Series (winning in 1954 with the Giants), and he was twice a member of the NL All-Star team.
He was the last of 14 players to play for the Giants, Dodgers, and Yankees at a time when all three teams were in New York City.

During his time with the Giants, Maglie developed a rivalry with Dodger hitter Carl Furillo.
Once, after surviving one of Maglie's close shave pitches, Furillo threw his bat at the pitcher.
However, after Maglie was acquired by the Dodgers in 1956, the two became friends and even roommates at times.
Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale credited Maglie with teaching him the art of brushing back batters while the two were teammates in Brooklyn.
Maglie had special advice for when Mays was batting. "
You have to throw at him twice," he told Drysdale, observing that Mays would not expect a second brushback pitch.

Willie Mays told a story in his autobiography of hitting a home run against Maglie after Maglie went to the Dodgers.
However, the only home run Maglie gave up to the Giants while wearing a Dodger uniform was to Ray Jablonski, not Mays.

In June 1983, Hyde Park Stadium in Niagara Falls was renamed Sal Maglie Stadium.
The ceremony featured an extremely short baseball bus excursion, as a bus loaded with friends and family of Maglie left the Stadium Grill located about two hundred yards across the street and drove into Sal Maglie Stadium.
As of August 2020, Sal Maglie Stadium is the home of the Niagara University Purple Eagles, the Niagara Catholic High School Patriots, and the Niagara Power of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
Bill Madden, sportswriter for the New York Daily News, wrote that Maglie would never be a Hall of Famer unless "there’s a Hall of Fame just for pitchers whom you wanted to have the ball in a game you had to win." Maglie did appear on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1964 and 1968, but he never got more than 6.5% of the vote. In spite of a slow start in the minor leagues and the four years he was banned for pitching in the Mexican League, Maglie became "one of the most accomplished pitchers of his era," according to Joseph Durso of the New York Times. His .657 career winning percentage ranked 22nd among major leaguers as of August 2020, and he had a 23–11 record against the Dodgers, archrival of the Giants, including a streak at Ebbets Field where he won 11 of 12 decisions. From a sabermetric analysis, Maglie's 5.9 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was the NL's 10th best, and he had a career WAR of 34.2, according to Baseball-Reference.com. In The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (2001), sabermetrician Bill James ranks Maglie as the best pitcher in baseball for 1951 and says that Maglie probably would have won the Cy Young Award in 1951 had it been in existence at the time. During his 10-season career, Maglie  pitched in three World Series (winning in 1954 with the Giants), and he was twice a member of the NL All-Star team. He was the last of 14 players to play for the Giants, Dodgers, and Yankees at a time when all three teams were in New York City.
During his time with the Giants, Maglie developed a rivalry with Dodger hitter Carl Furillo. Once, after surviving one of Maglie's close shave pitches, Furillo threw his bat at the pitcher. However, after Maglie was acquired by the Dodgers in 1956, the two became friends and even roommates at times. Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale credited Maglie with teaching him the art of brushing back batters while the two were teammates in Brooklyn. Maglie had special advice for when Mays was batting. "You have to throw at him twice," he told Drysdale, observing that Mays would not expect a second brushback pitch.
Willie Mays told a story in his autobiography of hitting a home run against Maglie after Maglie went to the Dodgers. However, the only home run Maglie gave up to the Giants while wearing a Dodger uniform was to Ray Jablonski, not Mays.
In June 1983, Hyde Park Stadium in Niagara Falls was renamed Sal Maglie Stadium. The ceremony featured an extremely short baseball bus excursion, as a bus loaded with friends and family of Maglie left the Stadium Grill located about two hundred yards across the street and drove into Sal Maglie Stadium. As of August 2020, Sal Maglie Stadium is the home of the Niagara University Purple Eagles, the Niagara Catholic High School Patriots, and the Niagara Power of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
Sal Maglie