George
Sisler,
Eddie
Collins
and Willie
Keeler
were voted in by the writers for 1939. Lou
Gehrig was also voted unanimously to add Lou
Gehrig in December of 1939 "to commemorate the year in which he
achieved his record." The record in question was the 2130 consecutive
games played streak that ended earlier that year. No more elections were
held until 1942.
The 1939 elections to select inductees to the Baseball
Hall of Fame were the last ones conducted prior to the Hall's
opening that year. Needing just one addition to complete the initial
goal of 10 inductees from the 20th century, members of the Baseball
Writers Association of America (BBWAA)
were once again given authority to select any players active in the 20th
century, excepting active players. Difficulties in convening the
Centennial Commission of the previous two years led to an even smaller
Old-Timers Committee selecting inductees from the 19th century - a cause
of particular urgency to many who had been anticipating the five promised
but unfulfilled selections in that area for over three years.
In the BBWAA election, voters were instructed to cast votes for 10
candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots
would be honored with induction to the Hall upon its opening in
Cooperstown, New York on June 12 of that year. After the Hall's opening, a
special election was also held in December. Because the initial goal for
the Hall's opening of selecting 10 players from the 20th century had now
been met, it was further decided to delay the next election until 1942,
even though observers widely believed that electing three players per year
(12 had been elected in four regular BBWAA elections) had turned out to be
an ideal rate.
A total of 274 ballots were cast, with 2710 individual votes for 108
specific candidates; 206 votes were required for election. Although three
stars of the 1920s did very well, the balloting was otherwise dominated by
players of the 1900s and 1910s, who many voters felt should be given
priority. Players who had been retired over 20 years received 60% of the
votes, and accounted for 14 of the top 20 in the balloting. Due to
frustration over the fact that no 19th century players had yet been
selected, a number of players from that era whose careers extended into
the 20th century only briefly (or not at all) even received some votes, as
did some managers. The results were announced in January 1939.
Votes by members of the BBWAA
were tabulated by the National
Baseball Hall of Fame. At least 206 votes were needed to be elected.
(Winners in bold.)
Source: National Baseball Hall of
Fame. Special thanks to Keith Hemmelman for compiling the data.
Old Timers Committee
As the opening of the Hall approached, criticism mounted that no 19th
century figures who were known primarily as players had yet been selected,
when basic plans nearly four years earlier had promised five as an ideal
initial number. In addition, the 6-member Centennial Commission which had
selected honorees in the previous two years never had an opportunity to
meet. As a result, a smaller committee of only three members -
Commissioner Kenesaw
Mountain Landis, National League president Ford
Frick, and American League president Will Harridge - was formed to
choose appropriate honorees; their selections were announced on May 2,
less than 6 weeks before the Hall's opening. They chose six inductees, all
of whom were deceased; of the 13 committee selections between 1937 and
1939, only Connie Mack was still living at the time of the Hall's opening
(his Athletics played in the inaugural Hall of Fame game). The committee's
choices included the two players who had tied for first in the failed 1936
Veterans vote (the 3rd- and 4th-place finishers had by this time been
selected by the BBWAA; the 6th-place choice had been selected by an
earlier committee):
Cap
Anson, a star first baseman and
racist from the 1870s through the late 1890s, and also a
successful manager, who is now widely recognized as the first player
to collect 3000 hits in the topmost professional leagues; and
Buck
Ewing, the game's premier catcher in the 1880s and early 1890s.
The remaining inductees were:
Old
Hoss Radbourn, who won 309 games in an 11-year career in the
1880s, including a record 60 wins in 1884; he had finished 7th in the
1936 vote
Al
Spalding, the game's best pitcher in the 1870s (252 wins from 1871
to 1876), who managed Chicago to the first NL pennant and later became
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Awards