Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1937

The 1937 process of selecting inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame was markedly different from the initial elections the previous year. As only half of the initial goal of 10 inductees had been selected in 1936, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) were once again given authority to select any players active in the 20th century; but the unsuccessful 1936 Veterans Committee election for 19th century players led to a smaller Centennial Commission choosing a handful of inductees whose contributions were largely as non-players.

Related Topics:
1937 - Baseball Hall of Fame - The initial elections - Baseball Writers Association of America - Veterans Committee

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In the BBWAA election, voters were again instructed to cast votes for 10 candidates, but were now discouraged from casting votes for active players (though some player-managers whose playing days were largely over, such as Rogers Hornsby, received votes). Any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall upon its opening in the sport's supposed centennial year of 1939. Again, individuals who had been barred from baseball were not formally ineligible; Hal Chase received some votes, though Shoeless Joe Jackson did not.

Related Topics:
1939 - Hal Chase - Shoeless Joe Jackson

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