Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1949

The 1949 election to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame proceeded using the same rules as the successful elections in the previous two years, with the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) again authorized to elect players retired less than 25 years.

The Old-Timers Committee

After not having voted on new inductees since 1946, the committee still did not meet formally to consider candidates; instead, the members cast ballots by mail on candidates from the pre-1924 era. This minor action temporarily decreased criticism that earlier players were being overlooked, but it would be the only attempt between 1946 and 1953 to elect players from this period, and there was no attempt to review managers and other non-playing candidates.

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On May 9, it was announced that two pitchers had been selected:

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• Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, whose career extended from 1903 to 1916, ending with 239 victories and a 2.06 ERA; he had been the main pitching star on the Chicago Cubs teams which dominated the National League between 1906 and 1910, with Brown winning 20 or more games each season as the club won four pennants. His shutout in Game 5 of the 1907 World Series clinched the championship for the Cubs. In 25 career matchups against Christy Mathewson, Brown won 13 times, with Mathewson winning 11. His partial loss of two fingers in a childhood farm accident had led to his pitches having an atypical motion.
• Charles "Kid" Nichols, who won 360 games between 1890 and 1906, primarily with the 5-time champion Boston Beaneaters; at age 30, he became the youngest man ever to win 300 games, and he retired with the 3rd-most wins of any pitcher. He won over 20 games every year in the 1890s, and won 30 or more a record 7 times. An incredibly strong-armed pitcher despite his small size (5'9", 170 pounds (77 kg)), he regularly pitched over 400 innings per year, and completed all but 30 of his 561 career starts - never being replaced by a relief pitcher.

Nichols was still living, but Brown had died the previous year. They were formally inducted on June 13 along with Charlie Gehringer and the 1948 selections, Pie Traynor and the late Herb Pennock; Nichols and Traynor were in attendance.

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The selection of these two pitchers from the period between 1890 and 1916 was roundly applauded, but it was noted that stars of the earlier era had been ignored once again, as well as position players from the same period.

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