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The first four Hall of Fame classes joined together in the first Induction Weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1939.
1936 Induction Class: In Baseball’s first Hall of Fame class,...
Collecting 78.1% of the vote in the 1942 ballot, Rogers Hornsby joined the Hall of Fame as the single elect. The first National League player to ever hit 300 home runs in his career, was an exceptional hitter who holds the National League record for career batting average standing at .359. Hornsby was the first inducted to the Hall of Fame since 1939.
ROGERS HORNSBY: The only elect of 1942, Rogers Hornsby captured seven batting titles, hitting over .400 three times. Known as the fiercest right-...
The only person voted into the Hall of Fame in 1944 through the Veterans’ Committee was former executive Kenesaw Landis
KENESAW LANDIS: Voted to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee, Kenesaw Landis was baseball’s first commissioner elected to office in 1920. He is widely known for how he handled the Black Sox scandal in 1919. Landis reaffirmed the trust with baseball executives, players and fans alike when he decided to ban eight of the White Sox players for life.
Ten new members were elected into the Hall of Fame by way of the Veterans’ Committee in 1945. Headlining the list inducted on July 10, 1945, was a pair of power hitting players, Dan Brouthers and Ed Delahanty in an era featuring place hitters like Jimmy Collins and Hugh Duffy who were also elected. Fred Clarke...
Eleven members were selected by the Veterans’ Committee to join the Hall of Fame in 1946. Highlighted by Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance, the most famous double play combination of all-time, the class inducted on June 12, 1946, also consists of dominating pitchers in Jack Chesbro, Clark Griffith,...
Two Philadelphia A’s and two New York Giants join the Hall of Fame in the induction class of 1947. Teammates Mickey Cochrane and Lefty Grove of the three-time pennant winning Philadelphia A’s from 1929-1931 along with leading vote-getter Carl Hubbel and all-around second basemen, Frankie Frisch of the New York Giants complete the class.
MICKEY COCHRANE...
In 1948, the Hall of Fame welcomed Herb Pennock, one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in New York Yankees history, and Pie Traynor, long-time Pittsburgh Pirates’ third basemen who ranks fifth on the all-time putouts list at that position.
HERB PENNOCK: A smooth, left-handed pitcher primarily for the storied New York Yankees franchise, Pennock enjoyed a 22-year career in which won a total of 241 games with...
Leading the way for the 1949 Hall of Fame induction class was Charlie Gehringer, long time second basemen for the Detroit Tigers, who collected 85.3% of the votes on the ballot becoming the only inductee chosen by the BBWAA. Pitchers, Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown and Kid Nichols join Gehringer as the other two inductees to the Hall of Fame class of 1949 through Veterans’ Committee vote. The class was inducted on...
One-thousand four hundred and five career home runs were inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 23, 1951, as Jimmie Foxx and Mel Ott were enshrined. Foxx and Ott were the first players to enter the Hall of Fame since Charlie Gehringer in 1949.
MEL OTT: Ott was named on 87.2 percent of the ballots cast in his third year of eligibility after a 22 year career with the New York Giants. Appearing the in majors for the first time at age 17 in 1926, he hit 30 or more home runs eight...
Paul Waner and Harry Heilmann were enshrined on July 21, 1952, bringing the Hall of Fame’s membership to 62. Heilmann was inducted posthumously and was represented by his widow. Hall of Famers Cy Young and Charlie Gehringer, as well as Commissioner Ford Frick and Eastern League president Tommy Richardson who was there representing the minor leagues.
HARRY HEILMANN: Named on 86.8 percent of ballots cast in his 12th year on the ballot, Heilmann played 15 years for the Detroit...
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This Day in Baseball History
On May 24, 1936, Tony Lazzeri of the New York Yankees sets an American League record by driving in 11 runs. The hard-hitting second baseman blasts three home runs-including two grand slams-and a triple. The Yankees pound the Philadelphia A’s, 25-2…