Ruffing elected to Hall of Fame via rare runoff election
In his final year on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot, Ruffing fell just short of the 75 percent of the vote required for election, garnering 72.6 percent – tied with the other top vote-getter, Joe Medwick. But the rules at the time dictated that if no one was elected on the first vote, a runoff would be held, in which voters could only vote for five candidates rather than 10.
So on Feb. 16, 1967, in a rare runoff election, Ruffing easily took the top spot in the voting with 266 of 306 votes, or 87 percent. Although Medwick garnered 81 percent of the vote, the runoff rules stated that only one candidate could be elected, regardless of how many received 75 percent of the vote.
“It’s a great disappointment,” Medwick told the Daily News. “But what can I do? I’m not giving up. I’m glad, anyway, that [Ruffing] got in. Maybe next year will be my time.”
When asked if he had any suggestions for how the Hall of Fame election process should be altered, Ruffing had plenty to offer on the topic.
“Yes. I believe that anybody who wins 200 games or more should automatically qualify, or a man who bats .300 lifetime,” Ruffing said. “I also think that if a man lasts 20 years in the majors he should get in automatically. After all, they don’t keep you 20 years in the big leagues to tell jokes.”
But Ruffing earned his spot in Cooperstown, with no automatic qualifier necessary. On July 23, 1967, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Veterans Committee electees Lloyd Waner and the late Branch Rickey, in the final induction to be held on the Museum’s front steps.
Janey Murray is the digital content specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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