Elections to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

for 1972 followed the system established one year earlier. The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from recent major league players and elected three: Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, and Early Wynn. The Veterans Committee met in closed sessions to consider executives, managers, umpires, and earlier major league players. It also selected three people: Lefty Gomez, Will Harridge, and Ross Youngs. The

Negro Leagues Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...

met for the second time and selected

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...

and Buck Leonard. A formal induction ceremony was held in

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, on August 7, 1972, with Commissioner of Baseball

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...

presiding.

BBWAA election

The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1952 or later, but not after 1966; the ballot included candidates from the 1971 ballot who received at least 5% of the vote but were not elected, along with selected players, chosen by a screening committee, whose last appearance was in 1966. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote. Voters were instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. The ballot consisted of 46 players; a total of 396 ballots were cast, with 297 votes required for election. A total of 3,083 individual votes were cast, an average of 7.79 per ballot. Candidates who were eligible for the first time are indicated here with a dagger (†). The three candidates who received at least 75% of the vote and were elected are indicated in ''bold italics''; candidates who have since been elected in subsequent elections are indicated in ''italics''.

Charlie Keller Charles Ernest Keller (September 12, 1916 – May 23, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball from 1939 through 1952 for the New York Yankees (1939–43, 1945–49, 1952) and Detroi ...

was on the ballot for the final time. Players eligible for the first time who were ''not'' included on the ballot were: Joe Adcock, Ed Bailey, Don Blasingame,

Frank Bolling Francis Elmore Bolling (November 16, 1931July 11, 2020) was an American baseball second baseman who played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves from 1954 until 1966. He ...

Wes Covington John Wesley Covington (March 27, 1932 – July 4, 2011) was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia ...

, Roger Craig,

Del Crandall Delmar Wesley Crandall (March 5, 1930May 5, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He was born in Ontario, California. Crandall played as a catcher in Major League Baseball and spent most of his career with the Boston / ...

, Joe Cunningham,

Gene Freese Eugene Lewis "Gene" Freese (January 8, 1934 – June 18, 2013), was an American professional baseball third baseman, who was widely noted as a journeyman. Freese played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates (twice), St. Louis Card ...

Bob Friend Robert Bartmess Friend (November 24, 1930 – February 3, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A fou ...

Jim Gilliam James William "Junior" Gilliam (October 17, 1928 – October 8, 1978) was an American second baseman, third baseman, and coach in Negro league and Major League Baseball who spent his entire major league career with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dod ...

Ray Herbert Raymond Ernest Herbert (December 15, 1929 - December 20, 2022) was an American former professional baseball pitcher. He appeared in 407 Major League Baseball (MLB) games over 14 seasons (–; –; –) with the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athle ...

Billy Hoeft William Frederick Hoeft (May 17, 1932 – March 16, 2010) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball whose career spanned 15 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giant ...

Joey Jay Joseph Richard Jay (born August 15, 1935) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , Jay played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1953–, –, 1966), and Cincinnati R ...

Eddie Kasko Edward Michael Kasko (June 27, 1931 – June 24, 2020) was an American infielder, manager, scout and front office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). Kasko was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Linden. He graduated ...

, Marty Keough,

Héctor López Héctor Headley López Swainson (July 8, 1929 – September 29, 2022) was a Panamanian professional baseball left fielder and third baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees from 1955 to 196 ...

Jerry Lynch Gerald Thomas Lynch (July 17, 1930 – March 31, 2012), nicknamed "The Hat", "Lynch The Pinch" and "The Allison Park Sweeper", was an American professional baseball outfielder who ranked among the most prolific pinch hitters in Major League Baseba ...

, Frank Malzone, Félix Mantilla, Joe Nuxhall, Bob Purkey,

Steve Ridzik Stephen George Ridzik (April 29, 1929 – January 8, 2008) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for five teams from 1950 to 1966, primarily the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators. Born in Yonkers, ...

Ed Roebuck Edward Jack Roebuck (July 3, 1931 – June 14, 2018) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 11 seasons (–; –) for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Senators ...

, Bob Skinner and Frank Thomas.

J. G. Taylor Spink Award

Frank Graham (1893–1965) received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award honoring a baseball writer. The award was voted at the December 1971 meeting of the BBWAA, and included in the summer 1972 ceremonies.

References

External links

1972 Election
at www.baseballhalloffame.org {{Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball Hall of Fame balloting Hall of Fame balloting