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 1962 followed a new system for even-number years. Since 1956 the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) and Veterans Committee had alternated in their duties, but the BBWAA, voting by mail to select from recent major league players, had elected no one for 1958 and no one for 1960. Now there would be a second, "runoff" election in case of no winner. At the same time, the Veterans Committee resumed meeting annually to consider executives, managers, umpires, and earlier major league players. The provision for a runoff was not necessary for this election, as the writers elected two new candidates on their first ballot,

Bob Feller Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...

and

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

. The Veterans Committee selected

Bill McKechnie William Boyd McKechnie (August 7, 1886 – October 29, 1965) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman during the dead-ball era. McKechnie was the first manager to win Wo ...

and

Edd Roush Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1913 to 1931, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds where he was a two ...

, both of whom were still alive to be interviewed and invited to the induction ceremonies. 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 July 23, 1962, with Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick presiding.

BBWAA election

The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1932 or later, but not after 1956. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote. Voters were instructed to cast their 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. A total of 78 players received votes; 160 ballots were cast, with 120 votes required for election. A total of 1,090 individual votes were cast, an average of 6.81 per ballot—the first election to average fewer than 8 votes per ballot, and a record low which would stand until 1987 (6.61 votes per ballot). Eligible for the final time were:

Sam Rice Edgar Charles "Sam" Rice (February 20, 1890 – October 13, 1974) was an American pitcher and outfielder in Major League Baseball. Although Rice made his debut as a relief pitcher, he is best known as an outfielder. Playing for the Washington Se ...

, Eppa Rixey, Burleigh Grimes,

Hack Wilson Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson (April 26, 1900 – November 23, 1948) was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive statur ...

, Kiki Cuyler, Red Faber, Jim Bottomley, Lefty Gomez, Waite Hoyt,

Heinie Manush Henry Emmett Manush (July 20, 1901 – May 12, 1971), nicknamed "Heinie", was an American baseball outfielder. He played professional baseball for 20 years from 1920 to 1939, including 17 years in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers (1 ...

Goose Goslin Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from until . Goslin ...

, Lefty O'Doul,

Tony Lazzeri Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

Chick Hafey Charles James "Chick" Hafey (February 12, 1903 – July 2, 1973) was an American player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924–1931) and Cincinnati Reds (1932–1935, 1937), Hafey was a strong line-drive hitt ...

, Freddie Lindstrom,

Earle Combs Earle Bryan Combs (May 14, 1899 – July 21, 1976) was an American professional baseball player who played his entire career for the New York Yankees (1924–1935). Combs batted leadoff and played center field on the Yankees' fabled 1927 team (oft ...

Jimmie Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelp ...

, Jimmie Wilson, Earl Averill, Jesse Haines, Charlie Grimm,

Firpo Marberry Frederick "Firpo" Marberry (November 30, 1898 – June 30, 1976) was an American right-handed starting and relief pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1936, most notably with the Washington Senators. The sport's first prominent relieve ...

, Wes Ferrell,

Freddie Fitzsimmons Frederick Landis Fitzsimmons (July 28, 1901 – November 18, 1979) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, manager, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to with the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. ...

, Travis Jackson, George Kelly, Red Rolfe, Luke Sewell,

Riggs Stephenson Jackson Riggs "Warhorse" Stephenson (January 5, 1898 – November 15, 1985) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed ''Old Hoss'', Stephenson played for the Cleveland Indians from to and the rest of his career from to ...

and Glenn Wright. Many of the above candidates would lose eligibility before the 1964 election due to a rule change affecting the retirement qualifications of those voted on by the BBWAA. While the BBWAA had previously been able to consider those who had been retired between 5 and 30 seasons, after this election the BBWAA were to consider those who had been retired between 5 and 20 seasons. Among the candidates who were affected by this rule change and would not appear on the 1964 BBWAA ballot, the top two vote receivers (

and Eppa Rixey) were elected by the Veterans Committee in 1963. Candidates who were eligible for the first time are indicated with a dagger (†).

References

External links

1962 election
at www.baseballhalloffame.org {{Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball Hall of Fame balloting Hall of Fame balloting Jackie Robinson