1939 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting


The 1939 elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame were the last ones conducted prior to the Hall's opening that year. Needing just one addition to complete the initial goal of 10 inductees from the 20th century, members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America were once again given authority to select any players active in the 20th century, excepting active players. Difficulties in convening the Centennial Commission of the previous two years led to an even smaller Old-Timers Committee selecting inductees from the 19th century – a cause of particular urgency to many who had been anticipating the five promised but unfulfilled selections in that area for over three years.
In the BBWAA election, voters were instructed to cast votes for 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall upon its opening in Cooperstown, New York, on June 12 of that year. After the Hall's opening, a special election was also held in December. Because the initial goal for the Hall's opening of selecting 10 players from the 20th century had now been met, it was further decided to delay the next election until 1942, even though observers widely believed that electing three players per year had turned out to be an ideal rate.

BBWAA regular election

A total of 274 ballots were cast, with 2,710 individual votes for 108 specific candidates, an average of 9.89 per ballot; 206 votes were required for election. Although three stars of the 1920s did very well, the balloting was otherwise dominated by players of the 1900s and 1910s, who many voters felt should be given priority. Players who had been retired over 20 years received 60% of the votes, and accounted for 14 of the top 20 in the balloting. Due to frustration over the fact that no 19th century players had yet been selected, a number of players from that era whose careers extended into the 20th century only briefly even received some votes, as did some managers. The results were announced in January 1939. The three candidates who received at least 75% of the vote and were elected are indicated in bold italics; candidates who have since been selected in subsequent elections are indicated in italics:
Elected to the Hall. These individuals are also indicated in bold italics.
Players who were elected in future elections. These individuals are also indicated in plain italics.

PlayersVotesPercentChange
Lou Gehrig---
George Sisler23585.8 17.5%
Eddie Collins21377.7 10.9%
Willie Keeler20775.5 7.9%
Rube Waddell17965.3 8.8%
Rogers Hornsby17664.2 46.6%
Frank Chance15857.7 6.9%
Ed Delahanty14552.9 2.5%
Ed Walsh13248.2 6.2%
Johnny Evers10739.1 4.4%
Miller Huggins9735.4 17.1%
Rabbit Maranville8229.9 2.0%
Jimmy Collins7226.3 3.9%
Roger Bresnahan6724.5 1.1%
Fred Clarke5921.5 2.5%
Mordecai Brown5419.7 0.9%
Wilbert Robinson4616.8 10.3%
Chief Bender4014.6 2.0%
Herb Pennock4014.6 0.5%
Ray Schalk3512.8 4.4%
Hugh Duffy3412.4 3.2%
Ross Youngs3412.4 2.9%
Hughie Jennings3312.0 3.2%
Joe McGinnity3211.7 2.0%
Frank Baker3010.9 1.3%
Mickey Cochrane2810.2-
Addie Joss2810.2 3.3%
Eddie Plank2810.2 4.3%
Frankie Frisch269.5-
Clark Griffith207.3 3.5%
Bill Terry165.8 3.1%
Dazzy Vance155.5 1.7%
Johnny Kling145.1 4.8%
Nap Rucker134.7 0.1%
Joe Tinker124.4 1.7%
Babe Adams114.0 0.2%
Pie Traynor103.6 2.5%
Harry Heilmann82.9 2.4%
Edd Roush82.9 0.5%
Max Carey72.6 0.3%
Bill Dinneen72.6 1.1%
Kid Nichols72.6 1.5%
Nick Altrock62.2 0.5%
Jack Chesbro62.2 1.4%
Sam Crawford62.2 2.0%
Duffy Lewis62.2 0.3%
Amos Rusie62.2 0.9%
Casey Stengel62.2 1.4%
Mike Donlin51.8 0.1%
Harry Hooper51.8 0.3%
Dickey Kerr51.8 0.7%
Bobby Wallace51.8 0.9%
Hank Gowdy41.5 1.6%
Rube Marquard41.5 2.3%
Stuffy McInnis41.5
Zack Wheat41.5 1.2%
Jimmy Archer31.1 1.6%
Earle Combs31.1 1.6%
Red Faber31.1 0.7%
Joe McCarthy31.1-
Fred Tenney31.1 2.0%
Donie Bush20.7-
Bill Carrigan20.7 0.8%
Gavvy Cravath20.7 0.1%
Lou Criger20.7 3.5%
Wild Bill Donovan20.7 0.3%
Buck Ewing20.7-
Eddie Grant20.7 0.3%
Hans Lobert20.7 0.3%
Sherry Magee20.7 0.1%
Ossee Schreckengost20.7 0.1%
Smoky Joe Wood20.7 1.6%
Dave Bancroft10.4 0.4%
Jack Barry10.4 0.7%
Marty Bergen10.4
Bill Bradley10.4 0.4%
George Burns10.4 0.7%
Wilbur Cooper10.4
Lave Cross10.4-
Jake Daubert10.4
Larry Doyle10.4 1.1%
Art Fletcher10.4 0.7%
Chick Fraser10.4-
Kid Gleason10.4
Burleigh Grimes10.4
Charlie Grimm10.4-
Noodles Hahn10.4-
Jesse Haines10.4-
Bucky Harris10.4
Waite Hoyt10.4-
Charlie Irwin10.4
Sam Jones10.4-
Joe Kelley10.4-
Otto Knabe10.4-
Tommy Leach10.4-
Herman Long10.4
Dolf Luque10.4
Pat Moran10.4
Art Nehf10.4 1.5%
Hub Perdue10.4
Deacon Phillippe10.4-
Al Schacht10.4-
Everett Scott10.4 0.4%
Urban Shocker10.4
Jake Stahl10.4
Harry Steinfeldt10.4-
Hack Wilson10.4-

Old-Timers Committee

As the opening of the Hall approached, criticism mounted that no 19th century figures who were known primarily as players had yet been selected, when basic plans nearly four years earlier had promised five as an ideal initial number. In addition, the six-member Centennial Commission which had selected honorees in the previous two years never had an opportunity to meet. As a result, a smaller "Hall of Fame Committee" of only three members—Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, National League president Ford Frick, and American League president Will Harridge—was formed to choose appropriate honorees; their selections were announced on May 2, less than six weeks before the Hall's opening. They chose six inductees, all of whom were deceased; of the 13 committee selections between 1937 and 1939, only Connie Mack was still living at the time of the Hall's opening. The committee's choices included the two players who had tied for first in the failed 1936 Veterans vote :
The remaining inductees were:
At the major league winter meetings in Cincinnati in December 1939, the BBWAA held a special election to act on Lou Gehrig, who had announced his retirement that summer after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The writers elected Gehrig to the Hall of Fame and also determined to postpone the next regular election until 1942, as the initial quota of 10 inductees from the 20th century had been met.