1956 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting


Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1956 followed a system that had been the object of criticism and reform in recent years, which would continue that summer.
The Veterans Committee was meeting only in odd-number years to consider older major league players as well as managers, umpires, and executives. The Baseball Writers' Association of America voted by mail to select from recent players and elected two, Joe Cronin and Hank Greenberg. A formal induction ceremony was held in Cooperstown, New York, on July 23, 1956, with Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick presiding.

Criticism and reform

Following the election, complaints by the writers that the electees were not up to the standards of previous choices, and that the eligible players included few strong candidates, led to a number of changes in the rules. Foremost among the alterations was the decision to hold future BBWAA elections only in alternating years with the Veterans Committee, and also the elimination of the rule which required writers to vote for 10 candidates; thereafter, they would be advised only to vote for up to 10.
Various factors over the previous few years had led to the voters' complaints regarding the strength of the eligible candidates. Among these were the decision in the early 1950s to extend the waiting period for eligibility following a player's retirement from one year to five years; as a result, many players who retired in the early 1950s and would otherwise have been eligible were temporarily taken out of contention. Also, many of the players who retired in the late 1940s and early 1950s had careers which were interrupted by military service during World War II, depriving them of accomplishments during those seasons which might have enhanced their qualifications in the eyes of voters. Some players returned from the war with their skills in decline after the long layoff, and retired within a few years when they might otherwise have enjoyed several productive seasons if not for the interruption in their play; in other cases, similar players who might have become more distinct with a few added seasons ended up with careers which were more difficult to distinguish. Perhaps most significantly, the Hall of Fame had instituted a rule at the beginning of the decade which was designed to ensure that the honor of selection was not exploited for profit as a mere gate attraction, and that players who were selected were not put into games long after their playing ability had waned simply to sell tickets; as a result, any individual who was still in uniform as a manager or coach - even at the minor league level - had been ruled ineligible for selection.

BBWAA election

The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1926 or later, but not after 1950. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.
Any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. Votes were cast for 106 players; a total of 193 ballots were cast, with 145 votes required for election. A total of 1,599 individual votes were cast, an average of 8.28 per ballot.
The two candidates who received 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.
PlayerVotesPercentChange
Hank Greenberg16484.9 22.5%
Joe Cronin15278.8 25.0%
Red Ruffing9750.3 26.4%
Edd Roush9147.2 8.6%
Lefty Gomez8946.1 17.8%
Hack Wilson7438.3 6.0%
Max Carey6533.7 13.7%
Tony Lazzeri6433.2 6.9%
Kiki Cuyler5528.5 14.6%
Hank Gowdy4925.4 10.5%
Sam Rice4523.3 12.1%
Chuck Klein4422.8 12.8%
Jim Bottomley4221.8 11.4%
Waite Hoyt3719.2 6.1%
Red Faber3417.6 6.8%
Joe Medwick3116.1-
Eppa Rixey2714.0 10.8%
Zack Wheat2613.5 6.8%
Goose Goslin2613.5 10.7%
Burleigh Grimes2513.0 11.8%
Ross Youngs1913.0 9.3%
Lloyd Waner189.3-
Jimmie Wilson178.8 3.6%
Chick Hafey168.3 6.7%
Muddy Ruel168.3 3.9%
Dave Bancroft157.8 0.2%
Luke Appling147.3 6.1%
Earle Combs147.3 6.9%
Jesse Haines147.3 3.3%
Travis Jackson147.3 5.3%
Heinie Manush136.7-
Paul Derringer126.2 5.8%
Babe Herman115.7 3.7%
Cy Williams115.7 4.5%
Arky Vaughan94.7 3.1%
Howard Ehmke84.1-
Ernie Lombardi84.1-
Wes Ferrell73.6-
Pepper Martin73.6-
Bobby Doerr52.6-
Lefty O'Doul52.6-
Bucky Walters52.6-
Doc Cramer42.1-
Joe Gordon42.1 1.7%
Earl Averill31.6 0.8%
Tommy Bridges31.6-
George Earnshaw31.6 0.8%
Freddie Fitzsimmons31.6-
Freddie Lindstrom31.6-
Frank McCormick31.6-
Red Rolfe31.6-
Joe Sewell31.6 1.2%
Johnny Vander Meer31.6-
Glenn Wright31.6
Ossie Bluege21.0-
Lou Boudreau21.0-
Guy Bush21.0-
Mort Cooper21.0-
Hughie Critz21.0-
Lew Fonseca21.0-
Tommy Henrich21.0-
Billy Herman21.0-
Joe Judge21.0 0.2%
Charlie Keller21.0-
George Kelly21.0-
Hal Schumacher21.0 0.6%
Riggs Stephenson21.0-
Jim Tobin21.0-
Nick Altrock10.5-
Wally Berger10.5-
Max Bishop10.5 0.1%
Dolph Camilli10.5-
Spud Chandler10.5-
Frankie Crosetti10.5-
Tony Cuccinello10.5-
Bill Dinneen10.5-
Joe Dugan10.5-
Leo Durocher10.5-
Jimmy Dykes10.5 0.1%
Rick Ferrell10.5-
Mule Haas10.5 0.1%
Stan Hack10.5-
Bill Hallahan10.5-
Bob Johnson10.5-
Sam Jones10.5 0.1%
Joe Kuhel10.5-
Al López10.5-
Dolf Luque10.5-
Marty Marion10.5-
Bob Meusel10.5 0.3%
Johnny Mostil10.5-
Jack Quinn10.5-
Allie Reynolds10.5-
Phil Rizzuto10.5-
Al Schacht10.5-
Wally Schang10.5-
Everett Scott10.5 2.7%
Bill Sherdel10.5 0.1%
Earl Smith10.5-
Gus Suhr10.5-
Jim Turner10.5-
George Uhle10.5-
Bill Wambsganss10.5 1.5%
Burgess Whitehead10.5-
Earl Whitehill10.5-
Ken Williams10.5-

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.