List of members of the Baseball Hall of Fame by date of induction

This is a list of members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, in order of induction. Elections commenced in 1936 for selection of worthy individuals to be honored by induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame, though the first induction ceremonies were not held until the Hall opened in 1939. Through January 2008, a total of 286 individuals have been selected, including 228 players, 19 managers, 8 umpires, and 31 pioneers and executives. Each is listed along with their primary position; that is, the position or role in which the player made his greatest contribution to baseball, according to the Hall of Fame.

According to current rules, in order to be inducted players must have at least 10 years of major league experience and pass through a screening committee. Players meeting these qualifications are placed on the ballot five years after retirement, and are then voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Each writer may vote for up to 10 players, and in order to be admitted into the Hall of Fame, a player must be approved by 75% of those casting ballots. Players receiving less than 5% approval are removed from future BBWAA ballots. Current rules, most recently revised in July 2007, allow that all players whose careers began in 1943 or later which have not been approved by the BBWAA election process within 20 years of their retirement may also be considered by the Veterans Committee every odd-numbered year, and that umpires, managers, pioneers, and executives will be considered by that committee in even-numbered years. Under the 2007 revised rules, players whose careers began in 1942 or earlier will be considered every five years by a special panel selected by the Hall of Fame. [cite web |url=http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070728&content_id=4525&vkey=hof_news |title=Veterans Committee Changes: New process will separate players, umpires and executives |accessdate=2007-08-18 |date=2007-07-28 ] Over the years, exceptions have been made to the guidelines in place at the time: Roberto Clemente was elected shortly after his death in 1972, Lou Gehrig was elected in 1939 immediately following his retirement, and Addie Joss was elected in 1978 although he completed only 9 seasons before his death.

Between 1971 and 1977, 9 players from the Negro Leagues were inducted by a special Negro Leagues Committee, which was given the task of identifying worthy players who played in the Negro Leagues prior to the breaking of baseball's color line. Since 1977, players from the Negro Leagues have been considered by the Veterans Committee, and 9 more individuals have been approved by that body. In 2005, the Hall announced the formation of a Committee on African-American Baseball, which held a 2006 election for eligible figures from the Negro Leagues and earlier 19th century teams; 17 additional Negro League figures were chosen in that election, including executive Effa Manley, the first woman inducted.

Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Follow the linked year on the left to see more information about that year's election.

Notes

:^* – "Pioneer" refers to individuals who made a significant off-the-field impact on the development of the sport. The first position listed is the position for which the Hall recognized the individual. Abbreviations refer to:

:† – Prior to the 2001 re-organization of the Veterans Committee, the percentage of the vote was not generally released for players selected by the Committee. In some years, voting was done by order of preference, with one or more candidates receiving greater weight than others with the same number of votes; also, the committee would sometimes move to make a selection unanimous once the necessary number of votes was attained for a particular candidate.:‡ – Percentage of the vote was not released for players approved by the Negro Leagues Committee (1971-77) or the Committee on African American Baseball (2006).

References

External links

* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/enterworkflow.do?flowId=playerDetails.playerDetails Baseball Hall of Fame biographies]

ee also

*List of members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (alphabetical)