1967 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

rdf:langString 1967 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

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rdf:langString October 2016

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rdf:langString Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1967 included a special election, as the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) held its first balloting in an odd-number year since 1955. The special election was held due to some ineligible players having received votes in the prior year's balloting, and the BBWAA wanting "to give those eligible every opportunity" to be selected. In this year's voting, the BBWAA did not elect anyone on the first ballot. In a second (runoff) election, Red Ruffing received the most votes, resulting in his election to the Hall of Fame. Had this year's special election not been held, Ruffing would have been ineligible for selection by the writers in 1968, as he last played in 1947 and would have exceeded the 20-year eligibility limit. BBWAA rules were subsequently updated to return to annual voting, while eliminating runoff ballots. The Veterans Committee met in closed sessions to consider executives, managers, umpires, and earlier major league players. It selected two people, Branch Rickey and Lloyd Waner. A formal induction ceremony was held in Cooperstown, New York, on July 24, 1967, with Commissioner of Baseball William Eckert presiding.