1937 Hall of Fame Election

Three players were selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America in the 1937 Hall of Fame Election - Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young. All three were overwhelmingly qualified for the honor.

This came at a time when the Hall of Fame was still in formation, and there were plenty of worthy candidates for induction to be considered. In fact, the next 17 candidates to obtain votes on this ballot would all make it to Cooperstown eventually, many of them in relatively short order. The first non-Hall of Famer to receive votes was Johnny Kling, and a large number of those who finished behind him would make it as well in the future. There was no formal ballot, which explains why so many players received one or two votes simply for being on writers' minds.

In addition to the BBWAA voting, the Centennial Commission, formed in anticipation of the celebration of baseball's purported 100th anniversary in 1939, selected five pioneers from the early days of the game for induction. They were Morgan Bulkeley, Ban Johnson, Connie Mack, John McGraw, and George Wright. While the last four were truly giant figures who helped to shape the game of baseball, Bulkeley was only a transitory figure who served in a largely ceremonial role as President of the National League in its inaugural season and who went on to greater fame as a politician.

Voting results

151 of 201 votes needed for election

Player	Votes	Result
Nap Lajoie	168	Elected
Tris Speaker	165	Elected
Cy Young	153	Elected
Pete Alexander	125
Willie Keeler	115
Eddie Collins	115
George Sisler	106
Ed Delahanty	70
Rube Waddell	67
Jimmy Collins	66
Ed Walsh	56
Rogers Hornsby	53
Frank Chance	49
Johnny Evers	44
Roger Bresnahan	43
John McGraw	35
Mordecai Brown	31
Rabbit Maranville	25
Ray Schalk	24
Eddie Plank	23
Fred Clarke	22
Johnny Kling	20
Hal Chase	18
Charles Bender	17
Ross Youngs	16
Lou Criger	16
Joe Tinker	15
Herb Pennock	15
Joe Wood	13
Frank Baker	13
Rube Marquard	13
Joe McGinnity	12
Addie Joss	11
Nap Rucker	11
Harry Heilmann	10
Edd Roush	10
Dazzy Vance	10
Babe Adams	8
Hugh Duffy	7
Harry Hooper	6
Mike Donlin	6
Jimmy Archer	6
Max Carey	6
Sam Crawford	5
Fred Tenney	5
Bill Carrigan	5
Miller Huggins	5
Wilbert Robinson	5
Zack Wheat	5
Bill Bradley	5
Hughie Jennings	4
Earle Combs	4
Clark Griffith	4
Red Faber	3
Dave Bancroft	3
Art Nehf	3
Bill Donovan	3
Roger Peckinpaugh	3
George J. Burns	3
Duffy Lewis	3
Nick Altrock	3
Art Fletcher	2
Ossee Schreckengost	2
Jake Daubert	2
Everett Scott	2
Larry Doyle	2
Gavvy Cravath	2
Jack Coombs	2
Marty Bergen	2
Hank Gowdy	2
Hans Lobert	2
Sherry Magee	2
Ping Bodie	2
Bobby Veach	1
Ted Breitenstein	1
Hack Wilson	1
Jesse Burkett	1
Billy Sullivan	1
Joe Sewell	1
Donie Bush	1
Bobby Wallace	1
Harry Steinfeldt	1
Gabby Street	1
Bill Cissell	1
Jack Chesbro	1
Amos Rusie	1
Dickie Kerr	1
Danny Murphy	1
Pat Moran	1
Hack Miller	1
Bob Meusel	1
Larry McLean	1
Stuffy McInnis	1
Dode Paskert	1
Bugs Raymond	1
Dolf Luque	1
Herman Long	1
Sam Leever	1
Joe Dugan	1
Eppa Rixey	1
Shano Collins	1
Dick Rudolph	1
Bill Hinchman	1
Heinie Groh	1
Burleigh Grimes	1
Kid Gleason	1
Cy Falkenberg	1
Red Murray	1
Kid Elberfeld	1
Joe Judge	1
Red Dooin	1
Frank Schulte	1
Tommy Leach	1