On January 29, 1936, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and a special Veterans Committee selected Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson in the first-ever Baseball Hall of Fame elections. The enshrinement of these five greats, however, would have to wait until 1939, since the museum’s construction in Cooperstown had not yet begun.
1936 inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame inductees: L-R: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Water Johnson (Wikimedia Commons / public domain)
