Elections to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

for 1976 followed the system in place since 1971. The

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines, and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908 and is known fo ...

(BBWAA) voted by mail to select from recent major league players and elected two,

Bob Lemon Robert Granville Lemon (September 22, 1920 – January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. Lemon was raised in California, ...

and Robin Roberts. The

Veterans Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...

met in closed sessions to consider executives, managers, umpires, and earlier major league players. It selected three players:

Roger Connor Roger Connor (July 1, 1857 – January 4, 1931) was an American 19th-century Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played for several teams, but his longest tenure was in New York, where he was responsible for the New York Gothams becoming kno ...

Cal Hubbard Robert Calvin Hubbard (October 31, 1900 – October 17, 1977) was an American professional football player and Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire. After playing college football at Centenary College and Geneva College, Hubbard played in the Na ...

, and

Freddie Lindstrom Frederick Charles Lindstrom (November 21, 1905 – October 4, 1981) was an American professional baseball third baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, C ...

. The Negro Leagues Committee also met in person and selected

Oscar Charleston Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 – October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder, first baseman and manager in Negro league baseball and the Cuban League. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more th ...

. A formal induction ceremony was held in

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in ...

, on August 9, 1976, with

Commissioner of Baseball The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as " organized baseball". Under the direction of the commiss ...

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for M ...

presiding.

BBWAA election

The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1956 or later, but not after 1970; the ballot included candidates from the 1975 ballot who received at least 5% of the vote but were not elected, along with selected players, chosen by a screening committee, whose last appearance was in 1970. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote. Voters were instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. The ballot consisted of 32 players; a total of 388 ballots were cast, with 291 votes required for election. A total of 2,937 individual votes were cast, an average of 7.57 per ballot. Candidates who were eligible for the first time are indicated here with a dagger (†). The two candidates who received at least 75% of the vote and was elected is indicated in ''bold italics''; candidates who have since been elected in subsequent elections are indicated in ''italics''.

Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto ( ; September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "the Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to ...

was on the ballot for the final time. The newly-eligible players included 9 All-Stars, 7 of whom were not included on the ballot, representing a total of 28 All-Star selections. Among the new candidates were 8-time All-Star Del Crandall and 6-time All-Star John Roseboro. The field included one Rookie of the Year (Bob Allison). Players eligible for the first time who were ''not'' included on the ballot were:

Jerry Adair Kenneth Jerry Adair (December 17, 1936 – May 31, 1987) was an American professional baseball second baseman and shortstop with the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) betwee ...

Hank Aguirre Henry John Aguirre (January 31, 1931 – September 5, 1994), commonly known as Hank Aguirre, was an American professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from 1955 to 1 ...

Bob Allison William Robert Allison (July 11, 1934 – April 9, 1995) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), with the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins. Allison attended the University of ...

Gerry Arrigo Gerald William Arrigo (born June 12, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 194 games in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox between and . A ...

Don Cardwell Donald Eugene Cardwell (December 7, 1935 – January 14, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed pitcher who played for five National League (NL) teams from 1957 to 1970. He was the first pitcher in major league history to ...

Jim Davenport James Houston Davenport (August17, 1933February18, 2016) was an American professional baseball infielder and coach who played his entire career with the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball (MLB). He also managed the Giants for one se ...

Tito Francona John Patsy Francona (November 4, 1933 – February 13, 2018) was a Major League Baseball player, an outfielder and first baseman for 9 different teams. As a child, he was nicknamed "Tito" by his father. His son, Terry Francona, is also often refe ...

, Gary Geiger, Bob Johnson, Ken Johnson,

Lou Klimchock Louis Stephen Klimchock (born October 15, 1939) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves, Washington Senators, New York Me ...

Ron Kline Ronald Lee Kline (March 9, 1932 – June 22, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher over parts of seventeen seasons (1952, 1955–1970) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. L ...

Al McBean Alvin O'Neal McBean (May 15, 1938 – January 31, 2024) was a professional baseball player from the United States Virgin Islands. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher, most notably for the Pittsburgh Pirates with whom he played the ma ...

Pedro Ramos Pedro ("Pete") Ramos Guerra (born April 28, 1935) is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and the expansio ...

Rich Rollins Richard John Rollins (April 16, 1938 – May 13, 2025) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (1961–68), Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1970), and Clev ...

John Roseboro John Junior Roseboro (May 13, 1933 – August 16, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A four ...

Tom Satriano Thomas Victor Nicholas Satriano (born August 28, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. Although he began his professional career as a third baseman, he converted to catcher and played 321 games as a backstop during a ten-year, ...

Russ Snyder Russell Henry Snyder (born June 22, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Kansas City Athletics (1959–60), Baltimore Orioles (1961–67), Chicago White Sox (1968), ...

Lee Stange Albert Lee Stange (October 27, 1936 – September 21, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and coach. During his playing career, the right-handed pitcher appeared in 359 games pitched in Major League Baseball over all or parts of te ...

, Hawk Taylor,

Ray Washburn Ray Clark Washburn (born May 31, 1938) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1961 to 1969 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1970. Baseball career Washburn was b ...

and Earl Wilson.

J. G. Taylor Spink Award

Tom Meany Thomas William Meany (September 21, 1903 – September 11, 1964) was an American sports writer who mostly covered baseball in the New York City area. Biography Meany's love of sports began at St. John's Prep in Brooklyn, where he wrote for the s ...

(1903–1964) and

Shirley Povich Shirley Lewis Povich (July 15, 1905 – June 4, 1998) was an American sportswriter and columnist who spent his entire 1923–1988 career with ''The Washington Post''. Known for his sports coverage, Povich also served as a World War II war corresp ...

(1905–1998) received the

J. G. Taylor Spink Award The BBWAA Career Excellence Award, formerly the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). It is given "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and voted on annually b ...

honoring baseball writers. The awards were voted at the December 1975 meeting of the BBWAA, and included in the summer 1976 ceremonies.

References

External links

1976 Election
at www.baseballhalloffame.org {{Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball Hall of Fame balloting Hall of Fame balloting