1955 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting


Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1955 followed a system established for odd-number years in 1953.
The eligibility of retired players was extended; previously, a player could not be on the BBWAA ballot if he had retired more than 25 years prior. The ballot could now include those who had been retired for up to 30 years.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America voted by mail to select from recent major league players and elected four: Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons, and Dazzy Vance. The Veterans Committee met in closed sessions to consider executives, managers, umpires, and earlier players. It selected two players, Frank Baker and Ray Schalk. A formal induction ceremony was held in Cooperstown, New York, on July 25, 1955, with Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick presiding.

BBWAA election

The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1925 or later, but not after 1949. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.
Any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. Votes were cast for 65 players; a total of 251 ballots were cast, with 189 votes required for election. A total of 2,391 individual votes were cast, an average of 9.53 per ballot. For the third time, the election produced at least four inductees, a feat that would not be repeated for another 60 years, in.
The four candidates who received 75% of the vote and were elected are indicated in bold italics; candidates who have since been elected in subsequent elections are indicated in italics.
PlayerVotesPercentChange
Joe DiMaggio22388.8 19.4%
Ted Lyons21786.5 19.0%
Dazzy Vance20581.7 19.0%
Gabby Hartnett19577.7 17.8%
Hank Greenberg15762.5 24.0%
Joe Cronin13553.8 20.1%
Max Carey11947.4 25.6%
Ray Schalk11345.0 23.6%
Edd Roush9738.6 18.0%
Hank Gowdy9035.9 15.7%
Hack Wilson8132.3 13.3%
Lefty Gomez7128.3 13.2%
Tony Lazzeri6626.3 14.4%
Red Ruffing6023.9 12.4%
Zack Wheat5120.3 7.2%
Ross Youngs4819.1 5.6%
Kiki Cuyler3513.9 6.0%
Rube Marquard3513.9 7.9%
Duffy Lewis3413.5 5.6%
Waite Hoyt3313.1 7.5%
Sam Rice2811.2 7.6%
Red Faber2710.8 6.0%
Jim Bottomley2610.4 4.1%
Dickey Kerr2510.0 4.8%
Chuck Klein2510.0 5.6%
Babe Adams249.6 4.4%
Dave Bancroft197.6 3.6%
Jimmie Wilson135.2 2.0%
Wilbur Cooper114.4 1.6%
Muddy Ruel114.4 2.4%
Jesse Haines104.0 1.6%
Howard Ehmke83.2 1.6%
Eppa Rixey83.2 1.2%
Everett Scott83.2 1.6%
Goose Goslin72.8 2.4%
Art Nehf72.8
Clyde Milan62.4 1.2%
Heinie Groh52.0 1.6%
Babe Herman52.0 1.6%
Travis Jackson52.0 1.6%
Bill Wambsganss52.0 0.4%
Chick Hafey41.6 0.8%
Arky Vaughan41.6 0.8%
Glenn Wright41.6 1.2%
Luke Appling31.2-
Burleigh Grimes31.2-
Cy Williams31.2 0.4%
Earl Averill20.8-
George Earnshaw20.8-
Joe Judge20.8-
Bob Meusel20.8-
Johnny Allen10.4-
Charlie Berry10.4-
Max Bishop10.4-
Earle Combs10.4-
Jake Daubert10.4-
Paul Derringer10.4-
Jimmy Dykes10.4-
Joe Gordon10.4-
Mule Haas10.4-
Sam Jones10.4-
Roger Peckinpaugh10.4
Hal Schumacher10.4-
Joe Sewell10.4
Bill Sherdel10.4-

Elected to the Hall. These individuals are also indicated in bold italics.
Players who were elected in future elections. These individuals are also indicated in plain italics.

Voting patterns