Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1945 included the first regular election conducted in three years and a strong response to criticism of the slow pace of honors. The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from recent players, and elected no one. The Old Timers Committee responded by electing the biggest class yet, ten people. The selections by the Committee, announced in April 1945, were: Roger Bresnahan, Dan Brouthers, Fred Clarke, Jimmy Collins, Ed Delahanty, Hugh Duffy, Hughie Jennings, King Kelly, Jim O'Rourke, and Wilbert Robinson.
After the baseball centennial and grand opening of the Hall of Fame in 1939, the BBWAA had determined to vote only every third year. After electing three players that year, it elected one in 1942 and none in 1945. New rules now provided that the writers would return to voting on recent players annually.
1944 background In response to increasing complaints that the stars of the 19th century were being ignored, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis had in August 1944 enlarged the Hall of Fame Committee from four members to seven. He had instructed them to elect a minimum of 10 players from the 1876–1900 period when they met as the Old-Timers Committee in early 1945—a goal the committee members believed would be relatively easy to meet, as some among them stated that the number of qualified candidates was likely over two dozen. After Landis' death in November 1944, the committee met briefly and elected Landis to the Hall of Fame. They also suggested that if the January 1945 election by the BBWAA failed to select any players whose careers extended into the initial years of the 20th century, some would be selected by the committee when they met in February.
BBWAA election Members of the BBWAA again had the authority to select any players active in the 20th century (after 1900), provided they had not appeared in a major league game in 1944. Voters were instructed to cast votes for 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall.
A total of 247 ballots were cast, with 2,362 individual votes for 95 specific candidates, an average of 9.56 per ballot; 186 votes were required for election. The results were announced on January 28, 1945. The emphasis on the players of the 1900s and 1910s, who many voters felt should be given priority, again continued to increase beyond the levels seen in 1939 and 1942. Only five of the top 22 candidates in the voting, and none of the top six, had seen any substantial play since 1917; only three of the top 36, and none of the top 22, had played their final season anytime between 1918 and 1933. Eight of the top 13 candidates were deceased. Players who had been retired over 27 years – 48 of the 94 named – received 72% of the votes.
For the first time in the three BBWAA elections, no candidate received at least 75% of the vote. Particularly since the next election was not scheduled to be held until 1948, that a new generation of players was quickly becoming eligible, and that increasingly fractured voting patterns would make selections more improbable, criticism became widespread that the election system needed to be reviewed and quickly revised; it was suggested that the Old-Timers Committee might select some of the earliest popular candidates to help clear the top of the ballot. At its September 1945 meeting, the Hall of Fame Committee ordered that the three-year wait between elections be abolished, and that annual elections resume under a revised format.
Candidates who have since been selected in subsequent elections are indicated in italics; players chosen by the Old-Timers Committee in 1945 are marked with an asterisk (*).
Player Votes Percent Change Frank Chance 179 72.5 14.1% Rube Waddell 154 62.3 3.9% Ed Walsh 137 55.5 7.0% Johnny Evers 134 54.3 15.2% Roger Bresnahan* 133 53.8 29.3% Miller Huggins 133 53.8 6.2% Mickey Cochrane 125 50.6 12.8% Jimmy Collins* 121 49.0 19.8% Ed Delahanty* 111 44.9 0.3% Clark Griffith 108 43.7 13.2% Frankie Frisch 101 40.9 4.8% Hughie Jennings* 92 37.2 9.7% Wilbert Robinson 81 32.8 5.4% Pie Traynor 81 32.8 13.5% Hugh Duffy* 64 25.9 7.1% Fred Clarke* 53 21.5 3.4% Rabbit Maranville 51 20.6 7.7% Joe Tinker 49 19.8 4.3% Mordecai Brown 46 18.6 8.4% Herb Pennock 45 18.2 12.7% Joe McGinnity 44 17.8 7.5% Chief Bender 40 16.2 7.4% Eddie Plank 33 13.4 13.6% Ray Schalk 33 13.4 9.3% Bill Terry 32 13.0 2.5% Lefty Grove 28 11.3 - Frank Baker 26 10.5 6.2% Carl Hubbell 24 9.7 - Addie Joss 23 9.3 4.9% Ross Youngs 22 8.9 10.0% Dazzy Vance 18 7.3 8.6% Dizzy Dean 17 6.9 - Bill Dickey 17 6.9 - Johnny Kling 12 4.9 1.5% Charlie Gehringer 10 4.0 - Nap Rucker 10 4.0 2.4% Babe Adams 7 2.8 1.9% Lefty Gomez 7 2.8 - Harry Heilmann 5 2.0 0.3% Kid Nichols 5 2.0 0.1% Edd Roush 5 2.0 1.6% Sam Crawford 4 1.6 0.7% Ted Lyons 4 1.6 - Bill Carrigan 3 1.2 - Wild Bill Donovan 3 1.2 - Hank Gowdy 3 1.2 2.2% Hank Greenberg 3 1.2 - Bobby Wallace 3 1.2 0.3% Jesse Burkett 2 0.8 0.9% Kid Elberfeld 2 0.8 0.4% Eddie Grant 2 0.8 0.5% Gabby Hartnett 2 0.8 - Bobby Lowe 2 0.8 0.4%Bill McKechnie 2 0.8 - Deacon Phillippe 2 0.8 0.4%Branch Rickey 2 0.8 -Casey Stengel 2 0.8 - Zack Wheat 2 0.8 0.5% Ginger Beaumont 1 0.4 Donie Bush 1 0.4 0.5% Howie Camnitz 1 0.4 - Max Carey 1 0.4 - Earle Combs 1 0.4 - Wid Conroy 1 0.4 - Harry Davis 1 0.4 - Joe DiMaggio 1 0.4 - Bill Dinneen 1 0.4 Mike Donlin 1 0.4 - Jack Dunn 1 0.4 Kid Gleason 1 0.4 - Joe Gordon 1 0.4 - Charlie Grimm 1 0.4 - Heinie Groh 1 0.4 - Dickey Kerr 1 0.4 Tony Lazzeri 1 0.4 - Duffy Lewis 1 0.4 - Herman Long 1 0.4 - Sherry Magee 1 0.4 Pepper Martin 1 0.4 0.5% Bob Meusel 1 0.4 - Pat Moran 1 0.4 - Van Mungo 1 0.4 - Danny Murphy 1 0.4 - Claude Ritchey 1 0.4 - Eppa Rixey 1 0.4 - Charlie Root 1 0.4 - Amos Rusie 1 0.4 Cy Seymour 1 0.4 - Jimmy Sheckard 1 0.4 -Billy Southworth 1 0.4 - Bill Sweeney 1 0.4 - Jesse Tannehill 1 0.4 - Johnny Vander Meer 1 0.4 - Cy Williams 1 0.4 - Steve Yerkes 1 0.4 -
+ Key to colors Players who were elected in future elections. These individuals are also indicated in plain italics.
Old-Timers Committee In response to the failure of the BBWAA to select any inductees, the Old-Timers Committee was encouraged to assist the BBWAA in clearing the congestion at the top of its ballot by including, among their 10 requested selections from the period 1876–1900, some players whose careers extended into the early 20th century – in particular, the three players gaining over 100 votes in the BBWAA election whose careers had peaked before 1905.
The committee members were: Hall of Fame president Stephen C. Clark, who chaired the committee; Hall of Fame treasurer Paul S. Kerr, the committee secretary; Yankees president Ed Barrow; Athletics owner/manager Connie Mack; New York sportswriter Sid Mercer; Braves president Bob Quinn; and Boston sportswriter Mel Webb. The committee had initially planned to meet in February; but the long search for a successor to Landis, along with the retirements of Barrow and Quinn as club presidents, delayed the meeting until April 25, one day after Albert "Happy" Chandler was elected as the new commissioner. On that day, in the offices of the New York Yankees, six members of the committee met to make their selections; Sid Mercer could not attend due to a long illness which took his life 8 weeks later.
Selections The committee, as requested, selected 10 inductees, the first three by unanimous vote:
Fred Clarke, a left fielder, primarily with the Pittsburgh Pirates, from 1894 to 1911; he compiled a .312 career batting average, and also led the team to four pennants in 16 seasons as manager, as well as the 1909 World Series title. He retired in 1915 with a major league record 1602 career wins as a manager. Jimmy Collins, widely regarded as the greatest third baseman in the major leagues' first 70 years; he batted over .300 five times, finishing with a .294 average, and also managed the Boston Americans to a victory in the first World Series in 1903. Wilbert Robinson, a catcher for 17 seasons; he caught a record 1108 games before 1900. He later served as the New York Giants' pitching coach for 11 years, then managed Brooklyn for 18 seasons, winning two pennants; upon his retirement, his win total as a manager trailed those of only John McGraw and Clarke in National League history. Roger Bresnahan, often regarded as the game's best catcher of the 1900s, and described by both McGraw and Branch Rickey as the greatest catcher they had ever seen; in 1907 he became the first major league catcher to wear shinguards, and was a capable player at every position. He was fast enough to bat leadoff, and remains the only catcher to steal over 200 bases in his career. He managed the Cardinals and Cubs for a total of five seasons, and was later a coach with the Giants and Tigers. Dan Brouthers, a star first baseman from 1879 to 1896 who won five batting titles (a 19th-century record) and retired with a .342 career average; the game's greatest power hitter of the 1880s, he was the only 19th century player to have a career slugging percentage over .500. He later became a scout for the Giants. Ed Delahanty, a left fielder from 1888 to 1903, and the sport's greatest slugger of the 1890s, batting over .400 three times; he won batting titles in both leagues and had a .346 career average. He hit four home runs in one game in 1896, and had a 31-game hitting streak in 1899. He died at age 35 in 1903 when he fell from a bridge into the Niagara River after being put off a train. Hugh Duffy, a center fielder from 1888 to 1905 who starred primarily with the Boston Beaneaters; his .438 batting average in 1894 remains the major league record for a single season, and he retired with a career average of .324. Perhaps the best defensive outfielder of the era, as well as the first recognized triple crown winner, he later became a hitting coach for the Red Sox for a number of years, tutoring the young Ted Williams. Hughie Jennings, the fiery shortstop and team captain of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1890s; he batted .401 in 1896 and retired with a .311 average. He later managed the Tigers from 1907 to 1920, winning pennants in his first three years; he left the Tigers trailing only Connie Mack and Clark Griffith in career wins among AL managers. Afterward, he was a coach for the Giants on four consecutive pennant winners. Mike "King" Kelly, who starred as an outfielder and catcher with several teams from 1878 to 1893, and was an extraordinary baserunner; he led the Chicago White Stockings to 5 pennants in the 1880s, and retired with a .308 batting average. He was always aware of the loopholes in the official rules, and some prominent figures in the game estimated that half of all the rules in baseball had been created in response to his exploiting their oversights. Along with manager-teammate Cap Anson, he is often credited with devising the hit-and-run and the double steal. Jim O'Rourke, an outfielder from 1872 to 1893, and one of the game's earliest stars, played for six pennant winners in the 1870s. Along with Cap Anson, he was one of two players to collect over 2000 hits in the major leagues before 1893; he later played in the minor leagues until he was past 50.