For the first time in twenty-five years, the Baseball Writers Association of America did not elect any players for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Not since 1960 has there been a year in which no one was inducted. That scenario was avoided when the Veteran's Committee selected four people.
Veteran's Committee - On March 7th, 1996 the Veteran's Committee selected two players and two managers for induction into the Hall of Fame. The players are Pitchers Jim Bunning and Bill Foster. The managers are Earl Weaver and Ned Hanlon. The induction ceremony was held in Cooperstown, New York on August 4th, 1996.
1996 Ballotting - As announced January 8, 1996 by the Baseball Writers Association of America. A total of 470 ballots were cast. Seventy-five percent (353 votes) was needed for election. Five percent (24 votes) was needed for an individual to remain on the ballot.
Players marked with an asterisk (*) have appeared on the ballot for fifteen years without being elected, and will thus be ineligble for future ballots (they can still be selected by the Veteran's Committee).
Players marked with a cross (+) appeared on the ballot for the first time in 1996.
Player Votes Pct. Phil Niekro 321 68.3 Tony Perez 309 65.7 Don Sutton 300 63.8 Steve Garvey 175 37.2 Ron Santo 174 37.0 Tony Oliva 170 36.2 * Jim Rice 166 35.3 Bruce Sutter 137 29.1 Tommy John 102 21.7 Jim Kaat 91 19.4 Dick Allen 89 18.9 Curt Flood 71 15.1 * Luis Tiant 64 13.6 Dave Concepcion 63 13.4 Minnie Minoso 62 13.2 Vada Pinson 51 10.9 * Joe Torre 50 10.6 Ron Guidry 37 7.9 Graig Nettles 37 7.9 Bob Boone 36 7.7 + Mickey Lolich 33 7.0 Fred Lynn 26 5.5 + Bobby Bonds 24 5.1 Keith Hernandez 24 5.1 + Rusty Staub 24 5.1 --------------------------------- Player Votes Pct. Dan Quisenberry 18 3.8 + Frank White 18 3.8 + Bill Buckner 10 2.1 + Jerry Reuss 2 0.4 + John Tudor 2 0.4 + Chet Lemon 1 0.2 + Bob Knepper 0 0.0 + Jeffrey Leonard 0 0.0 + Johnny Ray 0 0.0 + Claudell Washington 0 0.0 +