1956 Hall of Fame Election

In the 1956 Hall of Fame Election, 145 of 193 votes were needed for election. Two players cleared that threshold - Hank Greenberg and Joe Cronin. The third-place finisher, Red Ruffing, did not come particularly close to gaining election this time, receiving 97 votes, but he would eventually earn his place in Cooperstown, as would the next six players on the ballot. Former catcher Curt Gowdy received 49 votes, but would not gain election, as his support was based more on his patriotism - he volunteered for service in both World Wars - than on his on-field numbers.

The induction ceremony was held on July 23, 1956 in Cooperstown, NY. Both inductees, who were still active in baseball as executives, were present to receive the honor in person.

Player	Votes	Result
Hank Greenberg	164	Elected
Joe Cronin	152	Elected
Red Ruffing	97
Edd Roush	91
Lefty Gomez	89
Hack Wilson	74
Max Carey	65
Tony Lazzeri	64
Kiki Cuyler	55
Hank Gowdy	49
Sam Rice	45
Chuck Klein	44
Jim Bottomley	42
Waite Hoyt	37
Red Faber	34
Joe Medwick	31
Eppa Rixey	27
Zack Wheat	26
Goose Goslin	26
Burleigh Grimes	25
Ross Youngs	19
Lloyd Waner	18
Jimmie Wilson	17
Muddy Ruel	16
Chick Hafey	16
Dave Bancroft	15
Travis Jackson	14
Jesse Haines	14
Earle Combs	14
Luke Appling	14
Heinie Manush	13
Paul Derringer	12
Cy Williams	11
Babe Herman	11
Arky Vaughan	9
Ernie Lombardi	8
Howard Ehmke	8
Wes Ferrell	7
Pepper Martin	7
Bucky Walters	5
Lefty O'Doul	5
Bobby Doerr	5
Joe Gordon	4
Doc Cramer	4
Frank McCormick	3
Earl Averill	3
Tommy Bridges	3
George Earnshaw	3
Freddy Lindstrom	3
Freddie Fitzsimmons	3
Red Rolfe	3
Johnny Vander Meer	3
Glenn Wright	3
Joe Sewell	3
Charlie Keller	2
Joe Judge	2
Guy Bush	2
Mort Cooper	2
Hughie Critz	2
Tommy Henrich	2
Ossie Bluege	2
George Kelly	2
Hal Schumacher	2
Riggs Stephenson	2
Jim Tobin	2
Lou Boudreau	2
Billy Herman	2
Lew Fonseca	2
Wally Schang	1
Bob Meusel	1
Dolf Luque	1
Joe Kuhel	1
Sam Jones	1
Indian Bob Johnson	1
Bill Sherdel	1
Bill Hallahan	1
Stan Hack	1
Mule Haas	1
Rick Ferrell	1
Joe Dugan	1
Tony Cuccinello	1
Frankie Crosetti	1
Earl Smith	1
Dolph Camilli	1
Marty Marion	1
Max Bishop	1
Spud Chandler	1
Al Lopez	1
Wally Berger	1
Ken Williams	1
Bill Wambsganss	1
Jim Turner	1
Everett Scott	1
Al Schacht	1
Phil Rizzuto	1
Jimmy Dykes	1
Johnny Mostil	1
Gus Suhr	1
Leo Durocher	1
Jack Quinn	1
Bill Dineen	1
Nick Altrock	1
Earl Whitehill	1
Burgess Whitehead	1
George Uhle	1
Allie Reynolds	1