The first of the first balloters

After the inaugural class is elected in 1936 – hey, everybody is a first-ballot Hall of Famer at that point – the Hall of Fame goes more than 25 years without another first-ballot honoree.

Quite the quarter-century, too, of skipping over former stars trying to join the Class of ’36 – Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson – by getting elected on the first try.

Talking here about players like Tris Speaker, Cy Young, Lefty Grove, Hank Greenberg and Joe DiMaggio.

Yeah, that’s right. Joe DiMaggio. The Freaking Yankee Clipper.

Jackie Robinson and Bob Feller in 1962

Like the others, Joe D. waits his turn. In his case, DiMaggio needs three years on the ballot after his retirement in 1951 before getting the requisite 75 percent of the vote for enshrinement.

Then along come longtime Cleveland pitcher Bob Feller and Brooklyn’s iconic Jackie Robinson, who 62 years ago today become first-ballot inductees.

Feller receives votes on 150 of the 160 cast ballots – 93.8 percent – while Robinson earns 77.5 percent with votes on 124 of those 160 ballots.

Gradually, the number of first-ballot Hall of Famers grows with Ted Williams (Class of 1966) and Stan Musial (1969) closing out the 1960s before Sandy Koufax (1972) and Mickey Mantle (1974) open the ’70s.

The number of first-ballot honorees now is 58 and could grow later today, when the Hall announces its Class of 2024.

The best bet to become No. 59 is longtime third baseman Adrian Beltre, who in 2018 finishes his 21-year career with 3,166 hits, 477 home runs and five Gold Gloves.

Sporting News photo