This Day in History:
US Baseball Hall of
Fame Elects First Members January 29, 1936 Based in Cooperstown, NY, the
Baseball Hall of Fame was
established to jumpstart the area’s
Depression-ravaged economy. The Baseball Writers’ Association
of America chose the five greatest
superstars of the game as the
first class to be inducted. The first members
were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson. Today, the Cooperstown
Baseball Hall of Fame has
approximately 350,000
visitors per year.