1953 Hall of Fame Election

Results of the 1953 Hall of Fame Election were announced on January 21, 1953. While Dizzy Dean and Al Simmons gained election through the BBWAA ballot, the most remarkable fact about this election was Joe DiMaggio finishing eighth in the first year in which he received votes. This was not due to anyone thinking that Joltin' Joe was unqualified for enshrinement, but rather about the lack of clarity regarding his eligibility. There was no printed ballot that voters had to fill, but only write-in votes being submitted. Since DiMaggio had only retired two years earlier, he should not have been eligible, but a large number of writers still went ahead and wrote in his name, while others were dutifully waiting for the five-year waiting period to have expired. The lack of a formal ballot also explains the large number of candidates receiving one or two votes.

There was still a large backlog of worthy candidates being considered by the BBWAA at the time, and the first ten finishers after Simmons would all be elected in due course, with the next one, Casey Stengel, later gaining election as a manager.

198 of 264 votes needed for election.

Player	Votes	Result
Dizzy Dean	209	Elected
Al Simmons	199	Elected
Bill Terry	191
Bill Dickey	179
Rabbit Maranville	164
Dazzy Vance	150
Ted Lyons	139
Joe DiMaggio	117
Gabby Hartnett	104
Charles Bender	104
Hank Greenberg	80
Joe Cronin	69
Casey Stengel	61
Hank Gowdy	58
Max Carey	55
Ray Schalk	52
Hack Wilson	43
Pepper Martin	43
Lefty Gomez	35
Edd Roush	32
Zack Wheat	32
Ross Youngs	31
Tony Lazzeri	28
Red Ruffing	24
Bucky Harris	21
Duffy Lewis	20
Rube Marquard	19
Kiki Cuyler	18
Babe Adams	17
Waite Hoyt	14
Dickie Kerr	13
Steve O'Neill	13
Lefty O'Doul	11
Bucky Walters	10
Tommy Henrich	10
Dave Bancroft	10
Jim Bottomley	10
Jimmie Wilson	10
Wilbur Cooper	9
Charlie Grimm	9
Burleigh Grimes	9
Red Faber	9
Mel Harder	8
Muddy Ruel	8
Red Rolfe	5
Jimmy Dykes	5
Everett Scott	5
Jesse Haines	4
Cy Williams	4
Art Nehf	4
Sam Rice	3
Earle Combs	3
Eppa Rixey	3
Glenn Wright	3
Howard Ehmke	3
Bobby Doerr	2
Luke Appling	2
Roger Peckinpaugh	2
Babe Herman	2
Travis Jackson	2
Al Lopez	2
Billy Southworth	2
Chick Hafey	2
Nick Altrock	1
Bill Wambsganss	1
Arky Vaughan	1
Gabby Street	1
Donie Bush	1
Bill Sherdel	1
George Selkirk	1
Germany Schaefer	1
Eddie Rommel	1
Dolf Luque	1
Hub Pruett	1
Charley O'Leary	1
Terry Moore	1
Clyde Milan	1
Joe McCarthy	1
Bill Lange	1
Mike Gonzalez	1
Johnny Kling	1
Charlie Keller	1
Dave Robertson	1