Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1951 followed the same rules as 1950. The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted once by mail to select from major league players retired less than 25 years. It elected two, Jimmie Foxx and Mel Ott.^[1] Meanwhile, the Old-Timers Committee, with jurisdiction over earlier players and other figures, did not meet. A formal induction ceremony was held in Cooperstown, New York, on July 23, 1951, with National League president Ford Frick in attendance.^[2]

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1951 inductees Jimmie Foxx (left) and Mel Ott

The 10-year members of the BBWAA had the authority to select any players active in 1926 or later, provided they had not been active in 1950. Voters were instructed to cast votes for 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall.

A total of 226 ballots were cast, with 2,167 individual votes for 86 specific candidates, an average of 9.59 per ballot; 170 votes were required for election. The two candidates who received at least 75% of the vote and were elected are indicated in bold italics.

The voters' focus this year was on sluggers. Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx both had over 500 home runs on their resumes. Rounding out the top five were batting average champions Paul Waner, Harry Heilmann, and Bill Terry. Popular hurler Dizzy Dean was sixth.

More information Player, Votes ...

Player Votes Percent Change Mel Ott 197 87.2 0 18.7% Jimmie Foxx 179 79.2 0 17.9% Paul Waner 162 71.7 0 15.2% Harry Heilmann 153 67.7 0 15.9% Bill Terry 148 65.5 0 3.0% Dizzy Dean 145 64.2 0 13.6% Bill Dickey 118 52.2 0 5.8% Al Simmons 116 51.3 0 2.3% Rabbit Maranville 110 48.7 0 9.4% Ted Lyons 71 31.4 0 6.4% Dazzy Vance 70 31.0 Hank Greenberg 67 29.6 0 8.5% Gabby Hartnett 57 25.2 0 6.9% Joe Cronin 44 19.5 0 0.1% Ray Schalk 37 16.4 0 6.9% Chief Bender 35 15.5 0 11.9% Ross Youngs 34 15.0 0 4.9% Max Carey 27 11.9 0 3.6% Tony Lazzeri 27 11.9 0 3.6% Hank Gowdy 26 11.5 - Lefty Gomez 23 10.2 0 0.5% Edd Roush 21 9.3 0 0.2% Hack Wilson 21 9.3 0 0.2% Pepper Martin 19 8.4 0 4.2% Zack Wheat 19 8.4 0 1.7% Chuck Klein 15 6.6 0 1.7% Waite Hoyt 13 5.8 0 0.7% Lefty O'Doul 13 5.8 0 0.4% Babe Adams 12 5.3 0 1.7% Dave Bancroft 9 4.0 0 1.4% Charlie Grimm 9 4.0 0 3.7% Bucky Harris 9 4.0 0 1.6% Red Ruffing 9 4.0 0 3.1% Frank Baker 8 3.5 0 1.1% Kiki Cuyler 8 3.5 0 3.0% Red Faber 8 3.5 0 1.9% Bill McKechnie 8 3.5 0 2.9% Casey Stengel 8 3.5 0 1.7% Cy Williams 7 3.1 0 2.3% Jim Bottomley 6 2.7 0 2.1% Red Rolfe 6 2.7 0 1.5% Burleigh Grimes 5 2.2 0 1.4% Eppa Rixey 5 2.2 0 1.4% Smoky Joe Wood 5 2.2 0 1.6% Art Fletcher 4 1.8 0 1.2% Travis Jackson 4 1.8 0 1.8% Art Nehf 4 1.8 0 0.6% Al Schacht 4 1.8 - Billy Southworth 4 1.8 0 1.2% Jimmy Dykes 3 1.3 0 0.1% Stan Hack 3 1.3 0 3.5% Harry Hooper 3 1.3 0 0.1% Dickey Kerr 3 1.3 - Ernie Lombardi 3 1.3 0 0.5% Rube Marquard 3 1.3 - Stuffy McInnis 3 1.3 0 0.7% Steve O'Neill 3 1.3 0 0.7% Duffy Lewis 2 0.9 - Sherry Magee 2 0.9 0 0.3% Everett Scott 2 0.9 0 0.9% George Selkirk 2 0.9 0 0.3% Jimmie Wilson 2 0.9 0 1.5% Dick Bartell 1 0.4 - Spud Chandler 1 0.4 0 0.8% Jack Coombs 1 0.4 - Wilbur Cooper 1 0.4 - Jake Daubert 1 0.4 - Paul Derringer 1 0.4 0 0.2% Howard Ehmke 1 0.4 - Charlie Gelbert 1 0.4 0 0.2% Chick Hafey 1 0.4 0 2.0% Mel Harder 1 0.4 0 0.8% Babe Herman 1 0.4 0 0.8% Pinky Higgins 1 0.4 0 0.8% Tim Jordan 1 0.4 - Joe McCarthy 1 0.4 - Clyde Milan 1 0.4 0 0.2% Satchel Paige 1 0.4 - Hub Pruett 1 0.4 0 0.2% Sam Rice 1 0.4 0 0.2% Eddie Rommel 1 0.4 0 0.2% Dick Rudolph 1 0.4 - Muddy Ruel 1 0.4 0 2.0% Bill Sherdel 1 0.4 0 0.2% Lloyd Waner 1 0.4 0 0.2% Glenn Wright 1 0.4 0 0.8%

Key to colors      Elected to the Hall. These individuals are also indicated in bold italics.      Players who were elected in future elections. These individuals are also indicated in plain italics.

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• James, Bill (1994). The Politics of Glory: How Baseball's Hall of Fame Really Works. Macmillan. ISBN 0025107747. Note: reissued in paperback as Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?