Four MVPs Enter the Hall of Fame on the Same Day

On January 21, 1947, the BBWAA elected four former Most Valuable Players to the Hall of Fame in a single vote: Carl Hubbell, Frank Frisch, Lefty Grove, and Mickey Cochrane. It was the largest class the writers had selected since the original five in 1936, and the first time since 1942 that anyone had cleared the 75 percent threshold.

Hubbell led the group with 87 percent of the vote. The screwball specialist won 253 games for the New York Giants and delivered one of the most famous pitching performances in All-Star history when he struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin in succession at the 1934 Midsummer Classic.

Frisch earned 84.5 percent. The "Fordham Flash" batted .316 over 19 seasons with the Giants and Cardinals, appeared in eight World Series, and managed the Cardinals' Gas House Gang to a championship in 1934.

Cochrane received 79.5 percent. He retired with the highest career batting average of any catcher at the time (.320) and guided the Tigers to back-to-back pennants in 1934 and 1935 as player-manager. A beaning in 1937 ended his playing career.

Grove cleared the bar with 76.4 percent. The fiery left-hander won 300 games and led the American League in ERA nine times. His 31-4 record with the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics remains one of the finest single seasons any pitcher has produced.

The election reflected a new voting rule that year, limiting candidates to players who had appeared after 1921.