For the fifth year, baseball card collectors will have a say about what cards stand above all others.
Voting for the Baseball Card Hall of Fame began May 9 and will run through 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 3. Results will be announced on June 6. There are 40 cards on this year’s online ballot—with 16 newcomers — and collectors can vote for up to 10 of them.
Ray Fonio, known as “RayFromPhilly” on YouTube, came up with the idea and handled the voting by video response the first three years. Beginning last year, Fonio created a ballot and formed a three-person committee with Victor Roman Sr. and another YouTuber, Mike “This Baseball Card Life” Steveline.
Committee members do not vote. It’s strictly for collectors.
So far, 41 cards have been “inducted” into the Hall. In 2020 there was a tie for 10th place, so both cards were enshrined. That rule will remain in effect this year. You can only vote once, so no ballot box stuffing like Cincinnati Reds fans did for the All-Star Game during the 1950s. That also prevents millions of votes for the 1966 Topps Don Mossi card, which is arguably iconic in its own right.
As one might expect, the first induction class included the big ones, including the T206 Honus Wagner, the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, the 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth, the 1968 Nolan Ryan rookie card and the 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck rookie card.
This year’s nominees were selected by the Hall of Fame committee and by collectors. New cards on the ballot include Lou Gehrig’s 1934 Goudey card, Ted Williams’ 1954 Bowman card, Eddie Mathews’ 1952 Topps card, Roberto Clemente’s 1973 Topps card, and Ty Cobb’s 1914 Cracker Jack.
Holdovers include Eddie Plank’s T206 card, Mickey Mantle’s 1953 Bowman color card, Jackie Robinson’s 1950 Bowman card, and Topps rookie cards of Al Kaline (1954) and Brooks Robinson.
Ten cards were voted into last year’s Hall of Fame. Of the remaining 30 cards, the six cards with the fewest number of votes were dropped.
A card must meet three guidelines to be considered for induction according to the Hall’s website. It has to be considered popular within the hobby, it has to be considered iconic, and it has to have “monetary weight.”
That means the card does not have to necessarily be a Hall of Famer. As Fonio wrote on the Hall’s website last year, “it’s not so much the player, but the card that is being inducted.”
“It gives the hobby a chance to really determine which cards have meant the most to us over the years,” Roman, of the All-Time Greats Blog, told Sports Collectors Daily last year.
Here are the previous classes:
2018
- 1909 T206, Honus Wagner
- 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth
- 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson
- 1951 Bowman Willie Mays
- 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle
- 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle
- 1954 Topps Hank Aaron
- 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman
- 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson
- 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr.
2019
- 1909 T206, Ty Cobb (Red Background)
- 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig
- 1948 Leaf Satchel Paige
- 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente
- 1959 Topps Bob Gibson
- 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly
- 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco
- 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken
- 1993 SP Derek Jeter
- 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout
2020
- 1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson
- 1939 Play Ball Ted Williams
- 1953 Topps Satchel Paige
- 1954 Topps Ernie Banks
- 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax
- 1957 Topps Frank Robinson
- 1963 Topps Pete Rose
- 1971 Topps Thurman Munson
- 1975 Topps George Brett
- 1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken Jr.
- 1985 Topps Mark McGwire
2021
- 1916 M101, Babe Ruth
- 1933 Goudey, Napoleon Lajoie
- 1948 Bowman, Stan Musial
- 1952 Topps, Willie Mays
- 1952 Bowman Color, Pee Wee Reese
- 1953 Topps, Jackie Robinson
- 1953 Topps, Mickey Mantle
- 1956 Topps, Mickey Mantle
- 1969 Topps, Reggie Jackson
- 1990 Score, Bo Jackson
There’s a YouTube video where committee members discuss the project, and you can cast your votes for the 2022 class here.
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