Voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame has always been fascinating.
Between the writers and other committees there is always controversy.
Perhaps one of the most unusual stories belongs to Red Ruffing, who was inducted in 1967 after the third and final run-off election in the history of the shrine.
According to the rules at the time, if no one was elected during that year there would be a second ballot. In that situation, the person at the top of the list would enter the hall no matter the percentage.
Ruffing received votes in all three of the run-off elections in 1949, 1964 and 1967.
During his first six full seasons with the Boston Red Sox from 1924 to 1929, Ruffing statistically was no where near finding his way to Cooperstown.
The righthander compiled a 39-93 record for the Red Sox that finished last five times and had over 100 losses in three of those years.
Ruffing led the American League in losses twice at 10-25 in 1928 and 9-22 the next year. He did post a league-best 25 complete games in 1928.
After going 0-3 with Boston in 1930, Ruffing was traded to the New York Yankees in May. His career quickly turned in the right direction.
The change of cities helped Ruffing become a Hall of Fame hurler as he was 231-124 for the Yankees from 1930 to 1946. He did have two years away for military service in 1944 and 1945. He ended his career in 1947 with the Chicago White Sox.
A six-time all-star, he started in the mid-summer classic in 1939 and 1940. He won over 20 games every year from 1936 to 1939 with a league-leading 21 in 1938.
Ruffing was a part of six world championship teams posting a 7-2 mark with a 2.63 ERA in 10 games. He also won six straight contests in the World Series.
1949 Hall of Fame Voting
(1) Charlie Gehringer – 66.7%
(2) Mel Ott – 61.4%
(18) Red Ruffing – 18.4%
1949 Hall of Fame Run-off Voting
(1) Charlie Gehringer – 85.0%
(2) Mel Ott – 68.4%
(20) Red Ruffing – 2.1%
1964 Hall of Fame Voting
(1) Luke Appling – 70.6%
(2) Red Ruffing – 70.1%
1964 Hall of Fame Run-off Voting
(1) Luke Appling – 94.0%
(2) Red Ruffing – 91.5%
1967 Hall of Fame Voting
(1) Red Ruffing – 72.6%
(1) Joe Medwick – 72.6%
1967 Hall of Fame Run-off Voting
(1) Red Ruffing – 86.9%
(2) Joe Medwick – 81.0%