On January 29, 1936, the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elected its first members
in Cooperstown, New York: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson.

The Hall of Fame actually had its beginnings in 1935, when plans were made
to build a museum devoted to baseball and its 100-year history. A private organization based in Cooperstown called the Clark Foundation thought
that establishing the Baseball Hall of Fame in their city would help to
reinvigorate the area’s Depression-ravaged economy by attracting
tourists.