Cooperstown philanthropist Stephen C. Clark – seeking a way
to celebrate and protect the National Pastime as well as an
economic engine for Cooperstown – asked National League
president Ford C. Frick if he would support the establishment
of a Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The idea was welcomed, and in 1936 the inaugural Hall of Fame
class of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe
Ruth and Honus Wagner was elected.

Stephen Carlton Clark
(August 29, 1882 – September 17, 1960)

Fans gather in front of the Hall of Fame on June 12, 1939 for
the first induction ceremony.

COOPERSTOWN, NY – JULY, 1939. The first inductees to
the Baseball Hall of Fame pose for a group portrait in Cooperstown in July of 1939. They are: top row left to
right Honus Wagner, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Tris
Speaker, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, and Walter Johnson.
Front row Eddie Collins, Babe Ruth, Connie Mack, and
Cy Young.