This Day in History: <br />US Baseball Hall of <br />Fame Elects First Members January 29, 1936 Based in Cooperstown, NY, the <br />Baseball Hall of Fame was <br />established to jumpstart the area’s <br />Depression-ravaged economy. The Baseball Writers’ Association <br />of America chose the five greatest<br />superstars of the game as the <br />first class to be inducted. The first members <br />were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson. Today, the Cooperstown <br />Baseball Hall of Fame has <br />approximately 350,000 <br />visitors per year.
