A hundred and ninety miles north of New York City sits the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., just a few steps from Otsego Lake and The Otesaga Resort Hotel.
The Hall of Fame marked its 86th birthday on June 12. It first opened in 1939, after art collector and philanthropist Stephen Carlton Clark helped establish Cooperstown as the symbolic home of baseball. The first class had been elected three years earlier in 1936 and included Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Ty Cobb.
When the museum opened, it also formally inducted a second wave of contributors to the game’s history, including Cap Anson, Eddie Collins, Charles Comiskey, Candy Cummings, Buck Ewing, Lou Gehrig, Willie Keeler, Charles Radbourn, George Sisler, and Albert Spalding.
The Hall of Fame turns 86 today, and our only birthday wish is that you’ll come visit us in Cooperstown soon! pic.twitter.com/KhhHdHqwIv
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) June 12, 2025
With a population of 1,791 residents that live in the village of Cooperstown, fans from all over the country and world come each year during Hall of Fame Weekend in late July to witness historic artifacts and attend the great events held for the new inductees.
The landscape of baseball in Japan has played a big part in the sport’s international success, and a new Yakyu exhibit will open its doors at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this July to honor that shared legacy.
Former Japanese major leaguer Ichiro Suzuki will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and in a historic moment for the sport, he will also be inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame during the same calendar year—becoming the first player to earn both honors in the same year.
Roberto Clemente was the first international-born player inducted into Cooperstown, and now, with the game expanding deeper into the Eastern Hemisphere, Ichiro stands as a pioneer and trailblazer for future generations of players from Asia to be honored in the Hall of Fame.
2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend and Class Overview
Ichiro Suzuki will be inducted alongside Billy Wagner, CC Sabathia, Dave Parker, and Dick Allen as part of the Class of 2025. Suzuki received 393 votes (99.7 percent), falling one writer short of unanimous selection. Sabathia received 342 votes (86.8 percent), and Wagner collected 325 votes in his final year on the ballot.
Dick Allen and Dave Parker were selected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee and officially announced on December 8. Parker earned 87.5 percent of the committee’s vote, while Allen received 81.3 percent.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, July 27, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. EDT on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y., and will be televised live on MLB Network. Coverage begins at 11 a.m. EDT.
Players become eligible for induction six years after retirement and must have played at least ten seasons in Major League Baseball. To be elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, a player must appear on at least 75 percent of submitted ballots.
All eligibility information for the Classic Baseball Era Committee’s Hall of Fame election process is available on the Hall of Fame website. Future Hall of Fame eligibility candidates are listed on https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-fame/future-eligibles.
International-Born Players Inducted Into the National Baseball Hall of Fame
(Year of induction in parentheses)
Canada: Ferguson Jenkins (1991), Larry Walker (2020)
Cuba: Martín Dihigo (1977), José Méndez (2006), Tony Pérez (2000), Tony Oliva (2022), Minnie Miñoso (2022), Cristóbal Torriente (2006)
Netherlands: Bert Blyleven (2011)
Dominican Republic: Pedro Martínez (2015), Juan Marichal (1983), David Ortiz (2022), Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (2018), Adrián Beltré (2024)
Panama: Rod Carew (1991), Mariano Rivera (2019)
Puerto Rico: Roberto Clemente (1973), Roberto Alomar (2011), Iván Rodríguez (2017), Edgar Martínez (2019), Orlando Cepeda (2000)
Venezuela: Luis Aparicio (1984)
Years When No Inductions Took Place via BBWAA Vote for MLB Players
1958 – The writers failed to reach a consensus.
1959 – No vote was held.
1960 – No player received the required percentage.
2021 – No new players were elected for the first time in eight years.
2013 – Umpire Hank O’Day, executive Jacob Ruppert, and player Deacon White were elected by the Pre-Integration Era Committee.
Years With No Hall of Fame Elections Held
1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, and 1965
Newly elected Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ichiro Suzuki, left, Billy Wagner, center, and CC Sabathia pose for photo during a news conference Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Cooperstown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
