Ty Cobb received the most votes in the first Baseball Hall of Fame election in 1936.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America cast 226 ballots, with 170 votes needed for election. Cobb received 222 votes, appearing on 98.2% of ballots—the highest total in the inaugural vote and the best percentage among the five elected players.
Cobb was joined by Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. Ruth and Wagner tied for second with 215 votes each, while Johnson received 189. All five were selected in the first BBWAA election.
The election took place in 1936, but the players were inducted in 1939, when the Hall of Fame facility opened in Cooperstown, New York. A common mix-up is confusing the vote leader with the first inductee ceremony: Cobb led the voting, but the formal induction came three years later.