1978 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

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Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1978 introduced a new system that would continue to 1994. The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from recent major league players and elected Eddie Mathews. The Veterans Committee met in closed sessions to consider older major league players as well as managers, umpires, executives, and figures from the Negro leagues. It selected Addie Joss and Larry MacPhail. A formal induction ceremony was held in Cooperstown, New York, on August 7, 1978, with Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn presiding.^[1]

The special committee on Negro leagues had disbanded after its 1977 meeting. Two of its members were appointed to the Veterans Committee, as part of expanding that body from twelve to eighteen members. Its responsibilities were extended to cover the Negro leagues, which would continue until the next reform in 1994.