1980 Hall of Fame

  So when the Hall of Fame switched to the "get 5% or you're out" style voting, it meant there would be a lot more turnover in eliminating excess names and thus one aspect of the selection that was changing was the concept of a "selection committee" that would decide who to feature on the ballots, because without the 5% rule culling the names by the dozen, the list of eligible men to vote for would be insanely long otherwise. The vote choices were almost doubled to 61 as opposed to the just over 30 a few years ago, many of them on their first ballot and almost all of them eliminated.

Also inducted:

Tom Yawkey (Pioneer / Executive) Owner of the Boston Red Sox that renovated Fenway Park and revitalized the team from a last place franchise back into respectability with better players and a stronger minor league pipeline, winning 3 American League pennants for his efforts.