Rose, Shoeless Joe among 17 now eligible for HOF consideration after new ruling

Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark issued a statement on Tuesday regarding MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's policy decision about individuals losing their permanently ineligible status after death.

"The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration," Clark said in the statement. "Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered. The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee – which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 – to vote on when it meets next in December 2027."

Tuesday's policy decision means that players such as Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson are no longer permanently ineligible and are now eligible to be considered for future Baseball Hall of Fame ballots.

At the time Rose was banned by MLB in 1989, the Hall of Fame did not yet have a rule barring people on the permanently ineligible list from Hall of Fame consideration. In fact, Jackson’s case was voted upon in 1936 and 1946. The Hall of Fame instituted a rule in 1991 stating that individuals on MLB's ineligible list were not eligible for induction.

There are 17 deceased individuals disciplined since the founding of the Commissioner’s Office impacted by Tuesday's announcement: Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams; Joe Gedeon; Gene Paulette; Benny Kauff; Lee Magee; Phil Douglas; Cozy Dolan; Jimmy O’Connell; William Cox; and Pete Rose. Tuesday's announcement does not guarantee that any of the newly eligible former players will appear on a future Hall of Fame ballot.

Players must be on at least 12 of the 16 ballots cast by the Classic Baseball Era Committee to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Any individual who earns the requisite number of votes in the December 2027 election will be enshrined during the 2028 Induction Ceremony.