NEW YORK -- In 1936, Babe Ruth became one of five players to enter the Hall of Fame on the first-ever ballot.
Forty-six years later, Hank Aaron, the man who passed Ruth as the all-time home run king, should also enter on his first try.
Aaron and Frank Robinson, the only player to win the Most Valuable Player award in both leagues, head a list of 14 newcomers declared eligible Monday for election to the Hall in 1982.
The 14 players survived the scrutiny of the screening committee of the Baseball Writers Association of America and will have their names placed on this year's ballot, along with 29 holdovers from last year. Ballots will be mailed to 10-year members of the BBWAA in early December with election to take place in mid-January.
In addition to Aaron and Robinson, other newcomers to the ballot this year include Jim Brewer, Tommy Davis, Bill Freehan, Tommy Harper, Alex Johnson, Deron Johnson, Cleon Jones, Tony Oliva, Rico Petrocelli, Tony Taylor, Cesar Tovar and Billy Williams.
The newcomers were chosen by the screening committee from a list of more than 30 former major leaguers who became eligible for 1982 consideration as a result of having been retired five years.
Under the agreement between the Hall of Fame and the BBWAA, the list of eligible candidates is submitted each year to a blue ribbon panel of six veteran baseball writers. A candidate must then be approved by at least one of the six in order to have his name included on the ballot.
Holdover candidates from last year when Bob Gibson was the lone player elected include Luis Aparicio, Richie Ashburn, Gates Brown, Jim Bunning, Lew Burdette, Leo Cardenas, Orlando Cepeda, Don Drysdale, Elroy Face, Gil Hodges, Elston Howard, Harmon Killebrew.
Also, Harvey Kuenn, Don Larsen, Juan Marichal, Roger Maris, Bill Mazeroski, Lindy McDaniel, Dave McNally, Thurman Munson, Jim Northrup, Claude Osteen, Jim Perry, Vada Pinson, Red Schoendienst, Sonny Siebert, Hoyt Wilhelm and Maury Wills.
Aaron is regarded as a sure bet to join the list of candidates who made the Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility. Aaron had a career average of .305 for 23 seasons and hit 755 home runs, which surpassed Ruth's total of 714.
Robinson, now the manager of the San Francisco Giants, also has solid credentials for first-year election. He had a lifetime batting average of .294 with 586 home runs for 21 seasons.
Killebrew, Marichal, Williams and Drysdale also are expected to garner plenty of support.
Although voting members of the BBWAA can select as many as 10 players on their ballot, a player's name must appear on 75 percent of the ballots to gain Hall of Fame election.
