During a winter meeting of the Baseball Writers Association on December 7, 1939, Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in a special election related to his illness.Robinson, Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time, p. 266. At age 36, he was the youngest player to be so honored (since surpassed by Sandy Koufax, who was five months younger than Gehrig at the time of his election in 1972).
