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2008.06.30

The Religion of Baseball - Day 23

2008.06.29

The National Baseball Hall of Fame on its opening day in 1939. The crowd was considerably smaller on Sunday, but still substantial at this ever-popular attraction for baseball fans.

There's something about those Roman V's that exudes class.

If the marker is true, this is an amazing artifact - a ball from the first game for which admission was charged--in 1858!

Others may have surpassed many of his records, but Babe Ruth is still the game's all-time greatest star.

Ruth signed this book on his death bed.

Scary stuff from Jackie Robinson's first year in the major leagues.

Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers' GM "The Mahatma" Branch Rickey were both brave enough to break baseball's color line.

Negro League poster from 1937

Jackie Robinson, baseball's most courageous star--the only player to have his uniform number (42) retired across the game. Do you know which current player still wears #42 (grandfathered in at the time of the retirement)?

A picture of Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek, a favorite of my wife's from her days as a Yankees' fan in the early '60s. Little did we know we had this talent in common--we can both name all the starters from the 1963 Yankee team.

Another gift for Kay - Clete Boyer's (Yankee 3B of early '60s) glove.

The Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays, whose smile at the joy of playing the game almost shone as bright as this reflection from the flash

Cardinal shortstop Ozzie Smith was another joyous player--backflips were his specialty, other than being he best fielding shortstop in the history of the game.

The sleeve patch is in honor of broadcaster Harry Caray, who best expressed the joy of being a baseball fan while being a not dispassionate announcer.

A ticket to the last game ever at Veterans Memorial Stadium, aka The Vet in 2003. Few mourned its passing, but I did having spent many enjoyable hours there in the early 1970s.

Do you remember what happened on August 7, 2007? Commissioner Bud Selig would like to forget. The Hall of Fame carries this non-controversial memorabilia from Barry Bonds' 756th career home run, the shot that moved him past Hank Aaron into top spot all time.

YoYo was a bigger fan than me. He attended virtually every game at the Vet, and danced atop the dugouts.

You can imagine my excitement at seeing the Phillie Phanatic in the museum - in my opinion, the best pro sports mascot ever. I went to college with the first guy who wore this suit. He was a funny guy back then.

This looks like a poster that I could have created back in the '70s, had I been a Cubs fan - my poster at Wrigley Field read "Hi Mom! Go Phils!" Shawon refers to Cubs shortstop Shawon Dunston.

Bonds appears without asterisks or comments at the top of the All-Time home run list. The photos all featured the leading active player.

I shot this still from a video clip about the Phillies World Series championship in 1980. Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt was MVP of the regular series, NL Champion Series and World Series.

One of the first plaques I found in the Hall of Fame Gallery was of Phillies' outfielder and long-time broadcaster Richie Ashburn, who, despite the Hall of Fame careers of Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, remains the most revered baseball name in Philadelphia.

This photo is among many that I would have loved to take - it was a winning entry in an annual Hall of Fame contest to find the best baseball photographs.

This sculpture combination is very cool - the catcher is Dodgers' backstop Roy Campanella; I didn't catch the pitcher's name. One day his delivery will bring the name back to me. I think it's Warren Spahn, but it could be Lefty Grove.

My young partner and I got six questions right out of nine in this Millionaire-style baseball trivia game. There were no prizes at stake. Truthfully, did you know that Burt Hooton was the first pitcher to win the MVP Award for the League Champion Series? I feel like I should have known, because the team he beat was the Phillies.

The afternoon crowd was even bigger. At 5 p.m, these folks were lined to get in while I was leaving after a four-hour stay.

For dinner we found the Blue Mingo Grill on the shore of a lake that borders Cooperstown. Both the food and the view were fine.

The tower across Lake Otsego from the restaurant allowed waiters to get better tips by telling about its history and current uselessness.

The girls enjoyed dinner, book shopping, and an art museum considerably more than the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Like spirits in a Cooper novel, windmills stand between a spooky sky and the highway on a gloomy twilight between Cooperstown and Oneida. We drove through rain for about half of the trip (my half). Kallie drove through the dry weather.

We went to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY on Sunday, my first visit since 1967. The title phrase comes from the Susan Sarandon's character Annie Savoy in the wonderful movie about minor league baseball (and sex) Bull Durham.

well thats just a few years back isnt it? ;) Its always interesting to return somewhere you havnt been in years. I assume this is a photo at the Hal lof fame?

focussed · 2008-06-29: 22:10