Hall of Fame comes to NY

[Yankee26]

From the NY Post



March 12, 2002 -- You've never seen anything like this. Never.
Baseball season opens today in New York when at least 30 Hall of Famers show up at the American Museum of Natural History for a media preview of the long-awaited Baseball As America exhibit. Doors open to the public Saturday. The exhibit includes 520 priceless artifacts from Cooperstown and will run through Aug. 18 before moving to LA, just like the Dodgers.

This marks the first road game ever for the Hall. Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Bob Feller and so many other legends will be in attendance today, but the storytelling items are the star of this show.

Some, like the Abner Graves letter, which was recently found, have never been seen by the public before and will be featured with the Doubleday ball from baseball's mythic first game in 1839.

The Graves letter was discovered in a box of old books given to the Hall a year and a half ago. This letter was the basis for the conclusion reached by the Mills Commission, headed by Al Spalding, to credit Doubleday with inventing the game. Baseball was here long before Doubleday, though. Graves, by the way, at the age of 90, murdered his wife and was sent to an insane asylum.

"Spalding wanted the game to have an American dad," said Ted Spencer, vice president and chief curator of the Hall of Fame.

There will be Babe Ruth's bat with 28 home run notches carved by Ruth himself, artifacts from the Great Home Run Chase of '98, Jackie Robinson's jersey, the Wonder Boy bat from Robert Redford's classic film The Natural, the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, the world's most valuable card, Jack Norworth's original manuscript of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and so much more, telling the story of baseball as America.

Shoeless Joe Jackson isn't in the Hall, but his shoes are and will be on display. No word on Pete Rose's betting slips.

Aaron allowed the Hall to exhibit letters both pro and con that he received as he set the game's most hallowed record, 755 career home runs, smashing Ruth's mark of 714.

"The exhibit is astounding," said Spencer, noting that six curators have worked two years to create this baseball masterpiece. "We all knew this would be a career-defining project for us."

[Nettles]

Originally posted by Yankee26
Shoeless Joe Jackson isn't in the Hall, but his shoes are and will be on display. No word on Pete Rose's betting slips.

The shoes of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Did the irony of that escape everyone?

[PinstripePride]

Originally posted by Nettles


The shoes of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Did the irony of that escape everyone?

LMAO

[Jersey Yankee]

You have a link? When are the stars there? Don't tell me I missed this!!! &po'd&

Originally posted by Nettles


The shoes of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Did the irony of that escape everyone?

Ya suppose they could be there in absentia?

[Gehrig]

Originally posted by Jersey Yankee
You have a link? When are the stars there? Don't tell me I missed this!!! &po'd&
Ya suppose they could be there in absentia?

http://forums.bronx-bombers.com/show...threadid=23257

[NYYfan24]

Every baseball fan should make a pilgrimage to the real Hall of Fame at least once in their lives. We go every year!

A tip for you: Do Not Go with a non-fan! They will get bored quickly and rush you! You shouldn't rush....just savor the experience.

[Jersey Yankee]

Originally posted by Gehrig
http://forums.bronx-bombers.com/show...threadid=23257

Thx. That seems like a thread about old stadium seats though (Ebbets Field, Polo Grounds).

Who Is Not in Hall and Should Be

March 13, 2002
By DAVE ANDERSON

YOGI BERRA wasn't there, but his spirit was. Baseball's preeminent philosopher was in Florida as a Yankees instructor. But at yesterday's preview of the "Baseball as America" exhibit, which opens Saturday at the American Museum of Natural History, one of Yogi's tenets was mentioned by Dale Petrosky, the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

"Yogi once told me," Petrosky said, "that there wouldn't be a Hall of Fame without the Hall of Famers."

Sitting behind Petrosky were 26 Hall of Famers, from Hank Aaron, Bob Feller, Stan Musial and Duke Snider to Brooks Robinson, Joe Morgan, Dave Winfield and Ozzie Smith.

All of these Hall of Famers also represented a preview of Cooperstown's restructured Veterans Committee.

Beginning next year, the five dozen living Hall of Famers, along with the baseball writers and broadcasters honored in Cooperstown, N.Y., will each receive a ballot with 25 to 30 candidates. Each can vote for as many as 10, or for none. Any candidate on at least 75 percent of the ballots will be elected.

So yesterday's Hall of Famers were asked the same question: who is not in the Hall of Fame but should be? "Gil Hodges and Tony Oliva," Duke Snider said. "Most people don't understand how important Gil was as the Dodgers' first baseman. The example he set. The way he went about playing. Oliva was a great hitter, three batting titles with the Twins."

Ralph Kiner and George Kell also chose Hodges, with Kell adding, "He was an A-No. 1 gentleman; that's what we need in the Hall."

Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst each named Marty Marion, the lanky shortstop who was their Cardinals teammate in the 1940's.

"Marty was a great shortstop," Musial said. "People forget that he was the National League's most valuable player in 1944."

Orlando Cepeda, Lou Brock and Joe Morgan each named Maury Wills, the Dodgers' shortstop who had 104 stolen bases in 1962.

"Maury brought back the stolen base," Morgan said. "He changed the dynamics of the game. You knew most home run hitters would hit a home run or strike out; you could just play your position. When Maury was on first base, you had to pay attention to him every pitch."

Morgan also named Jim Rice, the Red Sox slugger. Brock offered Cardinals third baseman Ken Boyer, Cubs third baseman Ron Santo and Buck O'Neil, a longtime manager in the Negro leagues and later a Cubs scout and coach. Ernie Banks also named O'Neil.

"Buck deserves to be in the Hall as a scout," Banks said. "Scouts are so important, but they've been forgotten in Cooperstown."

Bob Feller named Cecil Travis, a Washington Senators shortstop who batted .359 with 218 hits in 1941, and catcher Wally Schang.

"Cecil lost his toes in the Battle of the Bulge; when he came back after the war, he was never the same," Feller said. "Wally Schang caught Babe Ruth on the Red Sox, then played with the Babe on the Yankees. When he was catching, Ty Cobb was scared to death to slide into home. I got to know him when he was the Indians' bullpen coach."

Hank Aaron suggested Lew Burdette, his Milwaukee Braves teammate who beat the Yankees three times in the 1957 World Series.

"Look at Lew's record," said the man who hit 755 home runs. "He won 203 games when winning 200 games really meant something."

Robin Roberts named two players still on the annual baseball writers' ballot: outfielder Andre Dawson and the left-hander Jim Kaat.

"I'm surprised Andre didn't get in this year," Roberts said. "Jim won 283 games; that should be enough to be elected."

Dave Winfield named Dawson, along with Gary Carter, the catcher for the Expos and the Mets, and Dave Parker, the slugger with the Pirates and the Reds. Ozzie Smith mentioned Dave Concepcion, the shortstop on Cincinnati's Big Red machine. Juan Marichal named Oliva and Luis Tiant, the Cuban right-hander with the whirl-a-gig windup. Brooks Robinson also named Santo.

"Ron had Gold Gloves, he hit, he had impact on the game," Robinson said. "But the Cubbies never won. I guess the writers figured that three guys off that team were enough — Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins — but that's not a valid reason. If a guy belongs, he belongs."

Monte Irvin had a laundry list of names — the Yankees' right-hander Allie Reynolds, Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon, Kaat, Marion and shortstop Alvin Dark, his teammate on the 1951 Giants. He also mentioned two Negro league stars — Bill Wright, an outfielder with the Baltimore Elite Giants, and Raymond Brown, a Homestead Grays right-hander.

And when Sparky Anderson and Tony Perez were asked, each had the same quick answer that Cooperstown doesn't want to hear: Pete Rose.

"Everybody in the Hall of Fame is there because of their statistics," Anderson said. "But let's say Pete did everything they say he did in the gambling investigation; that was as a manager, not as a player. That don't mean you have to like him, but you have to put him where he belongs."

Unless Pete Rose is reinstated, he won't be on next year's Hall of Fame ballot. But suppose he gets a write-in vote on more than 75 percent of the ballots?

[Jersey Yankee]

Hall of Fame launches 10-city museum tour -- "Baseball as America" exhibit opens at American Museum of Natural History

By Owen Murphy
MLB.com
3/16/2002 12:00 pm ET

Baseball as America
· · TOUR SCHEDULE · ·

New York
Mar 16, 2002 - Aug 18, 2002
American Museum of Natural History

Los Angeles
Sep 21, 2002 - Jan 5, 2003
Natural History Museum of L.A. County

Chicago
Feb 7, 2003 - Jul 20, 2003
The Field Museum

Cincinnati
Aug 16, 2003 - Nov 9, 2003
Cincinnati Museum Center

St. Petersburg
Dec 13, 2003 - Mar 6, 2004
Florida International Museum
(Smithsonian Institution Affiliate)

Washington, DC
Apr 3, 2004 - Aug 15, 2004
National Museum of Natural History
(Smithsonian Institution)

St. Louis
Jan 29, 2005 - Apr 24, 2005
Missouri Historical Society

It's an accepted truth in sports that to be successful, a team needs to prove itself on the road. With that in mind, the National Baseball Hall of Fame -- after flourishing for more than 60 years at home in legendary Cooperstown -- is taking its show on the road.

Earlier this week at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the Hall unveiled "Baseball as America," a traveling exhibit that examines the relationship between baseball and American culture. The event got a boost from more than 20 Hall of Famers in attendance, including Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Ernie Banks. The exhibit officially opens to the public on Saturday, March 16.

"This exhibit tells the story of baseball and how it helped shape American culture," Aaron told those in attendance, including feisty fellow of Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, who repeatedly elbowed the all-time home run king in the ribs before his speech. "From Presidents throwing out first balls to Baseball refusing the entry of all minorities to the Major Leagues, (and then the) breaking the color barrier 15 years before the civil rights movement began in America, baseball is truly America's game."

A wide range of artifacts culled from the Hall's collections captures baseball's legacy as both a socially significant force and a cultural phenomenon. From stirring artifacts like President Franklin Roosevelt's "Green Light" letter calling for Major League Baseball to play on as a way to heighten morale during World War II, to quirkier items like Shoeless Joe Jackson's shoes or the Wonder Boy bat from the "The Natural," there is something for every type of fan.

In all, nearly 500 of the Hall's most precious items will be on display, an unparalleled collection of balls, bats, gloves, books, uniforms, artwork, films, recordings and historic documents.

"I think it's wonderful," Brooks Robinson told MLB Radio's Victor Rojas. "People will get to see what the game's all about. ... It shows patriotism, nationalism (and) human rights. And I see things here that I never knew existed."

The prospect of bringing the wonders of the museum to the fans excites the newest member of the Hall, Ozzie Smith.

"It's very tough to get to Cooperstown" the Wizard of Oz told Rojas of the Hall's upstate New York location, "so the next best road is to take the exhibit to the people. I think the Hall of Fame has come up with a way that (allows) other people to see what we as baseball fans treasure."

More on the exhibit

Hank Aaron's speech
Ozzie Smith with MLB Radio's Victor Rojas
Famed broadcaster Bob Wolff amuses the crowd while introducing Stan Musial
Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey's speech

Unfortunately, one of the greatest treasures in baseball could not be at the exhibit's unveiling.

"Now you'll notice one guy who's not here is Yogi Berra. He's down in Spring Training," Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey explained to the audience. "But Yogi told me once, 'there wouldn't be a Hall of Fame without the Hall of Famers, and vice versa.'"

Though Berra wasn't around to amuse with his one liners in person, there were plenty of other Hall of Famers in the crowd to help launch this special occasion: Joe Morgan and Tony Perez, Lou Brock and Steve Carlton, Sparky Anderson and Earl Weaver, Ralph Kiner and Bill Mazeroski, and on and on.

After its premier at the American Museum of Natural History, "Baseball As America" will start a three-year tour to nine leading museums across the U.S. To learn more about the exhibition, visit their website www.baseballasamerica.org.

Owen Murphy is a producer for MLB Radio. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[cb2u]

Originally posted by NYYfan24
Every

A tip for you: Do Not Go with a non-fan! They will get bored quickly and rush you! You shouldn't rush....just savor the experience.

I was wondering whether to go w/ my kids or not, since I wanted them to see the exhibit. You made up my mind for me though. I'll go without them, & then maybe I'll go a second time with them. You're right, I'll want to savor everything there & take my time.

[Gehrig]

Originally posted by NYYfan24
Every baseball fan should make a pilgrimage to the real Hall of Fame at least once in their lives. We go every year!

A tip for you: Do Not Go with a non-fan! They will get bored quickly and rush you! You shouldn't rush....just savor the experience.

I'm going this year for the Hall of Fame weekend and HOF game on Moday !!!! I can't wait !!!