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Memories of Bob

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By Craig Muder

The gray-haired gentlemen emerged from the entrance foyer at the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday – and no introductions were necessary.

Bob Feller, their father, could be seen in their faces. And even though it's been more than a year since Bob passed away, the visit of his sons Steve and Bruce brought the memories to life in Cooperstown.

Steve and Bruce stopped by the Hall of Fame on Wednesday to donate two documents to the Museum's Library. One was an original scorecard from their father's legendary Opening Day no-hitter on April 16, 1940. The other: Bob Feller's original contract with the Indians, hand-written on the back of stationery from a Des Moines, Iowa, hotel and signed by Feller and scout Cy Slapnicka.

"These were both in Dad's house when he passed, squirreled away in the attic," Steve Feller said. "We remember the scorecard hanging in our rec room when we were kids."

The scorecard documents the only game in big league history where all players on one team started and finished the game with the same batting average: All White Sox batters were hitting .000 after the game.

But the contract is equally fascinating. The deal gave Feller a $1 bonus, and provided that he would visit his "folks" anytime he wanted during the 1936 season, plus provided that he could play basketball in his off hours. The deal indicated that Feller would start the season playing for a team in Fargo, N.D., but the fireballing phenom went right to the majors to begin his career.

During their stop in the Museum, the Feller brothers took a look at their Dad's Hall of Fame plaque as well as others located nearby.

"Elmer Flick – he used to come to my baseball games in Solon (Ohio)," said Steve Feller of his youth baseball days. "And Hank Greenberg – we played with his sons."

It was all part of a unique childhood with an iconic father.

"These belong here – in Cooperstown," said Bruce Feller of his father's documents. "Dad would have wanted it that way, and so do we."

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Hawaii comes to Cooperstown

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By Jon Arakaki

It all started with the December 2006 issue of Memories and Dreams, the official magazine of the Baseball Hall of Fame .

Curator Lenny DiFranza’s article on the first artifacts donated to the Museum featured a 1938 photo of the Honolulu Conservatory of Music building on Main Street in Cooperstown, which was demolished to make way for the Hall of Fame and Museum. Being that I was born and raised in Hawaii, I wondered how in the world a conservatory from back home ended up in Cooperstown, let alone on the site of the Hall.  

Recently, with the assistance of local historians in Cooperstown, and Museum and library staffs in Flint, Michigan and Cleveland, I was able to piece together a part of the story – although a few mysteries remain. 

The Oahu Publishing Company/Honolulu Conservatory of Music was established in Flint, Michigan in the mid-1920s by half brothers Harry G. Stanley and George A. Bronson. Why Flint? Because of the auto industry, Flint attracted workers from across the U.S., including Hawaii (a territory at the time). By all indications, the Hawaiians brought their music with them, and this provided the impetus for the brothers to capitalize on the nationwide craze for this music by publishing sheet music and providing guitar instruction. Eventually, they opened 1,200 studios across the U.S., Canada, and other foreign countries. 

Interestingly, one of these studios found its way to Cooperstown. In the Feb. 11, 1938 issue of The Otsego Farmer, an ad announced that Philip J. Colwell opened a Honolulu Conservatory of Music location on 29 Pioneer Street. It also invited residents to learn the “slides, slurs, variations and trick playing that puts the Hawaiian guitar in first place today.” 

Business must have been brisk – on April 20, 1938, an article in The Freeman’s Journal stated that Colwell moved to a larger location at 33 Main Street, the site of the current Museum. This takes us back to the photo in Lenny’s article. By the time of the Museum’s dedication on June 12, 1939, the Conservatory building was long gone. Colwell’s business was listed in the 1938 Cooperstown Village Directory, but was nowhere to be found when the next directory was published in 1940. 

So what happened? There are no indications that Colwell moved to a new location, or opened other studios in the area. Why did he fold up a business that seemed to be thriving and riding the wave of Hawaiian music’s popularity? These are questions I will continue to pursue. 

Ultimately, while there wasn’t the direct connection between Cooperstown and my home state that I had hoped for, I was glad to learn about the spread of the islands’ music across the country. And I know that once Hawaiian natives Sid Fernandez, Benny Agbayani and Shane Victorino are inducted into the Hall – or so I hope – the Hawaiian connection will truly be complete!

Jon Arakaki is a Library volunteer at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and a professor at SUNY Oneonta.

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He got the message

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By Craig Muder

Barry Larkin discovered exactly what it means to be a Hall of Famer Monday afternoon.

“I got the call to say I had been elected,” Larkin said. “And the next thing I knew I had 400 text messages to respond to. I’m down to 298 now.”

It will take Larkin weeks to respond to all the congratulatory notes he received after becoming the 24th shortstop elected to the Hall of Fame. His phone was filled with messages from ESPN co-workers like Karl Ravech and former teammates like Hall of Famer Tony Perez.

But the one message that almost didn’t get through belonged to a special fan.

“My daughter told me someone had called for me… She said it was Ben or Bub…,” Larkin said. “I said: ‘You mean Bud? Bud Selig?’ I couldn’t believe the Commissioner took time to call.

“It’s wonderful how many people have called or sent messages. You just can’t believe the outpouring of support.”

The incredibly humble Larkin is a favorite throughout the baseball community for his skill on the field and character off it. Few generate the universally positive reaction he draws, and it seems all of Cincinnati is celebrating the election of their hometown hero.

The Class of 2012 couldn’t be classier.

Craig Muder is the director of communications of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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SABR celebrates in Cooperstown on Saturday

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By Samantha Carr

This Saturday, some of baseballs best minds will meet in cities across the country to celebrate the third annual SABR Day.

More than 30 chapters of The Society for American Baseball Research are scheduled to meet on Jan. 28, 2012 from Washington State all the way to Puerto Rico and internationally. Some chapters choose to get together and talk baseball, some play catch out in the snow and some hold research presentations with knowledgeable speakers.

“Chapters all over the country will be celebrating on Saturday,” said Hall of Fame Librarian Jim Gates. “And we will be part of that here in Cooperstown.”

SABR’s chapter in Cooperstown, the Cliff Kachline Chapter, will gather at 1 p.m. Saturday at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The meeting will convene in the Bullpen Theater and feature special guest speakers whose topics range from Sports Illustrated covers and their relation to the times to the rise of NL President Harry Pulliam and pitching.

SABR has nearly 7,000 members world-wide and was formed in August of 1971 in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library. Hall of Fame members and fans are encouraged to attend and participate in the celebration.

“SABR was born in Cooperstown and now we are helping SABR celebrate its birthday,” said Gates.

Samantha Carr is the manager of web and digital media for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Baseball hits the mat

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By Freddy Berowski

On Sunday, World Wrestling Entertainment will air the 25th annual Royal Rumble on pay-per-view. Millions of fans all over the world are expected to tune in to see John Cena, Zach Ryder, C.M. Punk, Mick Foley and all the top WWE superstars battle for a chance to be in the main event at WrestleMania: The World Series of professional wrestling.

Professional Wrestling and baseball have a storied history. Major Leaguers like baseball’s all-time hit king Pete Rose and long-time White Sox backstop A.J. Pierzynski have participated in numerous major professional wrestling events. Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets from 1964-2009, hosted a series of WWE wrestling events featuring Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino, from 1972 to 1980.

WWE Legend “Macho Man” Randy Savage was a professional baseball player in the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds minor league systems before turning his sights to a career in sports entertainment. Hall of Fame third baseman Pie Traynor was a wrestling announcer for Pittsburgh’s Studio Wrestling program in the 1960s. And current WWE star Mick Foley came to Cooperstown in 2006 to give a talk at the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the baseball book he authored, Scooter.

Professional wrestling’s connection to baseball, specifically the National Baseball Hall of Fame, goes back farther than that. It goes back nearly a century – to 1914.

On April 23, 1914, at the Polo Grounds in New York City, the prodigal son returned. Star outfielder Mike Donlin, owner of a career .334 batting average at the time, came back to the New York Giants after being sold to the Boston Braves three years earlier. In honor of his return, prominent New York Giants supporters, among them politicians, actors, song writers and theatre owners, got together and presented “Turkey Mike” with a specially made trophy bat during pre-game ceremonies, honoring him as the most popular Giants player.

The Master of Ceremonies for this event was prominent New York wrestling and boxing ring announcer Joe Humphreys. Among the team boosters who had this trophy bat made for presentation to Donlin was Jess McMahon.

Jess McMahon, a prominent wrestling and boxing promoter in his own right, is the grandfather of the “Babe Ruth” of wrestling promoters, Vince McMahon. Vince McMahon is the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, the organization that revolutionized professional wrestling from the local, regionalized exhibitions of the pre-1980s, to the world-wide, multi-million dollar phenomenon that it is today.

This bat was donated to the Hall of Fame in 1963 by Mike Donlin’s widow, Rita.

Freddy Berowski is a library associate at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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SABR Day in Cooperstown

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By Jim Gates

The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) celebrated its annual National SABR Day on Saturday, Jan. 28, with local chapters holding meetings throughout North America. The Baseball Hall of Fame recognized the work of this organization by hosting a meeting of the Cliff Kachline Chapter in the Hall of Fame’s Bullpen Theater.

Chapter president Jeff Katz opened the meeting with some general business items, including a discussion of how to promote the summer meeting which occurs every year on the Sunday evening of Induction Weekend. The chapter will try to set up a tent to hand out information that weekend. The meeting is open to all, and interested parties should drop by the tent to learn more. Research presentations were then delivered by chapter members.

The presentations included one from Professor Jon Arakaki of the State University of New York-Oneonta, who has been conducting research on the appearance of baseball on the covers of Sports Illustrated from 1954 to date. He has examined 3,299 covers for which 605 or 18.3 percent are baseball related, only five of which do not concern the major leagues. Of all the baseball covers, appearances were broken down by person, team, race and gender. The most revealing numbers relate to the breakdown by race. 

During the 1950s, 88% of Sports Illustrated covers were related to Caucasians, 9% to African-Americans, and 3% to Hispanics. By the 1990s these figures had changed to 55% for Caucasians, 28% for African-American, and 16% for Hispanics. This data served to support Arakaki’s general conclusions that these magazine covers mirror our culture and represent what is a hot topic, and that they also serve to suggest who wields cultural influence at any time.

Anyone seeking additional information on the Society of American Baseball Research can check out their web site, www.sabr.org, and anyone interested in becoming involved in baseball research should consider becoming a member.  The next meeting of the Cliff Kachline Chapter will be Sunday evening, July 22nd.

Jim Gates is the Librarian at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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The Kid in the Hall

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By Jeff Idelson

I’ll never forget May 20th and 21st of 2011.

I embarked on a 24-hour journey for an aspect of my job that is never comfortable and always sad: Attending a funeral.

Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew had passed away in Arizona. After lunch with Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and their wives, as well as Bob Nightengale, my friend with USA Today, I headed back to the airport to take a redeye flight home.

As I sat on the flight and drifted off, I wondered what else could happen. Harmon’s passing was the last of six Hall of Famers who had passed away in the last year: Robin Roberts, Sparky Anderson, Bob Feller, Duke Snider and Dick Williams.

As I de-boarded my flight in Newark to change planes that next morning, May 21st, my phone began to ring. It was The Kid, and I smiled. I always looked forward to conversations with Gary Carter because he was so positive, so uplifting and had a zest for life.

This time, the call was different.

Gary explained that he had been inventorying equipment with his coaches for Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he was the head baseball coach. He told me he had lost count a few times and even snapped at some of his colleagues, and he did not know why. Very uncharacteristic of the most positive person I had come to know in Baseball.

I immediately thought about what I had been reading, about the recent rash of concussions in football. “I bet you have a concussion from all of those collisions you took,” I quickly blurted out, as if I could solve the problem. Gary waited patiently for me to finish and said, “No, it’s actually four tumors wrapped around my brain.” And then he quickly added, “But I am not scared, because I have my family around me and I am going to beat this.”

And that was the essence of Gary Carter.

He fought gallantly with his family by his side, at every step. He went to Duke Medical Center to learn more. It was actually one tumor with four tentacles. And he could not have surgery: His cancer was inoperable.

Gary called the next day.

“It’s inoperable, which is going to make this a little bit tougher, but I’ll beat this,” he told me confidently. “I have my family and my faith and with that, we’ll get through this, Jeffrey,” he said. “I plan to be at Hall of Fame Weekend to see everyone.”

It never happened.

Gary was so generous of time and spirit. He traveled to Cooperstown for the 2010 Hall of Fame Classic over Father’s Day Weekend and then to Cooperstown a month later for the induction of Andre Dawson, Doug Harvey and Whitey Herzog. That would be his last visit to the place he adored so much and the Classic was the final time he participated in a baseball game. The fans adored him.

“Gary was so proud to be a Hall of Famer,” his widow Sandy told me on the phone yesterday afternoon after letting me know of Gary’s peaceful passing.

And “proud” sums up the Kid so well. He was proud of wearing a major league uniform for 19 seasons, of being a Hall of Famer, of his family and his friends.

We lost a good one yesterday. Rest in Peace #8. We miss you.

Jeff Idelson is the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Carter was truly an All-Star

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By Craig Muder

It was the summer of my discontent, when baseball stopped.

For almost two months in 1981, I slept on the couch in our den – seemingly uprooted from my bed due to the cataclysmic work stoppage that rocked the National Pastime. I woke up each day and flipped on the TV (we had no access to ESPN back then, so it was the national networks) to see if the strike had ended.

Finally, on July 31, it was over. The season would resume after 713 games were canceled. And it would start with the All-Star Game in Cleveland.

On August 9, baseball returned before 72,086 fans at Cleveland Stadium. Gary Carter was the hero.

Carter’s two solo home runs – one in the fifth that tied the game at one and another in the seventh that cut the American League’s lead to 4-3 – helped the National League prevail 5-4.

More importantly, it showed that baseball was stronger than any work stoppage.

I cheered for Gary Carter that day and his performance was rewarded with the All-Star Game MVP Award.

That season Carter's Expos made their lone playoff appearance, thanks in large part to the Kid. Three years later, during one of the best seasons of his career – hitting .294 with 27 homers and a league leading 106 RBIs – Carter would again earn the All-Star Game MVP Award with another key home run.

To date, Carter is one of four players to receive the honor, joining Willie Mays, Steve Garvey and Cal Ripken.

He made baseball a better game – and the world a better place. He will be missed.

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Spring Training comes to Cooperstown

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By Jenny Ambrose

“That’s what it looks like.”

When Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese saw Alex Traube’s photographs, he claimed the images “captured something about Spring Training – about baseball in general – which is recognizable and true to anyone who has spent time in training camps and ballparks.”

This year, the Baseball Hall of Fame Library has an extra special reason to celebrate the return of Spring Training. Photographer Alex Traube donated the images he shared with Reese to the Museum’s permanent photographic collection. Traube’s donation consists of 79, 11 x 14 inch, black and white photographs depicting Grapefruit League Spring Training in Florida in 1978, 1979 and 1980. And Pee Wee was right: The images truly capture the character of spring training.

Traube had press access to training venues, “but was entirely on my own in terms of who and what I shot,” he said.

Traube used his creativity and skill with a camera to create a portfolio of work that is remarkable both for its aesthetic quality and content. He took informal portraits of players sitting in the dugout, warming up before a game, or hanging out by the batting cage. He captured players being interviewed or photographed by the media, or signing autographs for fans. The photographs show games in progress and batting practice. Traube photographed fans in the stands wearing the striking plaids and checks particular to the era. He depicted teammates lined up across the field hats over hearts for the playing of the National Anthem, kilted marching bands, and members of a color guard rehearsing.

The photographs provide an inside view into day-to-day events at spring training, and express the flavor of preseason from an earlier decade. Reese wrote that the images “present us with a portrait of the rituals which are an everyday reality to the players.”

Traube’s photographs are now part of the Hall of Fame’s collection of more than 500,000 images, documenting every aspect of the game of baseball. They join hundreds of other photographs depicting Spring Training from the early 20th Century to the present.

Jenny Ambrose is the curator of photographs at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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McRae giving back in Cooperstown

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By Trevor Hayes

It’s always a thrill when you get to meet a boyhood hero. And at the annual New York State Baseball Coaches Association Clinic at the Hall of Fame on Friday, I got to do just that.

My family moved to back to Kansas City in 1993, just in time for me to catch Brian McRae’s last two seasons as a Royal. Both of those seasons were the formative years when I chose players from the team being managed by Brian’s dad Hal – a fellow Royals legend – to be my favorites. During that two year span, I proudly declared notables like the younger McRae, Mike MacFarlane and 1994 Rookie of the Year Bob “The Hammer” Hamelin (and his coke-bottle glasses) as my favorites.

Retired for 13 years now McRae, now 44, lives in Kansas City and was in Cooperstown to talk to New York State coaches about their practices, approaches to the season and share tips that he used to play 10 seasons in the majors.

McRae said it had been since 2003 or 2004 since he’s been back to the Hall of Fame – a place he’d visited three times before. His favorite part?

“The Buck O’Neil statue, with me being a Kansas City guy and having a good relationship with Buck O’Neil during his time in Kansas City and I’ve spent time at the Negro Leagues Museum, so that’s kind of a neat thing,” he said. “That was once of the first things I saw when I came in. That was neat seeing that and Buck’s legacy will stand for as long as people are talking about baseball.”

During the clinic McRae talked hitting, defense, fundamentals and drills. He related his experiences to the coaches, giving them examples of what made him successful, for example McRae was an infielder-turned-outfielder. So when asked about how to keep young high school outfielders involved and interested, he said he brought his infielder mindset to the outfield.

“Every inning, I thought the ball was going to be hit to me,” he said. “I’m out here because I can do a job. I don’t want to be caught off guard. When the game is over, I’m mentally drained because I just calculated 150 pitches I thought were going to be hit to me.”

Aside from emphasizing defense – caring about your work in the field and not just at the plate – McRae talked about how he lets players use their natural talents and only highlights fundamentals such as making sure the batter is taking the shortest distance to the ball in order to square up, but he won’t mess with a player’s hands. Plenty of players have found success without “proper” mechanics, like Gary Sheffield’s wiggling bat or Kevin Youkilis’ bat held over his head.

“They found a way,” McRae said. “You wouldn’t teach that, but as you can see there are a lot of ways that you can be successful, there’s not a textbook way. So I don’t like the cookie-cutter way that everybody has to stand this way and everybody has to hold their hands this way. Because people have different shapes, sizes skill sets and you just have to find a way to work from there.”

For the former center fielder, clinics like Friday’s are almost par for the course – in some form helping younger players improve. While last week’s event was all about helping the coaches improve their programs, McRae runs a non-profit baseball organization in Kansas City called the Kansas City Sluggers, does speaking engagements through the Royals Alumni and this summer will coach a summer league team in the Coastal Plains League in Moorhead City, N.C.

“I enjoy working with the high school-age kids, college-age kids,” McRae said. “That’s where I feel I can relate the most and get the most out of them and where I feel my expertise fits. It keeps me fresh and keeps me young.”

Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Announcements from Pettitte, Chipper have fans thinking Cooperstown

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By Craig Muder

The breaking news has been flying fast and furious out of Spring Training this week.

Chipper Jones is retiring. Andy Pettitte is returning. And the conjecture is resuming: Will either or both of these two fantastic players make it to Cooperstown?

Predicting the future of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame vote is best left to those who have a vote. But the eligibility rules for Hall of Fame candidates remain perfectly clear.

Start with Chipper, who announced Thursday that the 2012 season will be his last as a Braves player. If he plays in at least one game this year and hangs ‘em up as planned, Jones would be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018. Eligible candidates must not have appeared in a big league game in five straight seasons, meaning Jones would need to stay retired in 2013, ’14, ’15, ’16 and ’17 before he appears on the BBWAA ballot.

The 1999 National League Most Valuable Player has 454 home runs and 1,561 in both the runs and RBI categories – talk about symmetry – entering the 2012 season. Among Hall of Fame third basemen – Chipper has made 82 percent of his big league appearances in the field at the hot corner – only Mike Schmidt and Eddie Mathews have more home runs and only Schmidt and George Brett have more RBI (Jones trails Brett, the Hall of Fame leader among third basemen, by just 35 RBI).

Pettitte, meanwhile, is returning to the big leagues after retiring following the 2010 season. Technically, Pettitte’s Hall of Fame clock has not yet been reset – since that happens only when a player appears in a regular-season game.

As of today, Pettitte remains eligible for the Hall of Fame Class of 2016 – assuming he adds 2012, ’13, ’14 and ’15 to his non-active 2011 season. The 240-game winner, who also holds the MLB record for most postseason wins with 19, has pitched in 16 big league seasons and been a part of eight World Series teams and five World Series champions.

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Tying the knot in Cooperstown

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By Craig Muder

Don Johnson and Jeannie Gleason love baseball – and each other.

So what better place to share their feelings – and exchange lifetime vows – than at baseball’s home in Cooperstown.

Johnson and Gleason were married Saturday at the Hall of Fame, professing their love of the game during a civil ceremony in the Museum. The two diehard New York Mets fans toured Cooperstown for the whole weekend as they launched their life together.

“Baseball is my second love – right behind Jeannie,” said Don, a subway motorman for the Metro Transit Authority in New York City. “I’ve got six years left until retirement, and then we’re moving here. This place is awesome.”

The Johnsons had planned a simple ceremony for their wedding, but hit upon the idea of getting married at the Hall of Fame when they picked up their wedding license.

“We were coming here for the honeymoon, and we thought: ‘Why not just get married here?’” Jeannie said. “We asked, and everyone at the Hall of Fame was so nice. They said: ‘Sure, come on up!’”

Now, the Johnsons’ history is part of the home of baseball history.

“I want to come to work here after I retire,” Dan said. “There’s no place like the Hall of Fame.”

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Baseball had ‘jazz’ before music did

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By Tim Wiles

“When they study our civilization two thousand years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will be known for: the Constitution, baseball and jazz music. They're the three most beautiful things Americans have ever created.”

So said Gerald Early, Professor of Modern Letters and the director of African and Afro-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, back in 1994, when he was interviewed for Ken Burns’ “Baseball” documentary on PBS. Since that time, lexicographers have gained access to a new set of tools: Digitized databases of full text newspapers and other publications, and they are coming up with some surprising discoveries.

One of the greatest discoveries, to date, is that “jazz” was a baseball term five years before it was a music term. “Jazz” is one of the most exciting, interesting words that American English has given to the world, and is so evocative that it was named the “Word of the Century” by the American Dialect Society in the year 2000. Over the weekend, the Boston Globe delved more into the baseball origins of jazz.

To be sure, the music that would become jazz was simmering in New Orleans and other American locales, but the name had not yet been affixed – at least in print. Some credit for this discovery, described in the above piece, certainly should go to NYU librarian George Thompson, who discovered the 1912 reference, back in 2003.

Thompson might be familiar already to baseball fans, since he made another important baseball discovery in the archives. On July 8, 2001, The Sunday New York Times carried a front-page article showcasing Thompson's discovery of two articles concerning an 1823 baseball game in Manhattan – considerably earlier than anyone had previously placed baseball in New York.

As someone who loves baseball and music – all kinds of music – the linkage of our game to jazz is extremely interesting and exciting. In the introduction to Burns’ later film on jazz, he says a couple of things about the music that could easily be about our game.

First, he says, “It has a rich tradition and its own rules, but it is brand new every night.” How many times, baseball fans, have you watched a baseball game and seen something so different or unusual that you'd never seen it before? Happens to me all the time, even though I've seen thousands of ball games.

Later in the same piece, Burns' narrator says "Above all, it swings."

Swing away, jazz, and baseball!

Tim Wiles is the director of research at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Students connect to Cooperstown via video field trips

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By Julie Wilson

As spring training draws to a close and teams are getting geared up for the start of the 2012 baseball season, students around the country are celebrating the return of baseball by connecting to the Hall of Fame for a unique educational experience.

The Hall of Fame’s EBBETS (Electronically Bringing Baseball Education To Students) field trip series allows students to learn about subjects such as math, civil rights history and economics, without ever leaving their classroom.

Among the more popular topics for the month of March, which happens to be Women’s History Month, was the Dirt on Their Skirts unit, which looks at the history of women in America using baseball as the backdrop.

“Learning about women in baseball reminds us all of the great women who made history just by doing what they loved,” said School Programs Associate, Emily Voss, as she spoke earlier this month to students in Linwood, N.J., about the women who broke down barriers by playing for teams like the Bloomers Girls and the Colorado Silver Bullets.

In the month of March alone, 48 classes from 17 different states (Louisiana, New York, Tennessee, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Montana, Missouri, California, Colorado, Arizona, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont) participated in an EBBETS field trip experience by connecting live to an educator at the Baseball Hall of Fame. In total, 765 students in grades 2-12, and 20 adults at a senior center in Ohio, connected to learn about a wide range of baseball related topics.

During the 2011-2012 school year, the education team will connect with about 15,000 students who may not otherwise have the chance to experience Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame.  To learn more about the Hall of Fame’s videoconference program visit baseballhall.org/education.

Julie Wilson is the manager of school programs at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Put a ring on it

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By Craig Muder

Peter Coolbaugh brought his future bride, Renee A. Coshin, to the Hall of Fame on Monday to see the Museum’s collection of World Series rings.

Then he gave Renee a ring of her very own.

Peter proposed to Renee on Monday on the Museum’s third floor, and received the “yes” he was hoping for. The two Museum Members have known each other for about four years and have bonded through the National Pastime.

“Sports has been a huge part of our relationship,” said a tearful Renee, who was shocked when Peter popped the question. “But I had no idea he was going to do this here.”

Both Peter and Renee live in Baltimore and attend dozens of Orioles games each year. They are planning their wedding for the fall of 2013.

“I wanted to do this before Opening Day, and I think she was wondering when – not if – I was going to propose,” Peter said. “What better place to do it than right here in front of the World Series rings at the Hall of Fame.”

Craig Muder is the director of communications at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Opening Day: A National Holiday

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By Trevor Hayes

Today should be a national holiday. Close down the schools, shutter the offices, go home and watch baseball.

While I know this will never happen, Opening Day might be the best day of the year. Of course you’ve got the other big holidays, like Christmas, the MLB All-Star Game, New Year’s, the start and finish of the World Series and Thanksgiving. But one thing Opening Day has – shining over all the others – is the fresh start not only of the baseball season but also the beginning of summer. Yes, today’s predicted high of 47 degrees in Cooperstown isn’t exactly summer weather, but you can’t deny thinking of glorious summer days when talking about baseball.

Diehards of perennial basement dwellers like myself (a Royals fan) or say my boss (a Pirates supporter) always welcome the day in which every team is in first – though that’s not exactly true today because of last night’s opener and the Japan Series last week. Regardless, Opening Day is a day of hope, when dreamers see their franchises lifting the World Series trophy.

A fresh start. That’s what today is about. And that’s something that can be applicable to anyone, not just us seamheads who celebrate today more fervently than Columbus Day – a day which many people do get to take off.

The first Opening Day I really remember was 1994. I was too young and too new of a baseball fan – having just moved to Kansas City the prior summer – to have negative many memories of the strike. So for me, that season is marked more by my first real summer of being a baseball fan. And on Opening Day in 1994, in Mrs. Wood’s third grade classroom, the Royals game played. I bragged to my friends that my dad was in the crowd that day and vowed to go the next season. It was the coolest day of school ever, watching baseball while pretending to do math homework at my desk.

Of course it wasn’t until 2007, my first season working for the Royals, that I got to go to my first Opening Day. I skipped two classes to go and my college professors weren’t mad, instead they were jealous that I was going and they had to stay and teach.

This will be my first year not attending the Royals home opener since 2007 and I’m a little sad. Even the last three years while living here in Cooperstown, I’ve flown back home to make my pilgrimage. This year though, I’m holding out my annual Kansas City baseball trek for the All-Star Game, which will be a memorable experience in itself, but I’m sad my streak will end this season and more sad that I probably won’t make it to a major league game in April.

But I know that this Opening Day will be just as memorable as the last 18 I’ve spent as a baseball fan, watching the tickers, coming the Internet for updates while trying to get work done. It’ll be like those years in high school and college when I tried to glean every possible stat I could.

I know I won’t be as productive today as I am normally. How could I? It’s Opening Day. It’s the start to the National Pastime, the beginning of summer and a clean slate. Those sound like good enough reasons to me for a new national holiday.

Hope springs eternal today. I know in my heart the Royals will make the playoffs and win the World Series – and I wish each and every one of you a happy Opening Day!

Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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FENtennial Opens in Cooperstown

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By Craig Muder

The lady wearing the Red Sox jersey ducked under the stanchions and hurried over to the new exhibit – getting a sneak peek at history.

“Carlton Fisk used Rick Burleson’s bat to hit his home run in the 1975 World Series? I had no idea!” she said before the official opening of the Hall of Fame’s new Fenway Park exhibit. “What a story!” 

It’s just one of hundreds told by FENtennial: Fenway Park’s First 100 Years – which officially opened to the public on Tuesday at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. 

The exhibit, located on the Museum’s second floor and included with admission to the Hall of Fame, uses artifacts like the bat Fisk used to end Game 6 of the 1975 Fall Classic – a bat he sought due to its light weight after Fisk had already caught all 12 innings of that iconic game.the public on Tuesday at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

It’s all part of the history of Fenway Park, the major leagues’ oldest cathedral which hosted its first American League game on April 20, 1912. The exhibit will remain on display through the 2012 season.

“That’s a Ted Williams jersey,” said a fan wearing a Yankees cap and jersey emblazoned with Don Mattingly’s signature No. 23. “That’s history right there.”

That’s history at the home of baseball history – in Cooperstown.

 Craig Muder is the director of communications at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Cooperstown Hosts Home School Discovery Day

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By Donny Lowe

Today, home school students were treated to a unique educational experience at the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame’s ‘Home School Discovery’ day filled the Museum with home school students from across the area that were eager to learn more about the National Pastime with this hands-on experience.

The Museum featured multiple stations where students could take a deeper look into the history behind the art featured in the Museum’s art gallery, learn about women and girls who broke barriers to play the National Pastime, and explore how baseball equipment has evolved through the years to meet the needs of an ever-changing game.

A crowd formed around the ‘Innovation: Tools of the Trade’ station as both young and old learned how a modern baseball is made, right down to the number of stitches. Each participant eagerly awaited their turn to try on baseball gloves from when the game was in its infancy to a later model inspired by Derek Jeter.

The day was also full of interactive events where students could learn what makes the sweet spot of the bat so sweet and had the opportunity to connect live in the Bullpen Theater with the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory for a virtual tour. And before the day was out they would recreate a historic radio broadcast in the ‘Making Airwaves’ session and test their knowledge of baseball past and present during ‘So You Think You Know Baseball,’ the Hall of Fame’s interactive family game show.

To learn more about the Hall of Fame’s Home School Discovery Day program contact the Education Department at education@baseballhall.org or (607) 547-0347.

Donny Lowe is the manager, web and digital media, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. 

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Jackie Robinson Day in Syracuse

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By BRAD HORN

When Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier 65 years ago – on April 15, 1947 at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field against the Boston Braves – he crossed the white lines on to that baseball field because he loved the game. Though he went hitless in three at-bats that April afternoon, he scored a run and handled 11 putouts at FIRST base – not the second base bag where he would become a fixture – and played the game with grace and class.

He achieved this despite having very few folks in his corner – on his team, on the opposition, in the ballpark, in the media. Perhaps only Branch Rickey, the Dodgers executive who signed Robinson, was supportive of that moment.

Had Jackie simply played the game on April 15, he would still be an important figure in American history for doing what was – at the time – thought to be the impossible. An African-American playing Major League Baseball.

But the excellence of Jack Roosevelt Robinson is that he was truly great – on the field, as a person, and in understanding his responsibility bestowed upon him on April 15, 1947.

Over the course of the next 10 major league seasons, Robinson would become one of the most dynamic players the game has ever known. He would go on to win the 1947 Rookie of the Year Award, an honor most everyone would have thought impossible on April 15 of that year.

The life of Jackie Robinson is one that we celebrate every day in Cooperstown. His impact on American culture is truly greater than the game. Players come and go. Milestones are achieved. Records are broken. But there will always be only one Jackie Robinson.

On Sunday – Jackie Robinson Day throughout baseball – we traveled his original Hall of Fame plaque to Alliance Stadium in Syracuse for fans to see how his career was immortalized in 1962, when he was elected as a first-ballot Hall of Fame player, five years after his retirement. Jackie was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame because of his achievements on the field, not because he was the first African-American to play the game.

The reference to his being the first was purposely omitted from his original plaque. Robinson did not want to be remembered simply as the first. He – and so many others – knew that he was elected to the Hall of Fame because he was one of the game’s best all-around players.

Today, when you visit Cooperstown, you will see a new plaque to honor Jackie Robinson. In 2008, the Museum took the unprecedented step to include language on his plaque to reflect his role in breaking the color barrier. With a passage of 50 years this summer since his Hall of Fame election, it is imperative that future generations know his role was very much a part of the legacy of Jackie Robinson today.

For without Jackie, and without the tremendous courage he displayed in the face of adversity and severe injustice, the game’s opportunities for players of so many cultures and races might not be possible.

Brad Horn is the senior director of communications and education for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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I-Rod left his mark on the game

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By CRAIG MUDER

For Ivan Rodriguez, the numbers are almost beyond our ability to appreciate them.

(Brad Mangin/National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Fourteen times an All-Star. Thirteen times a Gold Glove Award winner at catcher. More hits – 2,844 – than any other player who spent the majority of his career behind the plate. More games caught – 2,427 – than any other player.

But that’s not what I remember about Ivan Rodriguez. I remember the 19-year-old phenom who surfaced with the Rangers in 1991, gunning out would-be base stealers with such ease that his arm looked more like a whip.

I remember thinking: “This guy could hit .075 and still be the best all-around catcher in the game.”

More than two decades later, I-Rod has redefined the position in a way very few players ever have.

He’ll become eligible for election to the Hall of Fame in 2017.

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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