07.08.16 MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York – Part One – – BECAUSE HE LIVES, I CAN FACE TOMORROW

NB_HOF_logo Friday, July 8, 2016 – Today we visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It is an American baseball history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, and operated by private interests. It serves as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, displays baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, and honors those who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport. The Hall’s motto is “Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations.” The word Cooperstown is often used instead of the longer name of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The town of Cooperstown is so much more than the Hall of Fame and Museum. There are many other museums here, lots of shopping opportunities and the short drive from our RV park and back was amazingly beautiful. This is the first of three posts about the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Way to much to cover in one! The pictures I chose show just a little part of the place. So much history is covered and so many amazing players’ memorabilia are on display.

The second and third floors are the the museum and the first floor is the Hall of Fame. Part one and two will cover the trolley ride there, second and third floors Part two will cover the Hall of Fame. All of the photos in today’s blog post are clickable and will enlarge if you want to see something better.

There are three trolley pick up places on the Village Trolley Route. You can park at any of them and for $2 take a ride to several different drop of points, one of which is the Hall of Fame. The $2 covers the round trip. We got off the trolley a couple of blocks before the Hall of Fame so we could see some of the shops in the area. There are parking lots in the city of Cooperstown that are between $12 and $14 a day. We chose the trolley ride and loved it!

The Trolley

3-downtown-cooperstown-trolley

Inside the Trolley

A very little bit of what we saw strolling down the streets.

Every little town around this area has these balls of flowers hanging from their light posts throughout the town. Each town has a different color flower ball. Such a beautiful site to see! I was a baseball mom for many years, now I’m a softball Grannie, so this tshirt spoke to me quite loudly!! Here we are walking up to the Hall of Fame building. It is a very large three story building.

Inside the Hall of Fame and Museum. It was $15 for seniors and $12 for old military guys. I believe the regular cost to get in is a little over $20.

Representation of the “Strike Zone”

Babe Ruth has his own area within the Hall of Fame. So cool seeing all that he did!

Barnstorming in 1927 (and again following the 1928 season), Babe wore this “Bustin Babes” jersey while Lou Gehrig played for the “Larrupin’ Louis.”

Babe’s glove from the 1926 World Series

Babe Ruth lugged this 36 inch, 43 ounce Louisville Slugger to his his 57th and 58th home runs of 1921. It takes a strong man to carry a bat like that!

On to other things not Babe Ruth related

There was a special room where the Who’s on First video was shown. If you have never heard the Who’s on First hilarious story, or haven’t seen it in a while, here’s a link to it: Click here

A glass case showed off pins, penants and rings from each year the World Series has been played since 1903. Here a photo of some of the recent years and information about the 1903: The first modern world series.

When Greg Maddux played for the Atlanta Braves he was my very favorite pitcher. He was called “The Professor” by of his deep knowledge of the intricacies of pitching and known as “Mad Dog!”

Javy Lopez was our oldest son’s favorite player in his younger years. Javy was an excellent Atlanta Braves catcher as well as a phenomenal hitter. He was always fun to watch. I don’t know if he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame but he was recognized here!

Two other really popular players in semi recent years.

Hank Aaron had his own section as well. He’s one of the amazing Atlanta Braves players from days past!

The locker used by Hank Aaron, at Atlanta Stadium in 1974. Atlanta Stadium was the Braves home park from 1966 to 1996. I’m going to end today’s blog with one of the wildest and funny mascots. The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. He is a large, furry, green bi-pedal creature with an extendable tongue. I’m including him and the Philadelphia Phillies cage showing lots of their memorabilia to say hi to the really nice ladies I had the pleasure of visiting with a couple of evenings ago. They stayed in the spot next to us and we had a really nice time getting to know each other. They are on vacation in an RV and love the Phillies! So thanks ladies for being so nice and we surely did stay away from the Baseball Wax Museum!!! Thanks for the Tip!!