We did the Pro Football Hall of Fame last and now it's time for the Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) located in Cooperstown, New York.
 |
| A gorgeous entrance. Very classy place. |
This HOF was much more extensive than the football one. We ran out of steam after about 3 hours.....so much to see.
Of course, the first place we went right to was the hall of fame plaque room.
 |
| On the left and right are all the plaques of the members, year by year. |
 |
At the end of the room in the distance are the (1936) first year's members' plaques:
Top left, Christy Mathewson;
Bottom Left, Babe Ruth
Center, Ty Cobb
Top Right, Honus Wagner
Bottom Right, Walter Johnson |
 |
| Willie Mays...my favorite ball player when I was growing up. |
 |
| Juan Marichal |
 |
| Willie McCovey. I can still remember the exact place I was in the playground in 1962 when Willie hit a screaming line drive (which should've won the World Series for the Giants) but instead went right into the glove of second baseman, Bobby Richardson (Yankees) to end the game and win the World Series for the Yankees. |
 |
| Gaylord Perry (Mr Spitball) |
 |
| Sandy Koufax |
 |
| Stan Musial (I used to imitate his batting stance when I hit left-handed) |
 |
| Ted Williams |
 |
| Orlando Cepeda |
 |
| Ty Cobb |
 |
| Scout Report on Sandy Koufax...notice all the A's. |
The entire upstairs two floors were dedicated to the history of baseball, all the baseball records, the teams that won world series, special exhibits....well, you get the point....LOTS to see !!!
 |
| Stan Musial's locker |
 |
| Mickey Mantle's locker |
 |
| A tribute to the man with the most hits of all time, Pete Rose. Oh wait....he's not been elected yet to the Hall of Fame. Don't get me started on THAT subject!!! |
All of the teams had one of these lockers...all in one large room. There were TVs playing past World Series as we walked around so if you got tired of seeing stuff, you could sit down and just watch some baseball being played.
 |
| Terrific photo of a "difference of opinion" between the umpire and the manager. |
 |
| These life size statues of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams are carved entirely out of wood! |
 |
| This bronze cast sculpture by Stanley Bleifeld outside the National Baseball Hall of Fame captures a scene from the final game of the 1955 World Series. |
 |
| There was a large room dedicated to just baseball radio. |
 |
| Pretty cool touch on the fences. |
 |
| Kim thought the bricks were unique...hence, this photo. |
 |
| ...but here...the walls changed....hmmmmm. |
 |
| Wonderful entrance...very inviting. |
 |
| Outside was this large scoreboard that showed all the games being played as well as all the current standings. |
Of course, there was lots and lots more to see. Heck, the baseball records section was overwhelming ..knowing baseball's proclivity (big word huh?) to be obsessed with stats.
We really should have gone in, looked around for an hour or so, then come back after lunch to finish up. We got glassy eyed after a while. But well worth the time to see it all. Another dream checked off our list! (well, maybe just Steve's list).
Kim and Steve
