Here's some notes from the kind folks at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, who stated that an impressive 66 Baseball Hall of Famers served in the US Armed Forces. A warm and greatful thank you to all the veterans out there and to everyone else that's helped keep this great country of ours free. Free to be, so people like me can write about a kid's game for a living each and every day.
 

HONORING THOSE WHO SERVED
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates the lives of the men and women who have served our National Pastime atthe highest level…Many of those players, managers, umpires and executives also served the United States in the armed forces, and onVeterans Day the nation takes time to thank them for their service…A total of 66 Hall of Famers – almost a quarter of all enshrined inCooperstown – served in the armed forces.

The Hall of Fame also says “thank you” to veterans year-round by admitting for freevisitors who are active duty military members or those who have retired from the military after a full career...And on Veterans Day2008, the Hall of Fame will be less than a month away from announcing the Veterans Committee election results…On Dec. 8, tallies from two distinct ballots – one for players who began their big league career prior to 1943 and another for players who began theircareer in 1943 and after – will be announced at baseball’s Winter Meetings…Any candidate receiving at least 75 percent of the votewill be enshrined at the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2009.

ONE STEP AWAY FROM THE HALL
All 64 living Hall of Famers comprise the electorate for the post-1942 VeteransCommittee ballot, which features players who began their big league careers in 1943 or afterward…The 10 finalists are: Dick Allen,Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Al Oliver, Vada Pinson, Ron Santo, Luis Tiant, Joe Torre and Maury Wills.

Any candidatereceiving 75 percent of the vote will be elected, and electees will be enshrined on Sunday, July 26, 2009 in Cooperstown…The finalballot was determined after the Historical Overview Committee of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, comprised of 11veteran baseball writers and historians, selected 20 finalists from all eligible players whose careers spanned at least 10 major leagueseasons and started in 1943 or after…Concurrently, a screening committee comprised of six Hall of Famers selected five names forthe ballot, and the two lists were merged for a total of 21 candidates.

The 64 living Hall of Famers served as their own screeningcommittee and then narrowed the ballot to 10 finalists…The 21 candidates considered by the screening committee were: Allen, KenBoyer, Bert Campaneris, Rocky Colavito, Mike Cuellar, Steve Garvey, Hodges, Kaat, Ted Kluszewski, Mickey Lolich, RogerMaris, Lee May, Minnie Minoso, Thurman Munson, Oliva, Oliver, Pinson, Santo, Tiant, Torre and Wills… For more informationon the 10 finalists, visit www.baseballhall.org.MORE

VETERANS
Also on Dec. 8, the results from the pre-1943 players ballot Veterans Committee voting will be announced atbaseball’s Winter Meetings…The 12-man Veterans Committee considering this ballot consists of Hall of Famers Bobby Doerr,Ralph Kiner, Phil Niekro, Robin Roberts, Duke Snider, Don Sutton and Dick Williams and historians Furman Bisher, RolandHemond, Steve Hirdt, Bill Madden and Claire Smith.

Any player who receives 75 percent of the vote will earn election to theBaseball Hall of Fame and be enshrined as part of the Class of 2009…The Historical Overview Committee selected the 10 finalistsfrom a list of all eligible players, those whose careers spanned at least 10 major league seasons and started in 1942 or earlier…The 10finalists are: Bill Dahlen, Wes Ferrell, Joe Gordon, Sherry Magee, Carl Mays, Allie Reynolds, Vern Stephens, Mickey Vernon,Bucky Walters and Deacon White…For more information on the 10 finalists, visit www.baseballhall.org.
 
BROADCASTING’S BEST
On Dec. 9 at baseball’s Winter Meetings, the Ford C. Frick Award winner will be announced…The 10 finalists for the 2009 Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fameand Museum, include three fan selections produced during a record-total 145,138 votes recorded throughout September exclusively atwww.baseballhall.org.

For the second consecutive year, Joe Nuxhall paced all broadcasters in the fan voting, totaling 19,547 votes.Jacques Doucet (10,282) and Tom Cheek (8,992) also earned spots on the final ballot, joining seven broadcasters selected by a Hallof Fame research committee: Billy Berroa, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Lanny Frattare, Tony Kubek, Graham McNamee andDave Van Horne…Voting will be conducted by a 20-member electorate, comprised of the 15 living Frick Award recipients and fivebroadcast historians/columnists, including past Frick honorees Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola,Ernie Harwell, Jaime Jarrin, Milo Hamilton, Harry Kalas, Denny Matthews, 2008 Frick Award winner Dave Niehaus, FeloRamirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Bob Wolff, and historians/columnists Bob Costas (NBC), Barry Horn(Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of NY Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian) and Curt Smith (historian).

WRITTEN HISTORY
 Nick Peters, Dave Van Dyck and Bob Elliott have been named the finalists for the 2009 J.G. Taylor SpinkAward for excellence in baseball writing…The final vote by the members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America will takeplace in the fall, with the 2009 Spink Award winner to be announced at baseball’s Winter Meetings Dec. 8-11…Peters is retired fromthe Sacramento Bee, Van Dyck writes for the Chicago Tribune and Elliott writes for the Toronto Sun…The late Larry Whitesidewon the 2008 Spink Award.

POSTSEASON TREASURES COME TO HALL OF FAME PHILADELPHIA PHREEDOM
The 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies generously donated several artifacts to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum following the 104th edition of the World Series…Those artifacts will be preservedforever by the Museum and displayed in the 2008 Autumn Glory exhibit at the Hall of Fame, which will open Nov. 17.

The items include: Cole Hamels' No. 35 home pinstriped jersey that he wore in Game 5; Jayson Werth's spikes; Joe Blanton's bat that he usedto hit his home run in Game 4; Ryan Howard's bat used in Game 5; Eric Bruntlett's cap; Carlos Ruiz's batting helmet; and BradLidge’s cap he wore in Game 5 when he saved the Series-clinching win for the Phillies. SHINING RAYS: The Tampa Bay Rays, the 2008 American League Champions, also donated artifacts to the Hall of Fame from theirincredible postseason run…Items include: B.J. Upton’s spikes and his bat from the ALCS, where he hit four home runs; Carl Crawford’s jersey; and manager Joe Maddon’s flap-cap.A

CENTURY’S WORTH OF WORLD SERIES HISTORY:
The Museum collections contain many artifacts documenting theentire history of World Series and postseason play...The first and last pitched baseballs from the original modern day World Series in1903; Don Larsen’s cap and Yogi Berra’s mitt from Larsen’s ’56 perfect game; Bill Mazeroski’s (1960) and Joe Carter’s (1993)bats from their Series-ending blasts…

The gloves worn by Al Gionfriddo (1947), Willie Mays (1954) and Brooks Robinson(1970)…Babe Ruth’s bat from one of his two 3-HR games (1928) and the radio given to the 1940 Reds as the World Series share forwinning… From the 2000 Subway Series: Derek Jeter’s helmet, Luis Sojo’s game-winning hit bat, Don Zimmer’s jersey and MikePiazza’s batting helmet…The Temple Cup, presented to the top two NL teams from 1894-97, is in Cooperstown, as is the HallChampionship Cup, presented to the 1888 World Champion New York Baseball Club.

HARDWARE HISTORY: POSTSEASON HONORS
It’s award season in baseball, and many former award-winners are now enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame: MOUND MAVENS: Fourteen different Hall of Fame pitchers have captured 25 Cy Young trophies since the award’s inception in1956…The HOF pitcher with the most awards is 1994 inductee Steve Carlton (4)…

Other multiple-winners include Jim Palmer, SandyKoufax and Tom Seaver (3 each), and Bob Gibson and Gaylord Perry (2 each)…Warren Spahn, Early Wynn, Whitey Ford, DonDrysdale, Ferguson Jenkins, Catfish Hunter, Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers each won the award once…Since the award was split intotwo leagues in 1967, three times league-winners in the same year have become Hall of Fame members: 1972 (Perry and Carlton),1973 (Palmer and Seaver) and 1975 (Palmer and Seaver).

KIDS ON THE BLOCK: In the 62-year history of Rookie of the Year voting (its official inception was in 1947), 12 recipients wenton to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame…Of the 14 unanimous RoY choices, four have gone to Cooperstown -- Frank Robinson, OrlandoCepeda, Willie McCovey and Carlton Fisk…Twice in the 60 years of balloting in both leagues (1949-08), the voters have selected apair of future Hall of Famers in the same season: 1956 (Luis Aparicio/Frank Robinson) and ‘67 (Tom Seaver/Rod Carew).
 
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: In the 88 years of MVP voting (1911-08, less the nine years when there was either no official vote orvoting was not held in both leagues), several Hall of Famers have earned the award…On eight occasions league MVPs from the sameposition in the same year became Hall of Famers, including: In the 88 years of MVP voting (1911-08, less the nine years when there was either no official vote or
voting was not held in both leagues), several Hall of Famers have earned the award…On eight occasions league MVPs from the same
position in the same year became Hall of Famers, including:
YEAR POSITION A.L. HOF MEMBER N.L. HOF MEMBER
1980 Third Base George Brett Mike Schmidt
1969 First Base Harmon Killebrew Willie McCovey
1966 Right Field Frank Robinson Roberto Clemente
1955 Catcher Roy Campanella Yogi Berra
1951 Catcher Roy Campanella Yogi Berra
1946 Left Field Ted Williams Stan Musial
1924 Pitcher Walter Johnson Dazzy Vance
1914 Second base Eddie Collins Johnny Evers

GLOVE HIM MADLY: The Gold Glove Award has been presented annually in each league since 1957 at every fielding position…Twenty-four Hall of Famers earned multiple Gold Glove Awards during their career, with the “Human Vacuum Cleaner,” Brooks Robinson, pacing all Hall of Famers with 16…By position among Hall of Famers, a total of 24 Hall of Famers (three pitchers, two catchers, one first baseman, four second basemen, three third basemen, three shortstops and eight outfielders) garnered multiple
Gold Glove Awards…The list of Hall of Famers (with total Awards in parentheses) to win multiple Gold Gloves: Brooks Robinson (16), Ozzie Smith (13), Roberto Clemente (12), Willie Mays (12), Johnny Bench (10), Al Kaline (10), Mike Schmidt (10), Luis Aparicio (9), Bob Gibson (9), Ryne Sandberg (9), Bill Mazeroski (8), Dave Winfield (7), Carl Yastrzemski (7), Kirby Puckett (6), Tony Gwynn (5), Joe Morgan (5), Phil Niekro (5), Jim Palmer (4), Hank Aaron (3), Gary Carter (3), Nellie Fox (3), Eddie Murray (3), Wade Boggs (2) and Cal Ripken (2).

MUSEUM UPCOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, Nov. 14: Extra Innings Overnight: Come join us for an unforgettable night at the Museum! Children nine and older will have the opportunity to sleep in the Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery. Guests can explore the Museum after hours, watch a movie or baseball game in the Bullpen Theater, have an evening snack and morning breakfast and receive a Hall of Fame back sack filled with mementos. Cost is $49.95 for juniors, $39.95 for adults. For more information, call 607-547-0312.

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, Dec. 4-5 and Jan. 8-9: VIP Experience: Fans will have the opportunity to explore behind the scenes at the Baseball Hall of Fame through the VIP Experience, a program designed to give visitors an extraordinary trip to the Museum on select dates through April 2009. The Museum has partnered with Cooperstown accommodations on select dates. The VIP Experience will begin with exclusive after-hours access to the Hall of Fame on Thursday evening and wrap up on Friday afternoon with a private reception.

The Hall of Fame VIP Experience includes: a Hall of Fame sustaining membership ($100 value), a Library archive tour, a Museum collections artifact presentation and a private late-afternoon reception with light refreshments. Available for purchase through select Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce accommodations, the Hall of Fame VIP Experience makes a perfect get-away or a great gift for someone special. Space is limited for this exclusive program. Accommodations include: The Cooper Inn, The Inn at Cooperstown, The Phinney House, The Rose and Thistle Bed and Breakfast and The White House Inn. The program should be booked through the local merchant. VIP Experience programs will also be held Jan. 22-23, Feb. 5-6, Feb. 19-20 and March 5-6. For more information, please call the Museum’s Membership Department at 607-547-0397.

SATURDAY, Dec. 13: Holiday Celebration: Join us in Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame's annual Holiday Celebration, hosted in conjunction with holiday events in the village sponsored by the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce. Enjoy musical performances, refreshments and holiday cheer. Museum admission is FREE to all visitors who contribute non-perishable food and/or new, unwrapped toys to our food and toy drive.

HALL OF FAME NEWS
RICKEY DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER: The 2009 Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame vote will be
announced at 2 p.m. Jan. 12…First-time eligibles include career stolen base and runs king Rickey Henderson, all-time games pitched leader Jesse Orosco and five-time All-Star Matt Williams…Holdover candidates include Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven and Jim Rice, who finished just 16 votes short of election in 2008 and will appear on the BBWAA ballot for the final time in 2009.

NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE: A partial list of eligible first-time players who are eligible for upcoming Hall of Fame elections includes: 2009: David Cone, Mark Grace, Rickey Henderson, Jesse Orosco, Mo Vaughn, Matt Williams; 2010: Roberto Alomar, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Robin Ventura; 2011: Jeff Bagwell, Kevin Brown, John Franco, Juan Gonzalez, Marquis Grissom, Al Leiter, Tino Martinez, Rafael Palmeiro, Larry Walker, Dan Wilson; 2012: David Bell, Vinny Castilla, Dustin Hermanson, Jose Hernandez, Terry Mulholland, Brad Radke, Bernie Williams; 2013: Sandy Alomar Jr., Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Julio Franco, Kenny Lofton, Jose Mesa, Mike Piazza, David Wells, Bob Wickman…Note that a player must be inactive for five years to appear on the ballot…For complete details, visit www.baseballhall.org.

BOOK NOW FOR FUTURE WEEKENDS: Future Hall of Fame Weekends will be held over the last weekend in July in upcoming years… In 2009, Induction Weekend will be July 24-27, with the ceremony on Sunday, July 26…In 2010, the ceremony will occur on July 25 during the Weekend, which runs July 23-26.

CAREFUL SELECTION: 2008 marked the 65th Hall of Fame election held by the BBWAA…Of the 74 election years starting in 1936, on 56 occasions the membership has elected someone; on seven occasions it has not elected anyone (1945, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1960, 1971, 1996); and on nine occasions, no election was held (1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965).

HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: Comprehensive voting data from past BBWAA elections is available exclusively at www.baseballhall.org...Visitors can sort election results by player, year and by votes received…This compilation marks the first definitive database of Hall of Fame election data, allowing the user to view year-by-year vote totals for an individual or view cumulative election results of each year since 1936.

THE GAME’S ELITE: The Hall of Fame is comprised of 286 elected members…Included are 199 former major league players, 26 executives, 35 Negro leaguers, 18 managers and eight umpires…The BBWAA has elected 106 candidates to the Hall while the Veterans Committee (in all of its forms) has chosen 154 deserving candidates (93 major leaguers, 26 executives, 18 managers, nine Negro leaguers and eight umpires)…The defunct “Committee on Negro Baseball Leagues” selected nine men between 1971-77 and the Special Committee on Negro Leagues in 2006, elected 17 Negro leaguers…There are currently 64 living members…Note: This includes the 2008 inductees.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Including Negro league players, the following is a breakdown by position of the 228 Hall of Famers who earned their election on the playing field…Also included is the last major leaguer to be elected at each position.
Pitchers ........................71 Second Baseman......... 18 Left Fielders ................ 19
Catchers.......................16 Third Baseman ........... 13 Center Fielders ........... 23
First Baseman .............21 Shortstops ................... 23 Right Fielders.............. 23
Designated Hitter..........1 DH: Molitor (2004)

PITCHER: Gossage (2008) SECOND BASE: Sandberg (2005) LEFT FIELD: Yastrzemski (1989)

CATCHER: Carter (2003) THIRD BASE: Boggs (2005) CENTER FIELD: Puckett (2001)
FIRST BASE: Murray (2003) SHORTSTOP: Ripken Jr. (2007) RIGHT FIELD: Gwynn (2007)

CAPPING THE ISSUE: The choice of which team logo appears on a player’s plaque is the Museum's decision, though the wishes of an inductee are always considered…As a history museum, it is important that the logo be emblematic of the historical accomplishments of that player's career…A player's election to the Hall of Fame is a career achievement, and as such, every team for whom he played is listed on the plaque; however, the logo selection is based on where that player makes his most indelible mark…For example, it would not be appropriate from an historical standpoint if Babe Ruth's cap had a Red Sox logo, if Ty Cobb's cap had a Philly A's logo, or if Hank Greenberg's had a Pirates logo…However, when instances come up where a player's career achievements
were fairly evenly divided, as was the case with both Dave Winfield and Carlton Fisk, we give the player more ownership in the decision, though the Museum retains the final one.

2008 BALLOTING RECAP
AND THE WINNER IS: The BBWAA 2008 ballot featured 25 candidates, including 14 newcomers and 11 returning
candidates…The only electee was pitcher Richard “Goose” Gossage, who received 85.8% of the votes in his ninth year on the ballot…Of the first-timers, only Tim Raines (24.3%) will return for the 2009 election…In total, 10 players received votes on less than five percent of ballots cast, and are therefore no longer eligible for consideration by the BBWAA…Dave Concepcion made his 15th and final appearance on the writers ballot and will be eligible for Veterans Committee consideration in 2010…13 candidates will return for consideration in 2008…There were 543 ballots cast, with 408 votes necessary for election and 28 votes necessary to remain on the ballot…The final results, in order of percentage received:

NAME YR % NAME YR % NAME YR %
Goose Gossage 9 85.8% Don Mattingly 8 15.8% Todd Stottlemyre 1 0.2%
Jim Rice 14 72.2% Dave Parker 12 15.1% Brady Anderson 1 0%
Andre Dawson 7 65.9% Dale Murphy 10 13.8% Jose Rijo 1 0%
Bert Blyleven 11 61.9% Harold Baines 2 5.2%
Lee Smith 6 43.3% Rod Beck 1 0.4%
Jack Morris 9 42.9% Travis Fryman 1 0.4% Elected to Hall of Fame (Bold)
Tommy John 14 29.1% Robb Nen 1 0.4%
Tim Raines 1 24.3% Shawon Dunston 1 0.2%

Will not return to ballot in 2009
Mark McGwire 2 23.6% Chuck Finley 1 0.2%
Alan Trammell 7 18.2% David Justice 1 0.2%
Dave Concepcion 15 16.2% Chuck Knoblauch 1 0.2%

NEAR PERFECTION: While Goose Gossage did not crack the list of top vote-getters, last year’s inductees, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, received near-perfect vote percentages…Here’s a look at the most voted for electees in Hall of Fame history.

YEAR PLAYER BALLOTS CAST VOTES RECEIVED % RECEIVED OMITTED BALLOTS
1992 ................... Tom Seaver ...................... 430.................................... 425.............................. 98.84%..................................5
1999 ................... Nolan Ryan....................... 497.................................... 491.............................. 98.79%..................................6
2007 ................... Cal Ripken Jr.................... 545.................................... 537.............................. 98.53%..................................8
1936 ................... Ty Cobb............................ 226.................................... 222.............................. 98.23%..................................4
1999 ................... George Brett ..................... 497.................................... 488.............................. 98.19%..................................9
1982 ................... Hank Aaron ...................... 415.................................... 406.............................. 97.83%..................................9
2007 ................... Tony Gwynn..................... 545.................................... 532.............................. 97.60%................................13

ONE-TEAM WONDERS: There are 46 Hall of Famers who spent their entire career with one team…2007 inductees Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are the most recent additions to that list…The others: Luke Appling, Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, George Brett, Roy Campanella, Roberto Clemente, Earle Combs, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr, Don Drysdale, Red Faber, Bob Feller, Whitey Ford, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, Bob Gibson, Carl Hubbell, Travis Jackson, Walter Johnson, Al Kaline, Addie Joss, Sandy Koufax, Bob Lemon, Ted Lyons, Mickey Mantle, Bill Mazeroski, Bid McPhee, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Jim Palmer, Kirby Puckett, Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, Brooks Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell, Pie Traynor, Bill Terry, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Robin Yount and Ross Youngs.

ON THE HOMEFRONT – MUSEUM NEWS

COLLECTING HISTORY: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has collected a number of treasures from the 2008 major league season…Among those artifacts that have arrived in Cooperstown: A ticket from the final New York Mets opening day at Shea Stadium on April 8…A ticket from the no-hitter thrown by Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox on May 19…Manny Ramirez’s batting helmet from his 500th home run…A fishing hat from longstanding Chicago Cubs equipment manager, Yosh Kuwano…The batting helmet of Ken Griffey Jr. worn during his 600th home run for the Reds…Mariano Rivera’s All-Star Game jersey.

The bat of the Indians’ Kelly Shoppach, who tied a Major League record with five extra-base hits on July 31, a feat accomplished just one other time in American League history (Lou Boudreau, July 14, 1946)…Jersey worn by the Braves’ John Smoltz when he recorded his 3,000th career strikeout…A game ball from Francisco Rodriguez’s record 58th save on Sept. 13…A jersey worn by Team USA manager Davey Johnson during the 2008 Olympics…A cap worn by Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth on Sept. 11 featuring stars and stripes logo coloring.

Batting helmet from Ichiro Suzuki worn when he recorded his 200th hit of the season, tying Willie Keeler’s
record of eight straight seasons with 200 hits…Spikes from Derek Jeter from the game where the Yankees captain passed Lou Gehrig on the all-time Yankee Stadium hits list…Spikes from Yankees catcher Jose Molina and a bat used by Johnny Damon from the last game at Yankee Stadium, along with a bat used by Jeter on the final homestand…Game-worn cap and spikes from Mike Mussina when the Yankees pitcher won his 20th game of the season…Game-worn cap by the Yankees’ Joba Chamberlain.

Jersey from Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, who led the majors in strikeouts in 2008…A game-worn shirt and cap from umpire Brian Gorman, who worked the final game at Shea Stadium…Bats from Marlins infielders Jorge Cantu, Mike Jacobs, Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, who became the first infield in history to feature four members with 25-or-more home runs each…A jersey from Indians’ pitcher Cliff Lee, who tied for the big league lead in victories this year…History happens every day in baseball, and the game’s memories are preserved only in Cooperstown at the Hall of Fame.

HALL OF FAME CELEBRATES CHARACTER AND COURAGE WITH NEW STATUES: The National Baseball Hall of
Fame and Museum celebrated Character and Courage Weekend on Saturday, Nov. 1, with the historic unveiling of three new statues in the Museum’s foyer…The statues depict Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson as symbols of character and courage, reflecting the achievements of the three Hall of Famers as beacons of those characteristics…Made possible through a magnanimous gift by Museum supporter Bob Crotty, the statues will be a permanent addition to the Museum’s foyer…

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, along with the Rachel Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson, and Roberto
Clemente’s wife Vera Clemente and their son’s Luis and Roberto Jr., attended the dedication and spoke during the ceremony to the overflow crowd at the Museum. Also on hand was author Jonathan Eig, whose landmark books on Gehrig and Robinson captured the selfless spirit of the two players….The Character and Courage statues were created by world-famous sculptor Stanley Bleifeld, who has previously designed Hall of Fame tributes to Women in Baseball, Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella and Johnny Podres of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.

HALL IN THE FALL: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during offseason hours from the day after Labor Day until Memorial Day Weekend…The Hall of Fame is open every day of the year except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion