The Mighty Casey himself (former Baseball Hall of Fame researcher Tim Wiles, now Guilderland Public Library director) came out to visit with Joyce Westerman, Jeneane Lesko, Gloria Rogers McCloskey, Dolly Ozburn and Mary Moore, all members of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, as their annual got underway today at the Baseball Hall of Fame. At right, Sue Zipay, right, who played for the Rockford Peaches, peruses the scrapbooks of clippings, photos and journals donated by Sarah Ferguson and other AAGPBL players. Several players will give a talk ahead of the Hall’s screening of “A League of Their Own,” the opening film in the annual Baseball Film Festival, tonight at 6:30 p.m. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
TRIBUTE – 8 p.m. One of Nations top Eagles tribute band ‘The Eagles Experience’ presents evening of Eagles greatest hits & fun. General Admission, $20. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. 607-431-2080 or visit foothillspac.org
Former AAGPBL players Betty Trezza (left) and Ernestine Petras (right) with “League of Their Own” Director, Penny Marshall. BL-4767-97 (National Baseball Hall of Fame photo)
In this week’s “Morning Headlines” on WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, Jim Kevlin, editor/publisher of www.AllOTSEGO.com (and Hometown Oneonta & the Freeman’s Journal), reports how the development of the 1988 “Women in Baseball” exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown led Penny Marshall, who died Monday, to create the hit movie, “A League of Their Own.”
Penny Marshall last visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, posing next to the “A League of their Own” case. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame)
COOPERSTOWN – Penny Marshall, who directed the baseball classic “A League of Their Own” after taking inspiration from as Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit, died Monday night in her Hollywood Hills home due to complications from diabetes, said Michelle Bega, a spokeswoman for the family.
Laura Moellering, Cooperstown, recalled that her mother, Rita Meyer, a former shortstop for the Peoria Redwings with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, met Marshall when, in 1988, she attended the 50th reunion and unveiling of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s “Women in Baseball” display.
CELEBRATION – 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mark Independence Day weekend with a muster of the militia and a reading of the Declaration of Independence on the village green at 1 p.m. The Farmers Museum, Cooperstown. www.farmersmuseum.org/Independence-Day-July-4th-Celebration
WRITERS CAMP – 1:30-3:30 p.m. Join Jen and the HML Writers Group for a NaNoWriMo style weekly workshop. Jen will present prompts and other activities to get you writing. Registration required. Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. hmloneonta.org/calendar/
SOUP ‘N’ CHILI – The Cooperstown Winter Carnival starts up for a second weekend 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with Chili, Beef Barley Soup, Broccoli, Bread, Dessert, and drinks. Adults $8, Children $4 at First Baptist Church, 21 Elm St., Cooperstown. Info, 547-9371
CONTRADANCE – 7:15-10:30 p.m. Otsego Dance Society hosts. Music by Eleemosynary, Robby Poulette calls. No partner or experience needed. All dances taught. Newcomers welcome at 7:15 for an introduction to some basic steps. Suggested donation $8 adults; $4 students and teenagers; kids 12 & under free. First Presbyterian Church, 25 Church St., Cooperstown. Info, (607) 965-8232, 547-8164, www.otsegodancesociety.blogspot.com
