Photo by Milo Stewart Jr.,/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
COOPERSTOWN—Scott Rolen visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Tuesday, February 28 for his orientation tour. Rolen will be inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame class during Induction Weekend, July 21-24. He is a seven-time All-Star who won eight Gold Glove Awards for fielding at third base during a 17-season career in the major leagues. This is Rolen’s sixth year on the ballot. From left: Niki Rolen (Scott’s wife), Finn Rolen (son), Raine Rolen (daughter) and Scott Rolen. They are sitting on a bench in the museum in front of a photo of the 1939 Hall of Fame Induction Class.
COOPERSTOWN—The New Jersey Warriors Hockey Team poses in front of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday, February 18. “Even though they have traveled all across the country, every one of the players, coaches and board members that came has posted that they have never felt the love as much from any community they have been to as the love that was shown to them here in Cooperstown. I thank each and every one of you for making their trip here so memorable,” wrote Barry Shelley, who coordinated the event, in a Facebook post on Monday, February 20.
By BILL FRANCIS COOPERSTOWN Scott Rolen, a hot corner maestro known for his defensive wizardry at third and considerable ability in the batter’s box, has been added to the sport’s greatest roster.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s star-studded lineup increased by one when the results of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame vote were announced a little after 6 p.m. on January 24 live on MLB Network from the iconic Plaque Gallery. Surrounded by the bronze images of 340 of the National Pastime’s forever figures, the 47-year-old Rolen’s name was called by Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch in front of a national audience.
NEW BERLIN – A. George Eccleston, 71, of New Berlin, NY, passed away Monday December 26, 2022, in Cooperstown, NY, with his family by his side.
George was born in Cortland, NY on August 28, 1951, the son of the late Clifford and Dora Watts Eccleston. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by two sisters Emily and Kathy and brother Ron.
From left, Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark, Rick Kelly, Chris Burditt, Milo Stewart Jr., Diane Adams, Claudette Scrafford, Evan Chase, Becky Ashe, Helen Stiles and Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch. (Photo by Jon Shestakofsky/National Baseball Hall of Fame)
COOPERSTOWN—Eight staff members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum were honored on Monday, December 12 for reaching service milestones in an event hosted by Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark and President Josh Rawitch. The eight staff members and their years of service are: Becky Ashe, administrative and events associate, 35 years; Helen Stiles, senior acquisition and cataloging specialist, 35 years; Rick Kelly, security manager, 30 years; Milo Stewart Jr., staff photographer, 30 years; Evan Chase, director of security and facilities, 20 years; Chris Burditt, facilities manager, 20 years; Claudette Scrafford, manuscript archivist, 20 years; and Diane Adams, museum store manager, 15 years.
Neal Moore Topps Allen & Ginter baseball card. (Photo by Neal Moore)
By TED MEBUST
Standing next to his uncle amongst the roaring Jack Murphy Stadium crowd, a young Neal Moore watched the Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Bench step into the batter’s box for one of his final career at-bats. Pausing to capture the moment, he felt forceful echoes of “We want Johnny! We Want Johnny!” rumble throughout the grounds. It was a moment, he said, that made him understand the significance of baseball.
“There were three pitches and there were three strikes. And it didn’t matter. In the nosebleeds [seats] with my uncle, I thought to myself, this isn’t about the Padres, and it’s not about the Reds. This is about baseball, America’s pastime. Right here and right now is something beautiful. There are moments that are magic,” he explained.
COOPERSTOWN—The Houston Astros made history at the 2022 World Series. Now, artifacts from the second World Series championship in franchise history are coming to the Hall of Fame.
Following the Astros’ 4-1 win on Saturday night, the team, its players and manager generously donated several artifacts that tell the story of their victory to the Hall of Fame, and those pieces will soon take a permanent place in Cooperstown.
Joel Evans, executive deputy director at New York State’s Division of Veterans’ Services, gives remarks at NBHoF’s medallion commemoration for hall veterans Gil Hodges and Buck O’Neil. (Photo by Ted Mebust)
By TED MEBUST
COOPERSTOWN – In keeping with tradition, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum recognized the military service of 2022 inductees Gil Hodges and Buck O’Neil with a ceremony in its plaque gallery on Veteran’s Day. Before a crowd of NBHoF-goers and a Cooperstown Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Guard, the pair became the 69th and 70th members to bear a special medallion below their nameplates, indicating the details of their service.
Otsego 2000 Executive Director Ellen Pope shows off this year’s Film Days poster, designed by Doreen DeNicola with photo by Mike Reynolds.
This year, Glimmerglass Film Days is offering five days of independent films, filmmaker talks, art, parties, live music and events. The films will be screened at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Fenimore Art Museum, The Farmers’ Museum, Templeton Hall and the Cooperstown Village Hall.
“Connection is the theme this year,” Ellen Pope, executive director of Otsego 2000, said. “After two years of the pandemic and social isolation, we thought a lot about what the theme should be. The film festival used to be about not just great films but the social and human connection of watching films together. We didn’t have that for two years, so we wanted to focus on how important connection is—the human connection, connecting the dots between humans and climate and nature.”
“This year we started a submission process on Film Freeway. It’s a database where filmmakers can put their films out there for festivals to review and hopefully choose,” Pope said.
As baseball’s brightest lights shine on its biggest stars, one of Cooperstown’s most beloved events returns to the Hall of Fame. After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, the World Series Gala will be held at the Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 29 in the Grandstand Theater. The World Series Gala features a family-friendly evening packed with complimentary ballpark food and soft drinks, trivia, raffles, prizes, and a screening of FOX’s live broadcast of Game 2 of the 118th World Series. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with the game expected to begin at 8 p.m.
Tickets are required for the World Series Gala at a cost of $15 for adults and $8 for children under 12. Tickets are now available to participants in the NBHoF membership program by calling (607) 547-0397 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on October 24.
BASEBALL FILM – 5 p.m. Enjoy screening of ‘Chasing 3000,’ the story of 2 brothers who drive across the country to see Roberto Celemente’s 3,000th hit. Followed by a short Q&A with screenwriter and producer Bill Mikita and producer Ryan R. Johnson. Admission is free, reservations required. Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown. 607-547-7200 or visit baseballhall.org/events/friday-focus-roberto-clemente?date=0
Jim Kaat with Pathfinder Village resident Grant Stubbs.
Less than two months after earning baseball’s greatest honor, Jim Kaat returned to Cooperstown in support of some new Central New York friends.
Kaat, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame July 24 as part of the Class of 2022, served as the celebrity host for the Pathfinder Village/Baseball Hall of Fame Golf Invitational September 19 at the Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown.
As the master of ceremonies, Kaat — who won 283 games and 16 Gold Glove Awards during his record-setting 25-year big league career — was featured as the guest speaker at that evening’s fundraiser dinner.
Labor Day. The end of an exceptional summer in Cooperstown. Dare we say exceptional? Yes we can, despite the ominous glooms of COVID and recent blooms of algae.
Our Main Street businesses are still here. They may not have had their best summer, and they may still be sadly short-handed, but they are proudly displaying their wares and energetically inviting shoppers into their establishments. The Hall of Fame reopened its doors for Induction Weekend, welcoming pre-COVID crowds for a celebratory salute to the national pastime. Baseball fans swarmed the streets, and the Village was clean within hours. Doubleday Field is refurbished and Dreams Park is back. Our Village is alive.
Editor’s Note: We are all excited about this years Induction after a two year hiatus. Thanks to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for submitting information on the weekend.
(COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.) – Their careers span from the baseball’s earliest days to the game’s current generation, so fans of every era will have reason to celebrate the Class of 2022 July 22-25 in Cooperstown.
More than 50 Hall of Famers are scheduled to be in Cooperstown to honor the Class of 2022 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, honoring Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, Buck O’Neil and David Ortiz will be held Sunday, July 24, at 1:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center — one mile south of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Fowler, Hodges, Kaat, Miñoso, Oliva and O’Neil were elected to the Hall of Fame via the Era Committee process in December. They will be recognized on the Induction Stage with Ortiz, who was elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in January.
After an excruciating two-year Covid hiatus, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is at last back on track with its traditional mid-summer Induction Weekend. While the Weekend brings in a healthy number of past Hall of Famers as well as, this year, three living inductees, and their families, fans and friends, it also welcomes tens of thousands of baseball fans and all of their families who, when not milling about waiting to catch a glimpse of their baseball heroes strolling about town or on the tee-boxes and greens of Leatherstocking, spend their well-saved dollars on Main Street and beyond. This is a good thing for our tourist-starved Village which, to its credit, not only welcomes these multitudes with open arms, eager cash registers, tempting restaurants and comfortable beds, but also sweeps up every street and sidewalk after them within minutes of their departure.
