cooperstown

Usher in Spring with a Trip North to Cooper’s Town

By Gretchen R. Crowe
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 3/15/07)

It’s almost spring, and with the Washington Nationals in Florida training for their third season in the nation’s capital, it’s time to warm up for opening day by heading north on I-81 to the home of baseball: Cooperstown, N.Y.
Nestled among the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York and resting at the southern tip of Otsego Lake, Cooperstown was settled by Native Americans and continuously changed owners for more than 30 years before being officially founded by Judge William Cooper, father of American author James Fenimore Cooper, in the late 18th century.
Too small to be a city and too small even still to be a town, the village of Cooperstown (or Cooper’s Town) serves as home base for not only the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, but also for Otsego Lake, the Otesaga Resort Hotel, the Glimmerglass Opera summer theater, the Fenimore Art Museum and the Farmer’s Museum.
Ironically, Cooperstown’s “home of baseball” title is based on what is widely believed to be a myth — that Abner Doubleday invented the sport in the village in the late 1830s. This origin has been disputed for many reasons, but was nonetheless claimed by the Mills Commission Report of 1907 as the best obtainable information to date on the invention of baseball. As a result, baseball found an official birthplace in Cooperstown (www.baseballhalloffame.org).
Today, Doubleday Field rests about a block away from the Hall of Fame, seemingly not bothered by the knowledge that it was likely built on a legend. Every year the field hosts two Major League teams for the Hall of Fame Game — this year on May 21 between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles — which proves to be an annual favorite among baseball lovers. Hollywood also tapped Doubleday Field for use in the 1992 motion picture “A League of Their Own.”
Since the hall of fame’s opening in 1939, countless fans have walked through the three stories of vivid exhibits that weave together baseball’s rich history. Just inside the building, shiny floors and tall pillars usher wide-eyed tourists into the Hall of Fame gallery where wooden walls support plaques commemorating each inducted player. In the General History section, enlarged photographs and lengthy captions fill every empty wall. Glass displays protect weathered bats, gloves, hats and jerseys, each with its own place in baseball history. Mounted television sets provide entertainment by continuously playing Abbott and Costello’s classic comedy skit “Who’s on First.” The third-floor section on Post-Season Play lists the League Championship results, updated yearly.
Outside the hall, circular benches surround tree trunks, providing shady repose for weary visitors. Life-size statues of a generic pitcher and catcher stand poised for action. Tourists take turns jumping into the positions of batter and umpire.
Four blocks of Main Street make up the village’s commercial heart. Old-fashioned displays in the windows of Mickey’s Place (Mantle, not Mouse), the Cooperstown Bat Co.’s retail store and the National Pastime shop catch the eye of eager tourists, waiting to shell out crisp bills in return for tangible memories. Local art hangs at the Pioneer Gallery on Pioneer Street, named after one of Cooper’s five Leatherstocking Tales. Around every corner a new gem waits to be discovered.
So this spring, instead of heading south to spring training in Florida or waiting until opening day at RFK, become one of Cooperstown’s 350,000 annual tourists and usher in baseball season by heading north to central New York. Visit the Hall of Famers. Walk to the lake. Check out the art. Buy a bat. Taste a half-moon cookie from Schneider’s Bakery. Spring is here, baseball is back and it’s time to step up to the plate.

Gretchen R. Crowe can be reached at gcrowe@catholicherald.com.