TODAY, I WAS A KID AGAIN

(November 12, 2015) From Binghamton it was abut a 90-minute drive up Interstate 88 and New York Highway 28 to the Village of Cooperstown.Visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame has been on my bucket list for years and today I would be able to scratch it off my list.

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Babe Ruth's Uniform

Parking in Cooperstown is very limited during the spring and summer and visitors should plan on parking in one of the remote lots located around the out skirts of town and taking the trolley into town. However one of the advantages of visiting in November it is less crowded and arriving early I was able to find free parking in the small lot just off of Main Street at Doubleday Field. From there it is just a short walk up Main Street to the Hall of Fame.

I arrived in Cooperstown a little after 8:30 and there was a light cold rain falling. As I made my way up Main Street the rain was mixed with sleet and a few snow flakes.  Right at 9 a.m. the doors opened and I stepped into the Mother Church of Baseball.

I spent the entire day roaming the the hallowed hall of Cooperstown, and seeing some of the most historic artifacts of our National Pastime.

From Babe Ruth's locker and uniform, to Hank Aaron's bat that he used to hit his historic home runs to the famous George Brett pine tar bat, they were all on display with thousands of other of the games most treasured artifacts.

Hank Aaron's Uniform

As I walked through the the exhibits as happily remembered that night back in 1974 when I was listening to the radio and as Hammerin' Hank stepped to the plate, the great Milo Hamilton said, "He's sitting on 714.....Here's the pitch from Downing....." And the rest is history.  The Uniform that Hank wore than night along with the historic ball and bats are on display.

Pee Wee Reese - Hall of Fame Plaque

I spent most of the morning and early afternoon making my way through the galleries, reliving the history of the artifacts on display. Then it was time to make my way downstairs to the Hall of Fame Gallery.

This is the most sacred of all the galleries. It is here that the Hall of Fame Plaques are on display. The plaques of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner are displayed at the front of the gallery. These five individuals were the initial Hall of Fame Class in 1936.  Over the years such greats as Lou Gehrig, Dizzy Dean, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Ted Williams have joined them in the Hallowed Hall of Cooperstown.

As I made my way through the Hall of Fame Gallery, time slipped away and it was closing time. The Day flew by and was filled with memories, but it was time to leave and return to the real world but for a brief few hours in a place called Cooperstown, I was allowed to be A Kid again.