27 Aug - Cooperstown NY and the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame

27 Aug
No pictures posted yesterday, but here is the entrance to our campground.  Easy entrance and check-in, good roads and no height issues.

The campground is very nice, fairly well spread out. All our neighbors have been descent.  As soon as I hoisted Old Glory with the Air Force flag under it, our neighbor to the rear commented on how his son is currently serving and station at Elmendorf AFB Alaska.  We had quite a few conversations over the past couple days, and he apparently took a liking to us as he hooked us up with a bunch of fire wood!  So we had a really nice campfire last night, cooking some brat patties on there and then flipping the grille out of the way and finishing off with a blaze into the evening.

So back to this morning, Today we headed into Coopertown NY, about 15 miles away, home of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.  This is a Mecca for baseball fans.

We could not see much of the scenery on the drive to Cooperstown due to the low clouds. 

 I took many, many pictures and will post just a few here:

Many beautiful old buildings in Cooperstown

The entrance to the Baseball Hall of Fame

They post the standings right outside.  Nice to see our Cubbies on top!

The Hall of Fame is three floors.  The first floor is the actual Hall of Fame.  

Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson

Players are selected each year for consideration and then some are inducted, based on a criteria.  This year it occurred the third week in July, and Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr.  Those selected for the current year have a special display at the entrance to the Hall, and then everyone from past years has a bronze plaque in the hall.  

Here are a few, with a bit of partiality !

The other floors include a ton of baseball historical exhibits to present day, a room full of baseball art, baseball commercial items like cards, cereal boxes, tobacco, etc and a gift shop.  A few highlights:

The claim that Abner Doubleday invented baseball is quickly dispelled here!

A lot of vintage baseball gear on display from many players

 There was a nice section on women's baseball:

A League of Their Own!

Kalamazoo had a team!

A whole section on Negro League and the players who changed the game.

After leaving the gift shop, we walked the downtown Cooperstown area and stopped by a few of the shops.

 We had a couple slices of pizza at a local restaurant, then headed back to the campground.  Of course Doreen quickly spotted a lighthouse, so we had to stop!  Actually this is a gas station, but it is still pretty cool!

Tomorrow we will do some housekeeping, a little shopping, fuel-up and prepare to head towards Letchworth State Park, our next stop