Cooperstown NY

The year is 1954. For the first time in six years, the New York Yankees are not in contention for the World Series. But I don’t care – I spent the early school year racing home to watch my heroes on our tiny black-and-white TV.

Not only did I know all the players – Andy Carey on third, Mickey Mantle in center, Hank Bauer in right, Moose Skowron on first, Yogi Berra catching – but their batting averages and other stats. I was obsessed, and I was also a 10-year-old girl.

A Baseball Hall of Fame in display in Cooperstown, NY
A Baseball Hall of Fame on display in Cooperstown, NY supports my early memories.
Photo by Victor Block

Years later, when all my friends were watching American Bandstand, I was hanging out at Yankee Stadium. But as the years pass; my sports team loyalty switches from baseball to football – and now a native of Washington, DC, maybe the Capitals hockey team.

But it was an upcoming trip to Cooperstown, NY – home of the Baseball Hall of Fame – that brought me six decades back to that baseball-crazy little girl – and the fear that I wouldn’t even care.

So here I am. And I do. Hard not to focus on baseball when the whole town is obsessed, as noted on well-worn t-shirts sporting (pun intended) the mantra: “A drinking town with a baseball problem.”

Doubleday Cafe Shirt Photo
Doubleday Cafe Shirt. Photo courtesy of This is Cooperstown

Just walking along Main Street is a not-so-subtle introduction to the local pastime. A quick bite at the Dugout Bar and Grill; a storefront promoting Safe at Home collectibles; Shoeless Joe’s – a Field of Dreams reference – promises more baseball memorabilia; a Baseball Town Motel offers lodging, and the Heroes of Baseball Wax Museum provides a niche version of the usual famous replicas.

Want a bat with your name inscribed on it – and who wouldn’t? Visit the Bat Store. Okay, I get it – it’s a baseball town. But does it have to be everywhere???

Cooperstown, NY Oozes Baseball Memorabilia Even Before You Get to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Multiple storefront signs along Main Street in Cooperstown, NY reflect its baseball heritage
Multiple storefront signs along Main Street in Cooperstown, NY reflect its baseball heritage
Photo courtesy of This is Cooperstown

Apparently, yes. Several folks in baseball uniforms strolling the street without drawing any attention. And because it was fall, there were pumpkins displayed along the street – all sized like huge baseballs.

Even the toothpicks in The Otesaga Resort Hotel restaurant have tiny baseballs attached to their tip. Baseballs, apparently, come in many sizes.

A TV in one of the diners had a football game on – man, did that seem out of place.

Pumpkins shaped like baseballs decorate the town during the fall season.
Pumpkins shaped like baseballs decorate the town during the fall season. Photo by Victor Block

At the Doubleday Café, I snarkily asked if it would be more appropriate to be called the Doubleheader Cafe. Then someone patiently, and no doubt a tad pityingly, explained to me that Abner Doubleday was credited with inventing baseball.

I slithered away from the café and was only slightly mollified to later discover that actually he hadn’t.

Want to walk in the steps of Hall of Famers? Plan to stay at the stately Otesaga Resort. This historic Cooperstown landmark houses new inductees, their families and former Famers every Induction year.

Pretty much every Hall of Famer ever has stayed at the resort. And has probably had one of their toothpicks holding a cherry or an olive in a drink.

Toothpicks with tiny baseballs on the tip are served at the Hawkeye Bar and Grill at the Otesaga Resort in Cooperstown
Toothpicks with tiny baseballs on the tip are served at the Hawkeye Bar and Grill at the Otesaga Resort in Cooperstown, NY.
Photo by Victor Block

This brings us back to the Baseball Hall of Fame – clearly, the rest of the town is just an extension thereof. But where to begin?

An introductory movie starts with a trivia quiz of memorable moments. It then tells you where in the Hall you can get more information or find the famous memorabilia referenced in said film.

In case you want to see a ball from the first game at which admission was charged – September 10, 1858 – you’ll know right where to go.

There is No Baseball Minutia That Isn’t Displayed Somewhere in the Hall of Fame

Lou Gehrig. Cal Ripken. Sandy Koufax. Nolan Ryan. Willie Mayes. Despite my many years away, I still knew a surprising number of players. And it was still thrilling.

Traversing the many hallways of the Hall, it was like walking on sacred ground. You could spend two hours – or two weeks – and still find stuff to see.

The first, a photo gallery covering generations of greats, of course, has write-ups of those on exhibit. But it’s the intimate quotes from the players themselves that humanize the entire sport.

And when I got to the Yankees’ Highlights Era, I was channeling a very excited 10-year-old self.

I found Mickey and Yogi and felt an immediate kinship. It was as if they knew I was coming back after all these years just to see them. Or maybe not…. Ten-year-olds can be very unreliable narrators.

Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle's uniforms.
Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle’s uniforms. Photo by Victor Block

Of course, there were also Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron and Satchel Paige. I wouldn’t say that even if you have no interest in baseball, you’ll be enthralled. But still, if only a fair-weather fan there will be something that will delight you.

My hero, Mickey Mantle, was on full display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
My hero, Mickey Mantle, was on full display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Photo by Victor Block

A large display that caught my interest was devoted to the origin of women’s baseball teams – 1943-54 – which inspired the movie A League of Their Own. It warmed my little 10-year-old heart.

In my high school days, there was no Title IX, no girls’ baseball team, no opportunity for me to play a game I already loved – and I felt deprived my whole life.

I coulda been a female Moose Skowron….

A League of Their Own had its own exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
A League of Their Own had its own exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Photo by Victor Block

Later, at another local baseball-infused tavern, three TVs were tuned to baseball games. After spending so much time at the Hall of Fame, I didn’t know whether they were historic replays – or current games.

Yes, Cooperstown Has Other Attractions Besides Baseball – But So What?

But yes, if you happen to go into baseball overload, there are other Cooperstown diversions to be enjoyed.

A Glimmerglass Queen boat tour on Otsego Lake, a living history farm museum that takes you back to 1840’s rural life, the Fenimore Art Museum – and yes James Fenimore Cooper, author of the Last of the Mohicans, was a Cooperstown native in the town his father founded. Also, Fly Creek Cider, a museum in its own right, with so much to see and sample.

But if the 10-year-old inside me had a say, I would never leave the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mickey and I still have some unfinished business.

For more information, visit https://baseballhall.org, https://www.otesaga.com and https://www.thisiscooperstown.com.

Rambling Writers

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *