Curious Parents Places to Go

Summer Fun Destination

Cooperstown, NY A Destination for Dads & Baseball Lovers Alike
By Carol Reed

June is for Dads and for baseball on the sandlot or at the ballpark. The Mills Commission, a committee whose purpose was to determine the origin of baseball, stated, “the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1839.”

History is our best teacher. So surprise Dad on “his day” with a trip to Cooperstown, home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Museum is located in a rural village in central New York between the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains, 70 miles west of Albany. According to the The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown was chosen as the site for the Hall of Fame after much debate. An old baseball was discovered in a dusty attic trunk in 1934 in Abner Doubleday’s farmhouse three miles from Cooperstown. That was supposedly the FIRST baseball. Although it was undersized, misshapen and homemade with cloth stuffing, the ball soon became known as the “Doubleday Baseball.” And Cooperstown became the birthplace of the sport.

The Hall of Fame is located on Main Street and opened in June 1939. The architecture dates to the early 19th century. More than 350,000 people travel to the Hall of Fame each year to experience our National Pastime. Representing all aspects of baseball, the Museum collection includes 35,000 artifacts including bats, balls, gloves, caps, helmets, uniforms, shoes, trophies and awards. There are also 130,000 baseball cards. All memorabilia in the Museum’s collections have been donated. Babe Ruth gets a whole display for himself!

The Hall of Fame Library is fantastic with over two million items stored in climate-controlled state-of-the-art archival techniques. The photo collection contains hundreds of thousands of pictures of players, teams, ballparks and other baseball subjects. In addition, the library’s film, video and sound archive contains hours of footage dating back to the late 19th century. There is a fantastic collection of Hollywood baseball movies.

There are programs for fans of all ages with a year-round calendar of events. Enjoy roundtable discussions with Hall of Fame members, Sandlot Stories featuring staff and visiting experts, gallery talks, treasure hunts, concerts, movies and plays. The Hall of Fame presents more than 300 educational events each year.

Everything is displayed in such an interesting manner that even if some are not big baseball fans it’s difficult to remain uninterested. 

The museum is open year-round. The hours for May through Sept. are 9a.m. to 9p.m. Admission is $9.50. For more information, complete schedules, pricing, trivia, facts, history, photos, and much more can be found on the website www.baseballhalloffame.org  or call 607.547.7200.

If you go June through August, leave the car at one of the free parking lots on the edge of town and take the trolley around the various sights (trolley runs 8a.m.–9p.m.; $2 all-day pass).

While in Coooperstown, visit these other baseball related places:

Cooperstown Fun Park

Rt. 28, 607.547.2767 Miniature golf, driving range, arcade, bumper boats, go-carts, picnic area, baseball memorabilia, special events.

Diamond Tee

East Lake Rd., PO Box 784, Cooperstown, NY. 607.264.3394

Open-field batting range; 40-station driving range; championship miniature golf course. Open daily during the summer from 9a.m.–9 p.m. 

Doubleday Batting Range

Doubleday Parking Lot, PO Box 634, Cooperstown, NY. 607.547.5168 Batting cages, arcade, food.

Baseball Nostalgia

Doubleday Parking Lot, PO Box 561, Cooperstown, NY. 607.547.6051Autographs, cards and other memorabilia.

Collector’s World

139 Main St., Cooperstown, NY  607.547.5509 Specializes in Hall of Famer autographs.

Cooperstown Bat Company
Retail Shop: 66 Main St., Cooperstown, NY
Factory: Rt. 28, Fly Creek, NY
607.547.2415

Makers of fine handcrafted collector bats and bats engraved to order. Factory open to the public.

Carol Reed is a middle school teacher & freelance journalist who specializes in travel writing. Carol’s journeys have taken her as close to home as the New Jersey Pines & as far as the islands in the Caribbean, New Zealand & Australia.