National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, United States, is a semi-official museum operated by private interests that serves as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, and the honoring of persons who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport. In articles and discussions on baseball, the phrase "Hall of Fame" refers most often to the list of these honorees, rather than the physical museum. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations".
- Members of the Hall of Fame (alphabetical listing)
- Members of the Hall of Fame (by year of election)
History
The Hall of Fame was dedicated on June 12, 1939 by the Clark Foundation, a private organization based in Cooperstown that traces its money to the original Singer Sewing Machine Company. The Foundation sought to bring tourists to Cooperstown, which had been doubly damaged by the Great Depression, which decimated the local tourist trade, and Prohibition, which was devastating to the local hops industry. A legend that U.S. Civil War hero Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown was instrumental in the early marketing of the Hall, though in fact the story is completely false.
The major leagues, seeing the marketing opportunity, soon began cooperating with the Hall of Fame in marketing it and acquiring artifacts for display there.
Recent developments in the museum include an $8 million library and research facility that opened in 1994. More renovations were done in 2003 through spring 2005.
In 2002, Baseball As America was launched, a traveling exhibit that toured ten American museums over six years. The Hall of Fame has also sponsored educational programming on the Internet to bring the Hall of Fame to schoolchildren who might not see it. In January 2006, the Hall of Fame also announced a partnership with Citgo to launch a traveling exhibit about Latin America's contributions to baseball.
The town of Cooperstown also includes Doubleday Field, where the "Hall of Fame Game" featuring two major league teams is held every year. In the past, the game was held during induction weekend, but in recent years it has been scheduled in May or June, when it is easier on a team's travel schedule. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds are slated for 2006.
Inductees
Among baseball fans, "Hall of Fame" means not only the museum and facility in Cooperstown, but more likely the pantheon of players, managers, umpires and builders who have been named to enshrinement there. The first five men elected were superstars Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson, named in 1936. As of January 2006, 261 men had been elected or appointed to the Hall of Fame, including 213 players, 17 managers (many of whom also played), 8 umpires, and 23 builders, executives, and organizers. 26 men have also been awarded the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting, while 56 have received the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for excellence in baseball writing.
Players are currently inducted into the Hall of Fame through election by either the Baseball Writers Association of America (or BBWAA), or the Veterans Committee, which is now composed of living Hall of Famers and recipients of the two major awards. Five years after retirement, any player with 10 years of major league experience, who passes a screening committee (which removes from consideration players of clearly lesser qualification) is eligible to be elected by BBWAA members with 10 years' membership or more. From a final ballot typically including 25-40 candidates, each writer may vote for up to 10 players; until the late 1950s, voters were advised to cast votes for the maximum 10 candidates. Any player named on 75% or more of all ballots cast is elected. A player who is named on fewer than 5% of ballots is dropped from future elections. In some instances, the screening committee had restored their names to later ballots, but in the mid-1990s, dropped players were made permanently ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration, even by the Veterans Committee. A 2001 change in the election procedures restored the eligibility of these dropped players; while their names will not appear on future BBWAA ballots, they may be considered by the Veterans Committee.
Under special circumstances, certain players may be deemed eligible for induction even though they have not met all requirements. This has resulted in only two inductions, when Lou Gehrig was specially elected shortly after his retirement in 1939, and when Addie Joss was elected in 1978 despite only playing in nine seasons. Additionally, if an otherwise eligible player dies before their fifth year of retirement, then that player may be placed on the ballot at the first election at least six months after their death. Roberto Clemente, who died in a plane crash in 1972, is the only current Hall of Fame member for whom the 5-year minimum was waived.
If a player fails to be elected by the BBWAA within 20 years of their retirement from active play, he may be selected by the Veterans Committee, which now votes every two years. The Veterans Committee also votes every fourth year on candidates from among managers, umpires, executives or builders. Negro Leagues players are now being considered. The Hall has completed a study on African American players between the late 19th century and the integration of the major leagues in 1947, and will conduct a special election for such players in February 2006.
Predictably, the selection process catalyzes endless debate among baseball fans over the merits of various candidates. Even players already elected remain for years the subjects of discussions as to whether their elections were deserved or in error.
The Museum
According to the Hall of Fame, approximately 350,000 visitors enter the museum each year, and the running total has surpassed 13 million. These visitors see only a fraction of its 35,000 artifacts, 2.6 million library items (such as newspaper clippings and photos) and 130,000 baseball cards. A quick rundown of what there is to see at the museum follows.
First Floor
- Baseball at the Movies houses baseball movie memorabilia while a screen shows footage from those movies.
- The Bullpen Theater is the site of daily programming at the museum (trivia games, book discussions, etc.) and is decorated with pictures of famous relief pitchers.
- Induction Row contains artifacts pertinent to the most recent inductees and photos of past Hall of Fame Weekends.
- The Perez-Steele Art Gallery features art of all media related to baseball.
- The Plaque Gallery, the most recognizable site at the museum, contains induction plaques of all members.
- The Sandlot Kids Clubhouse has various interactive displays for young children.
- Scribes and Mikemen honors Spink and Frick winners with a headshot display and has artifacts related to baseball writing and broadcasting.
Second Floor
- The Grandstand Theater features a brief video capturing the essence of baseball that runs on a loop. The theater, complete with replica stadium seats, is decorated to resemble Comiskey Park.
- The Game is the major feature of the second floor. It is where the the most artifacts are displayed. The Game is set up in a timeline format, starting with baseball's beginnings and culminating with the game we know today. There are several offshoots of this meandering timeline:
- The Babe Ruth Room
- The Hank Aaron Room (also details the 500 home run club.)
- Pride and Passion (Negro Leagues exhibit)
- Taking The Field (19th century baseball)
- Women in Baseball
- The Today's Game exhibit is built like a baseball clubhouse, with 30 glass-enclosed locker stalls, one for each Major League franchise. In each stall there is a jersey and other items from the designated big league team, along with a brief team history. A center display case holds objects donated to the Hall of Fame from the past year or two. Outside the exhibit are various display cases devoted to youth baseball, American presidents and baseball, baseball cards and a ball from every no-hitter since 1940.
Third Floor
- Autumn Glory is devoted to post-season baseball and has replicas of World Series rings and press passes.
- An Education Gallery hosts school groups. In the gallery foyer is a tape of the popular Abbott and Costello routine "Who's on First?" and a display case with rotating exhibits.
- The Records Room has charts showing active and all-time leaders in various baseball statistical categories. Award winners are listed as well.
- Sacred Ground is the newest museum section, opened after the 2003-05 renovation. It is devoted entirely to ballparks and everything about them: the fan experience, the business of a ballpark, a computer tour of Boston's old South End Grounds, and more.
Controversies
The most lasting controversy in Hall of Fame elections is the role and composition of the Veterans Committee. While few of the BBWAA selections have been particularly controversial, prior to its recent restructuring the Veterans Committee had, at times, seemed to pass over the most worthy players in order to enshrine contemporaries and teammates of the committee members. This tendency was most pronounced during the tenure of Frankie Frisch and Bill Terry, from 1967 to 1976. During this time, 8 players were elected whose Hall of Fame credentials were (at best) tenuous, but who had played with Frisch or Terry with the New York Giants or St Louis Cardinals.
The revamped Veterans Committee has held two elections to date—in 2003 for both players and non-players, and 2005 for players only. No individual was elected either time; some observers are already starting to doubt whether the new Veterans Committee will ever elect a player, or whether the Committee members – most of whom are Hall members – are reluctant to elect new candidates, in the hope of heightening the value of their own selection [1].
A further controversy erupted in 1982, when it emerged that some historic items bequeathed to the Hall had been sold on the collectibles market. It subsequently transpired that these had been lent to the Baseball Commissioner's Office, from where they had been taken and sold to offset personal financial problems by Joe Reichler, an assistant to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, possibly without verifying their ownership. Under pressure from the New York Attorney General, the Commissioner's Office made reparations, but damage had been done to the Hall of Fame's reputation.
An ongoing controversy facing the Hall of Fame is that of the status of Joe Jackson and Pete Rose. Jackson and Rose were both banned from baseball for life for actions related to gambling on their own teams - Jackson was determined to have cooperated with those who conspired to lose the 1919 World Series on purpose, and Rose voluntarily accepted a permanent spot on the ineligible list in return for MLB's promise to make no official finding in relation to alleged betting on the Cincinnati Reds when he was their manager in the 1980s. (Baseball's Rule 21, prominently posted in every clubhouse lockerroom, mandates permanent banishment from the sport for having a gambling interest of any sort on a game in which a player or manager is directly involved.) While Jackson and Rose had outstanding playing careers that would usually merit Hall of Fame induction, the Hall of Fame disallows election of anyone on the permanent suspension list. (Many others have been permanently suspended, but none have Hall of Fame qualifications on the level of Jackson or Rose. A select few, such as Hal Chase and Eddie Cicotte, would be reasonable candidates had they not been barred.) Baseball fans are deeply split on the issue of whether these two should be exonerated, remain banned, or (in the case of Rose, who is still living) be inducted with the caveat that he cannot reenter the game in any other way.
A less minor controversy among rabid seamheads is that of the "other" honorees on Hall of Fame Weekend: the winners of the Frick and Spink awards and their status in the Hall of Fame. Some consider them winners of an award sponsored by the Hall of Fame, while others think they can be called Hall of Fame members (even though they do not have a plaque in the gallery.)