OT: Baseball Hall of Fame Suffers Losses but Says Finances Improving

[D. Bergin]

Reading the article. They seem fine. It's just cyclical.

[Belfast1933]

I’m obviously biased but I wonder if they can better tap into the collector energy, and not just vintage… seems like there may be some potential there to grow as well

[BioCRN]

Hall is amazing, but it's in the middle of f'n nowhere.

Even if you happen to be in Albany or Syracuse you're still 1.5 hours away from Cooperstown.

[tjisonline]

Originally Posted by BioCRN

Hall is amazing, but it's in the middle of f'n nowhere.

Even if you happen to be in Albany or Syracuse you're still 1.5 hours away from Cooperstown.

Exactly. I haven’t been there yet. Really want to go but don’t want to drive that distance. They really need to open up a local airport but totally get why the town doesn’t.

At the very least, they should have nice tour buses leaving from major cities w/in a 200- 300 mile radius. They don’t. Only Refer you to a couple tour companies that turned out to be useless for me. I guess that’s why so many friends / local groups end up renting their own tour bus if they can get enough people.

[D. Bergin]

If you wanna bang two things off at once, Howe Caverns is about a 50 minute drive from Cooperstown. It's a neat place for anybody who likes Geology.

[jingram058]

Well, for whatever the reasons, the pro football HoF SEEMS to have more relevance and attraction with people today. I know personally a number of family and friends who have visited both Cooperstown and Canton and enjoyed the Canton pro football experience more.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by BioCRN

Hall is amazing, but it's in the middle of f'n nowhere.
.

For me, that's one of its greatest attributes. The surrounding area is one of the most beautiful in the country for my taste, especially in the fall.

Now, if they could only get a few more decent places to eat, it would be perfect.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Reading the article. They seem fine. It's just cyclical.

This here. People complaining about who is in and my favorite player isn't, that is irrelevant. Undeserving players have been elected since the 1940s, like Tommy McCarthy and Jack Chesbro, and Shoeless Joe Jackson still isn't in the HOF.

The HOF is a non-profit and they lost money last year for the first time in a decade. A non-profit that makes money 9 of 10 years is doing pretty good. The article explains it. Their investment income was down. I guess everyone has forgotten how bad the markets were the first 9 months of last year. They have also hired more people. Why is that? Could it be that they are preparing for Ichiro being inducted and an influx of Asian visitors? Showing a loss so you can grow your market is good for business.

[Keith H. Thompson]

My son drove up for a two day visit last week with Poppy and Sami (12 years old) and son Thaddeus (7 years old). All three play the game at various levels and were absolutely fascinated by the wealth of memorabilia on display. An additional incentive for them, of course, was to see the gold lined, solid silver cup won by Sam Thompson in a popularity contest in 1895 that I donated to the Hall in 1974. It is a beautiful thing, and the Hall has always displayed it prominently. I grew up with it. My mother kept it on her sewing machine with her sewing materials and Sam's Dauvray Cup Medal.

And as to who is in and who is not, every player's career is a matter of public record that should speak for itself, not the occasion of induction into some institution with some very bad flaws.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Keith H. Thompson

My son drove up for a two day visit last week with Poppy and Sami (12 years old) and son Thaddeus (7 years old). All three play the game at various levels and were absolutely fascinated by the wealth of memorabilia on display. An additional incentive for them, of course, was to see the gold lined, solid silver cup won by Sam Thompson in a popularity contest in 1895 that I donated to the Hall in 1974. It is a beautiful thing, and the Hall has always displayed it prominently. I grew up with it. My mother kept it on her sewing machine with her sewing materials and Sam's Dauvray Cup Medal.

And as to who is in and who is not, every player's career is a matter of public record that should speak for itself, not the occasion of induction into some institution with some very bad flaws.

That's gotta be a thrill to see an item you donated on display. I'm guessing, based on the names, that Sam is a relative? So very cool.

[Keith H. Thompson]

Originally Posted by Tabe

That's gotta be a thrill to see an item you donated on display. I'm guessing, based on the names, that Sam is a relative? So very cool.

here goes. Yes, Samuel Luther Thompson (Detroit 1885-1888, Philadelphia 1889-1898, Detroit 1906, HOF 1974) was a brother of my grandfather. Sam and Ida had no children, so nieces and nephews were invited to Cooperstown in 1974 for his induction. My sons were 8 and 10 years old. We had special passes, and because I think they were mistaken for Mantle's young boys at times they had many opportunities to mingle with the players. For example: One afternoon my boys were lingering around a small out building where about a dozen old black players were holding a luncheon. Satchel Paige noticed them, put a long hand on each boys shoulder, took them inside and introduced them individually to each player. For myself, one noon I had luncheon and was seated next to Clair Ruth and Eleanor Gehrig.

to answer your question again, yes I, my father, Sam, his five brothers and three sisters all were born in Danville, Indiana. My father knew Sam, of course, and once told me: "we always welcomed Sam's visits, but he never would play catch with us."

[Fred]

Tradition of location is not helping the BB HOF. Look at the distance from Cooperstown to any major airport. Yeah, I get it, that's where the location is, but that requires a bit of planning to go there. If it was closer to a metro center, then there'd be a much greater chance of higher attendance.

The HOF is getting up there in age. We can only hope the facility can stand another century or perhaps begin looking towards planning a new facility (maybe somewhere that isn't Cooperstown). If the HOF trust listened to someone from corporate America, it'd probably move somewhere else. Well, that also assumes people are going to care about baseball in the next hundred years.

[phlflyer1]

Was just at the HOF a couple of weeks ago and had an enjoyable trip although it is out of the way.

The drive from South Jersey was nice. Got to see what remained of the fall foliage on the way up and the place was practically empty so it was a great time to visit.

One of the highlights was definitely the selection of baseball cards on display from the 1870s up to the present. They have a nice group of examples from most all of the major sets on display.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Keith H. Thompson

My son drove up for a two day visit last week with Poppy and Sami (12 years old) and son Thaddeus (7 years old). All three play the game at various levels and were absolutely fascinated by the wealth of memorabilia on display. An additional incentive for them, of course, was to see the gold lined, solid silver cup won by Sam Thompson in a popularity contest in 1895 that I donated to the Hall in 1974. It is a beautiful thing, and the Hall has always displayed it prominently. I grew up with it. My mother kept it on her sewing machine with her sewing materials and Sam's Dauvray Cup Medal.

And as to who is in and who is not, every player's career is a matter of public record that should speak for itself, not the occasion of induction into some institution with some very bad flaws.

That's gotta be a thrill to see an item you donated on display. I'm guessing, based on the names, that Sam is a relative? So very cool.