Baseball: America’s
favorite pastime

By Tim Godfrey
For the Times

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
All of these museums share a common link.
Well, at least for the next few months they will.
That’s because starting Friday, Feb. 15, the National Constitution Center, at 525 Arch St., welcomes Baseball as America, a traveling exhibit that pays tribute to our national pastime and explores its relationship with our culture.
This collection of baseball history will serve as a lesson on how, as the Web site www.baseballasamerica.org states, “baseball has served as both a public reflection of, and catalyst for, the evolution of American culture and society.”
“Baseball has always been an innovator in American culture,” said Brad Horn, of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. “It has always taken a leading role in society and been a step ahead of American culture.”
The artifacts selected for this very special, very rare exhibit reflect this. From letters by presidents and other politicians to commissioners and players, as well as equipment and uniforms used in some of the most historic moments in the sport, the exhibit showcases the relationship and the close tie of the game to the American people and their struggles.
“The exhibit does a really good job of showing how baseball is really a part of the America spirit . . . at times of peace and in times of war,” said Dr. Steve Frank, of the National Constitution Center.
The 5,000-square-foot exhibition will be in Philadelphia through May 11. Among the wealth of treasures is a jersey worn by the Chicago White Sox — an American flag stitched on one sleeve — during World War I.
There’s also a cap worn by pitcher Curt Schilling when he was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The phrase “God Bless America” is inscribed on the side of the hat, with a firefighters badge pinned to the back.
The vast inventory includes mementos from happier times, like the baseball mitt made for President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he tossed the ceremonial first pitch at a game, a ritual that every president has taken part in since William Howard Taft started it in 1910.
The exhibit has been traveling the country since 2002, representing the first time these artifacts have ever left the Cooperstown museum.
“The organization had been interested in putting together this exhibit for a number of years,” Horn said. “We felt that this was the right time for the institution, and it became feasible in 2001.”
The original plan called for the exhibit to tour 10 cities, coast to coast, and then return to Cooperstown. Those plans quickly changed, however, after Hall of Fame officials saw the enthusiastic reaction it was getting.
“After we saw the overwhelming response of people in every city we attended, we decided to take the exhibit and its unique message to more of the country,” Horn said.
That is how Philadelphia entered the picture. It was one of five additional cities added to the tour schedule, a decision that pleased the National Constitution Center.
“The Constitution Center is all about the things that unite us as Americans,” said Frank. “And in the sense that baseball often speaks to who we are as Americans, we felt that this was a very appropriate exhibit to have here.”
The timing of its opening on Friday seems just as appropriate. It coincides with Presidents Day weekend, and the center has a few special events planned to celebrate both happenings.
Decoding the Document is a weekend event inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Green Light Letter,” which he wrote to then Major League Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Landis to express his feeling that baseball should continue play during World War II.
FDR regarded baseball as a way to lift the nation’s spirits during a very trying time in our history.
There will be some non-baseball related activities for the event as well — visitors can take the presidential oath of office and design their own campaign slogan.
On the baseball theme, every weekend there will be a special theatrical play about the Negro Leagues. It will be performed in the exhibit space.
“That adds something very special to the exhibit,” Frank said.
This touring museum certainly has its share of baseball artifacts, including what may be the crown jewel of Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Doubleday Ball, found in a Cooperstown attic sometime in the 1930s, is on prominent display with the exhibit. Legend — if not indisputable proof — has it that the ball was used in the first ever game played in Cooperstown, circa 1839.
“This was the artifact that the collection was founded on,” Horn said, referring to the wealth of items subsequently amassed by the Hall of Fame. “That piece provided the basis for the founding of the museum here in Cooperstown in 1936.”
“The myth goes that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown,” explained Frank. “They said this baseball supported that story, which we know now really was just a legend. Turned out that Doubleday couldn’t have been in Cooperstown when they said he was, because he was at West Point at the time (during his military service).”
Even Philadelphia’s contributions to baseball have a place in the exhibit. You’ll find special insignias on the display cases that contain memorabilia specific to Philadelphia. For example, Jimmy Rollins’ helmet and Chase Utley’s cleats — mementos from their respective hitting streaks — are among the many items, which include a pair of cleats worn by Phillies hall-of-famer Richie Ashburn.
Whether you’re a diehard baseball fan, a history buff or a parent who takes the kids to a game a couple of times a year, the exhibit aims to be a crowd-pleaser.
“This is not just an exhibit for baseball fans. People from all different backgrounds will be able to take something away from this,” Frank said. ••
For more information, call the National Constitution Center at 215-409-6600.