Father's Day will be a classic in Cooperstown

By Brad Horn

Brooks Robinson will also be returning to Cooperstown this October to serve as a manager for the fifth annual Fantasy Camp. (Mary Schwalm/MLB.com)

(3/30/09) — The concept of Father's Day is one that lives every day in Cooperstown. It's not just about dads and sons. It's moms and daughters, grandparents and grandkids, husbands and wives. Family experiences of baseball history. Every day of the year, we see it in the Museum.

But some holidays provide more reason than others to make the pilgrimage to "Baseball Mecca." If you haven't made your plans already, circle June 20 and 21 on your calendar immediately and plan on being a part of a truly historic weekend, as Cooperstown transforms into a land where all dreams are possible.

By now, you've heard that the Hall of Fame and the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association are joining forces on the Hall of Fame Classic, featuring five Hall of Famers and a score of former Major League talent. You'll see names like Feller, Jenkins, Niekro, Brooks and Molitor, along with a couple of Lees (Smith, as in the former closer, and Bill, as in Spaceman), George Foster and more.

But over Father's Day Weekend, you'll discover just why the Hall of Fame matters so much to our culture and to each other. We all have our distinctly personal memories of this wonderful village, the Museum and seeing our heroes come to life at Doubleday Field.

Even our heroes have memories. For Brooks Robinson, playing in the Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in 1961 meant striding to the plate on July 24 against the Dodgers, only to hear the public address announcer tell Brooks and the 10,000 fans on hand, that his wife, Connie, had just delivered a baby boy. For Phil Niekro, coming back as a manager for the Hall of Fame Fantasy Camp each year on the same field gives him a chance to dust off the knuckleball one more time. Bob Feller saw the birth of Doubleday Field and Cooperstown, as he was already a Major League star by the time baseball's tradition of sending teams to Cooperstown began in 1939.

The reasons to embrace Cooperstown on Father's Day are far more numerous than just the legends game. Some Museum members will have the amazing opportunity to have a catch on Doubleday Field, the same field where many Hall of Famers have played. Some aspiring baseball stars will be able to learn skills from legends. Fans of the game can wander the Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery and debate the merits of the 289 Hall of Famers so chosen.

The game, the village and the festivities are the background for an exchange of emotions and the chance to relive baseball's greatest moments with those you love the most.

"There's a chance for families to say hello to five Hall of Famers," Niekro said. "This is the chance to shake hands and say hello, and a lot of people never get a chance to do that in their lifetime, and here's the chance for them to do that. It will be a day they will remember for the rest of their lives, and I'm sure once they do it, they are going to want to come back every year."

What are you doing this Father's Day Weekend, and with whom will you want to share those memories?

Brad Horn is the senior director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. You can reach Brad at info@baseballhalloffame.org.

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