President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Jeff Idelson became the sixth president of the Hall of Fame in 2008. (Getty Images)

Jeff Idelson, who has spent 23 years in baseball, is president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Cooperstown, N.Y. Idelson was named to the position on April 15, 2008, and oversees the daily operation of the non-profit, educational institution, whose mission is to preserve history, honor excellence and connect generations. The organization first opened in 1939 and today employs nearly 100 full-time staff members, welcoming an average of 350,000 visitors annually and 14 million visitors since opening. The Museum's collections contain more than 35,000 three-dimensional artifacts and 130,000 baseball cards. The Library catalogs and preserves nearly three million documents, including 500,000 historic photographs and 10,000 hours of original audio and video recordings.

In addition to his work at the Hall of Fame, Idelson serves on the advisory council of the the Harlem (N.Y.) branch of Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI), and on the board of directors of the Otsego County chapter of the international program Girls On The Run, in addition to other community-service endeavors.

Idelson joined the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Sept. 26, 1994, as director of public relations and promotions. In June 1999, he was promoted to vice president, communications and education, overseeing Hall of Fame elections and awards, internal and external communications, community relations, media relations, publications, public programs, promotions, advertising, artifact acquisition, visitor services, photography and the Museum's Web site. He also oversaw the museum's college internship program and education department, including on-site programs and point-to-point video conferences taught by area educators.

Before joining the Baseball Hall of Fame, Idelson was assistant vice president and senior press officer for World Cup USA 1994, the organizing committee charged with staging the 1994 soccer World Cup in the United States. He served as director of media relations and publicity for the New York Yankees from 1989-93, after being hired as the club's assistant director of media relations. With the Yankees, Idelson traveled on every road trip, overseeing all aspects of media relations. He interfaced among the players, front office and ownership with the media, acting as team spokesman.

A West Newton, Mass., native and a 1986 graduate of Connecticut College in New London, Conn., (Bachelor of Arts in International Economics), Idelson began his professional career as an intern in the public relations department of the Boston Red Sox in 1986, continuing work in the team's public relations department in 1987-88. He also produced home games for the Red Sox Radio Network (110 stations) in 1987 and '88, serving as the flagship station's liaison to the Red Sox's primary charity, the Jimmy Fund.