Home » Sports » Baseball Hall of Fame » A Weekend Drive into History

A Weekend Drive into History

© Joseph J. Checkler

I consider myself a baseball historian. Sure, I'm only twenty-one years old. But how many twenty-one year olds know that Carl Mays killed Ray Chapman with a pitch, or that Hoss Radbourn won 40+ games two years in a row? Not many. And that's just the stuff off the top of my head. Perhaps because of this, I am disappointed with myself. You see, I've only been to the Baseball Hall of Fame once in my life. Once!

When I was seven years old, my mother, father, sister, and I took the trip from Sparkill, NY to Cooperstown. I was already into baseball at the time, and kind of understood the magnitude of what I was about to see. Of course, I don't remember every little detail, but I can recall enough memories that make me wonder why I haven't been back since. After all, we went to the photographer's shop down the street and got our pictures taken in the old-time flannels. I got to see the Hall of Fame Field. I learned (through my step-father) of Willie, Mickey, the Duke, and Stan "the Man." I wondered why Roger Maris did not have a plaque, before learning that one great year does not ensure enshrinement.

Since then, I've moved to the Jersey shore, and have traveled to Florida, the Bahamas, back to Sparkill for a weekend, through most of the southern states, to Yankee Stadium about 200 times, to Camden Yards, and Boston, but I've never been back to Cooperstown. Sure, I've contemplated a trip. I've checked out hotels in the area (internet), visited the Hall of Fame web site, discussed particulars of the excursion with my girlfriend. Heck, I've even taken a weekend getaway to the beautiful Rye Town Hilton in Port Chester, NY. But that's as close as I've gotten.

My disappointment stems from my realization of how much more I appreciate the history and tradition of baseball now. Alright, maybe screaming at my friends when they wear a Yankees hat backwards goes a bit too far ("You're disrespecting the game," I yell), but that's how I am. I'm "old school." No name on the back...of course. The game is played for the logo on the front of the jersey, anything else is for show.

I need to go back to appreciate the non-Yankee side of baseball. I've been to Monument Park. It's beautiful. By the same token, I understand that the Bronx is not what baseball is ALL about. Maybe Musial would have hit more than 475 home runs pulling the ball into the short porch (woops, there I go into Yankee land again). How good was Koufax, numbers aside? I don't want to know the rest of baseball history from just the stats; I want the stories. Sure, I read about baseball, present, past, and future, but reading doesn't always mean I'm experiencing it. I want to get as close as possible to the action that happened before I was around. Maybe I can write a book about it. 'The Stuff I Wish I Saw: Confessions of a Baseball Historian Born too Late.'

The copyright of the article A Weekend Drive into History in Baseball Hall of Fame is owned by Joseph J. Checkler. Permission to republish A Weekend Drive into History in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.