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Summer 2008 Hall of Fame Tour
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You may have noticed the lack of entries here for the last few days. It's because I've been on vacation, on the road, traveling to Toronto to see the Cubs play, then on to Cooperstown to see the Hall of Fame Game (which got rained/hailed/stormed out)... and to see three Halls of Fame, the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and on the way driving back from upstate New York, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
Herewith a short summary of Al's Summer 2008 Hall of Fame Tour:
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in an old bank building that has been sort of merged into an atrium-type mall, right next to an outlet of that very Canadian company, Starbucks (I have been very surprised to see, unlike my last visit to Toronto five years ago, how many US chain stores are now here). And let me tell you, the hockey people save everything -- there are pucks from 1901, "sweaters" (what they call jerseys, and some of them really ARE sweaters) from the 1920's and 1930's, and relics from every era of the sport, organized by era, by team and player, and also a large exhibit of world hockey teams, including shirts from teams from Israel, Mexico and Turkey, countries you'd never expect to have hockey teams. The Stanley Cup is prominently exhibited, along with the metal bands of previous winners that have now been retired from the actual Cup. The one you see being held up by the winners is now on tour, and it's not even the original, although that is also on display, in an old bank vault.
Very cool tour, and there were quite a few other Cub fans going through the exhibits in the morning before heading off to the game, and the requisite souvenir T-shirt was purchased, at the unheard-of museum price of only $10.
The Baseball Hall of Fame is the Holy Grail for any baseball fan. It's not easy to get to Cooperstown -- the nearest major airports are in Albany or Syracuse, each about 90 minutes' drive, the last 25 of which are on a two-lane, hilly, curvy highway. Nevertheless, if you love baseball, you must make the pilgrimage at least once in your life. I spent an entire morning there and could easily have spent the entire day, or two days. There is so much to see there that I can't possibly give it justice in a simple post here. What I will say is that the Hall has been significantly improved since I last was there in 1988 -- the inside seems almost new, totally renovated; the actual "Hall of Fame", where the player plaques are, has been enlarged and is dignified and classy, and the exhibits are comprehensive and have things that you walk by and say, "Wow! That's cool that they have that," or, "Man, I remember THAT game!"
There is one statement that the Hall has made, perhaps without intentionally doing so (or maybe it IS intentional). They have a small gallery where career leaderboards are kept (and, according to a sign, updated weekly). There are both all-time boards and boards showing leaders among active players. The sign mentioning the weekly updates says that players on the "active" board will remain there until they have either announced their retirement or not played for a full season.
Barry Bonds is not listed on the active leaderboards, even though by the above criteria he should be. Do they know something we don't?
Finally, yet another must-see for anyone, not just rock & roll fans, is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Remember the song "Cleveland Rocks"? That's one of the main reasons the folks in Cleveland lobbied so hard to get this museum built there. It's an architectural landmark as well as a terrific museum. In addition to entire floors dedicated to special exhibits on the Doors and the Beatles movie "Help", the Rock Hall also has a large current exhibit on baseball music entitled "Take Me Out: Baseball Rocks!" It covers music from all musical eras about baseball, from DeWolf Hopper's early 20th Century rendition of "Casey At The Bat", to a forgettable 1969 song recorded by Ernie Banks called "Teamwork", and a large exhibit focusing on the local team, the Indians, and their 1997 AL Championship team. There's a place where you can listen to various baseball songs; Steve Goodman's "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" is included (but no "Go Cubs Go").
I was a bit disappointed when going into, or more correctly, attempting to go into, the actual "Hall of Fame", where all the inductees have their signatures etched into glass. It was roped off and closed -- explanation: the 2008 inductees' names are being etched. Lame explanation, IMO: to close this off for a full day (which is what one worker there said), so that someone like me, who is not likely to return to Cleveland any time soon, can't see it, isn't right. They should do this sort of work in overnight hours. In any case, well worth your time to get to Cleveland to see it.
All of these Halls of Fame are attractions in and of themselves. Perhaps next, the Football and Basketball Halls of Fame (driving through Indiana, I passed by the RV Museum and Hall of Fame -- um, nope on that one, but maybe it's your cup of tea). It's a fine way to spend a summer vacation.
