Baseball hall visit worth the long trip

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The thought occurs again and again on the 200-mile drive to Boston, then on the endless, 255-mile leg on the New York State Thruway. It gets louder and louder on the drive through Canajoharie, Duanesburg and the other western New York farming towns.

How did the Baseball Hall of Fame ever get to Cooperstown, New York?

Why not Brunswick, Maine; Plymouth, Mass.; Hoboken, N.J.; or even New Hampshire or Vermont?

It appears that the answer is part public relations, part scam and part good old American patriotism. It is now folklore that Abner Doubleday “invented” baseball in Cooperstown in 1839.

There was a prevailing school of thought around the turn of the last century that baseball had evolved from the English game of rounders. But that simply would not do in a country so fervently patriotic.

In a purely American response, a commission was formed in 1905 to decide the matter. That commission was headed by former National League President Abraham Mills, assisted by sporting good magnate Al Spaulding, two obviously unbiased observers. Such luminaries as Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain addressed the commission.

While the commission searched for facts to support their patriotism, a letter arrived from Abner Graves, an elderly resident of Cooperstown, N.Y. Graves remembered playing baseball with Abner Doubleday in 1839. Graves, who later expired in an insane asylum, also remembered the improvements made by Doubleday, who later became a celebrated Civil War general and authentic American hero. Doubleday saw action at Fort Sumter (where he fired the first shot in defense), Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg.

The Mills Commission recognized but dismissed the claim that New York City clerk Alexander Cartwright drafted the “modern” baseball rules in September 1845 that were adopted by the New York Knickerbockers and used in Hoboken, N.J., in 1846.

Baseball historians have found references to early forms of baseball in New York cities such as Rochester and Geneso in the 1820s. Organized clubs played in Philadelphia and the New York City area in the 1830s. Evidence has been found of early baseball and “stool ball” in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and other Northeastern states long before 1839.

In 1824, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a student at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, wrote, “… there is nothing now heard of, in our leisure hours, but ball, ball, ball.” In 1838, James Fenimore Cooper, a resident of Cooperstown, describes a baseball game in his novel “Home As Found.”

In 1621 on Christmas Day, Massachusetts Governor Bradford described the men of Plymouth Plantation, “frolicking in ye street, at play openly; some at Virginia pitching ye ball, some at stoole ball and shuch-like sport.” In 1797, Daniel Webster, in private correspondence, wrote of “playing ball” while a student at Dartmouth College.

Jane Austen mentions “base-ball” in her novel “Northanger Abbey.” In 1806, Louisiana Purchase explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark attempt to teach the Nez Perce Indians to play the “game of base.” In 1809, the first formally organized “cricket club” was established in Boston.

Serious baseball historians can trace the origins of the game to ancient Egypt, where it was connected with religious ceremonies, perhaps explaining the importance of the game in some modern-day lives. The game was picked up by the Muslims after they conquered that land, and then entered Europe through Moorish Spain. From there the games moved into France, and were particularly connected with church rites during the Easter season. From there, the game moved into Britain. The first game of “stool ball” is mentioned in 1330. That game is the parent of both cricket and rounders.

But in the end, Mills ruled that “patriotism and research” had shown that baseball was a purely American invention and that Doubleday was the “inventor” of baseball. That decision was made after the Mills Commission audience pounded the table and chanted “No rounders! No rounders!”

Of course, none of this matters when the spires of Cooperstown finally appear over Lake Otsego. Every brain owned by a baseball fan has a tiny corner reserved for the Hall of Fame. The museum has an almost mythical quality to any fan.

The fans who attend view the attractions with quiet, rapt attention usually reserved for a church. After all, to some of us, these are our gods.

Inside the front door is a series of plaques of the most revered players. With so much attention paid to Ted Williams since his death, Red Sox fans may have overlooked the impact of Carl Yastrzemski, who replaced Williams in left field. Among all baseball stars, “Yaz” is third in at bats with 11,988, following only Pete Rose at 14,053 and Hank Aaron with 12,364. Yastrzemski is second only to Rose in games played. Rose had 3,562 and Yaz had 3,308. His 1967 Triple Crown award is in the hall, naturally.

Naturally any fan gravitates to the exhibits which feature their home team. Naturally, any Red Sox fan claims Babe Ruth as one of our own. The Ruth exhibits feature pictures and artifacts including the bat and ball Ruth used for his historic 60th home run in 1927. If these don’t give you goose bumps, get back on the New York Thruway and go home.

There are reports that Ruth also played for some team in New York City after leaving Boston.

Even a confirmed Yankee hater (get in line) will stop in awe at Lou Gehrig’s locker and the Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio exhibits. We may be haters but we are not stupid.

Aaron has a sensational exhibit including film clips. It is a marvel that anyone that thin (by today’s pumped-up standards) ever hit 755 home runs and had 2,297 RBIs, many hit with his back foot off the ground. The ball from Aaron’s 714th home run, when he passed Ruth, sits in a place of honor. We forget that Aaron also won three Gold Gloves for his excellent outfield prowess.

Williams, naturally, is all over the museum, and even has a life-size statue next to Ruth, just outside the gift shop. Williams’ 521st and last home run, hit on Sept. 28, 1960 (I was there), is on exhibit.

Other Red Sox exhibits include the first World Series (Boston won) in 1903 and the baseball used in Hideo Nomo’s 2001 no-hitter.

But the surprise for any Red Sox fan is the corner exhibit honoring the 1967 “Impossible Dream” team, complete with a Colt .45 revolver given to Yaz by Gene Autry, a ticket and ball from Yaz’s last ball game and framed pictures of the “Dream” team. The exhibit lauds such minor Red Sox players as Jose Santiago and Jerry Adair. (You know they have brought their families to Cooperstown.)

The museum is small, but jammed with such memorabilia that other visits will be required to absorb its full impact. Even the 255-mile drive from Boston is worth it.

In a corner near the bookstore is a quote from Chicago Tribune sportswriter Phil Hersh that captures the lure of baseball for every child, every adult fan. Hersh calls baseball “the only game that you can see on the radio.”

We really don’t care who “invented” baseball. But it would have been easier to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame if it were located in Brunswick, Maine, or Plymouth, Mass.

Send complaints and compliments to Emmet Meara at emmetmeara@msn.com.