There are three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music, and baseball. They’re the three most beautifully designed things this culture’s ever produced.
Dr. Gerald Early, Washington University
AMERICA 250 CAMPAIGN
As our nation marks its 250th anniversary, we invite you to stand with us in honoring the ideals that shaped our country and our game. When you make a gift today, your support helps to preserve history, honor excellence and connect generations.
In honor of our nation’s 250th birthday, Arizona Diamondbacks owner and Hall of Fame Board Member Ken Kendrick, has stepped up to the plate with an incredible challenge: He will match the first $250,000 in gifts to the Museum’s America 250 Campaign.
CELEBRATING 250: BASEBALL AS AMERICA
It is in Cooperstown where we learn so much about the deep bond that baseball shares with American culture.
There are countless moments when the game has intersected with larger events in our world. Looking back, time and time again, baseball has been there through the good times and the bad, often bringing us together. Here is one of those special moments:
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER STEALS THE SHOW
Game 1 of the 1918 World Series between the Cubs and the Red Sox featured Babe Ruth on the mound for the Sox, but with our Country still fighting World War I, it was a performance of The Star-Spangled Banner that stole the show that day.
The song would not become our official National Anthem until 1931, but when Red Sox third baseman Fred Thomas – an active-duty sailor on leave from Naval Station Great Lakes – heard the band strike up the song during the seventh-inning stretch, he turned to face the flag, snapped to attention and offered a military salute. The other players, seeing Thomas, turned to face the flag, removed their caps and put their hands over their hearts.
The fans, seeing what was happening on the field, roared to life, cheering and singing along, in a spontaneous show of patriotism. The Star-Spangled Banner has been performed at every World Series game since, and the tradition of playing the song before every big league game started 24 years later during World War II.
Our Library collection includes a handwritten scorebook from Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award winner James Isaminger that documents this historic game.
BASEBALL CONNECTS GENERATIONS
When you make a gift today, your support helps to preserve history, honor excellence and connect generations, while making exclusive programming possible, including:
RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY!
The American flag rescued by Rick Monday on April 25, 1976, at Dodger Stadium will be exhibited on the Museum’s third floor through Labor Day Weekend. It will mark the longest time the flag has been in one public location and is on loan from Monday, who has preserved the flag since that day during America’s bicentennial.
AMERICA 250 TRAIL
Explore how people, teams and moments in baseball history show the ideals on which our nation was founded.
THE RULES OF BASE BALL
Handwritten documents penned circa 1857 by the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and originally submitted as part of a convention called to codify the rules of the emerging National Pastime are exhibited in the Museum’s Taking the Field exhibit.
HALL OF FAME MILITARY CLASSIC PRESENTED BY NEW ERA
Seven Hall of Famers and two dozen former major league players, along with members of the Louisville Slugger Warriors and Women’s Pro Baseball League, welcomed fans to Cooperstown over Memorial Day Weekend.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
The memories you’ll make here will last a lifetime. Awed by priceless artifacts. Moved by stories and triumphs that inspired and united a nation. Find your way to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and you’ll make history of your own.
STAND WITH US
Thanks to a generous matching pledge, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar. Don’t miss this opportunity to double your impact and help preserve baseball history for the next generation.
MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP
Through the Museum's Membership Program, baseball fans from around the country and around the world can be part of the team that is preserving the Game’s history and celebrating the all-time greats.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
The memories you’ll make here will last a lifetime. Awed by priceless artifacts. Moved by stories and triumphs that inspired and united a nation. Find your way to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and you’ll make history of your own.
STAND WITH US
Thanks to a generous matching pledge, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar. Don’t miss this opportunity to double your impact and help preserve baseball history for the next generation.
MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP
Through the Museum's Membership Program, baseball fans from around the country and around the world can be part of the team that is preserving the Game’s history and celebrating the all-time greats.