The Museum and Library collections document the game's history and bring its most important moments to life.
Each item – the bats, baseballs, gloves, spikes and uniforms – tells an important story about the game’s history. But the collections are also broad and deep, documenting both the game on the field and its impact on American culture. It may be art, books, manuscripts, baseball cards or photographs that bring your memories of the game to life.
The Museum’s three-dimensional collection contains tens of thousands of artifacts representing all facets of the game, from its inception to the present. This includes bats, baseballs, uniforms, player equipment, ballpark items, awards, artwork, textiles, collectibles and memorabilia relating to all aspects of baseball including, but not limited to, Hall of Famers, Major and Minor League players and teams, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the Negro Leagues, stadiums, events, amateur baseball, and international baseball.
These artifacts are just a few of the thousands of items on display in the Museum.
Wearing this pinstriped jersey on September 18, 2017, Yankees rookie Aaron Judge hit his 44th home run of the season, a first-inning shot to right-center field at Yankee Stadium. The 25-year-old right fielder went on to set a rookie record with 52 homers and ultimately earned American League Rookie of the Year honors.
Just after midnight on Oct. 22, 1975, Boston’s Carlton Fisk clouted his celebrated World Series Game 6 home run by swinging teammate Rick Burleson’s bat and willing the ball fair with a wave of his hands. The 12th-inning walk-off home run clanged off the left-field foul pole and sent the Reds and Red Sox to a winner-take-all Game 7.
Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. wore this helmet on September 6, 1995, the day he broke Lou Gehrig’s "unbreakable" mark of 2,130 straight games played. Ripken ultimately played 2,632 games before voluntarily ending his astonishing streak.
In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, Giants center fielder Willie Mays used this glove to rob Cleveland’s Vic Wertz of a 460-foot extra-base hit: an over-the-shoulder play known simply as “The Catch.” The Giants went on to sweep the Indians, capturing the franchise’s last championship in New York before the team moved to San Francisco.
Making his much-anticipated debut in 2018, L.A.’s Shohei Ohtani became the majors’ first successful two-way player in generations. In his April 1 pitching debut, Ohtani wore this cap as he hurled six innings and struck out six in the Angels’ 7-4 victory over Oakland.
On June 20, 2004, Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. wore this helmet when he stepped up to the plate in the top of the sixth inning against the Cardinals and smashed his 500th career home run. "The Kid" would finish his 22-year career with 630 homers.
Already the first AL team to sign an Black player, Cleveland made history again in 1975 when it named Frank Robinson as the first Black manager in American or National League history. A player-manager, Robinson wore this jersey on that historic Opening Day when he smashed a homer to help defeat the Yankees, 5-3.
Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron wore this uniform on April 8, 1974, when he smashed his 715th career home run, a 1-0 pitch off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. The two-run blast eclipsed Babe Ruth’s record and cemented Aaron's place as an American sports icon.
On July 24, 1983, Royals third baseman George Brett smashed a ninth-inning homer with this bat to defeat the Yankees. However, when the umpire ruled that Brett's bat had too much pine tar on it and called him out, Brett went berserk. Although the decision was later overturned, Brett's angry dugout charge remains a singular baseball moment.
Wearing these cleats and using his oft-overlooked power, Ichiro Suzuki hit a triple off the right field wall at Colorado’s Coors Field on August 7, 2016, becoming just the 30th major leaguer and first member of the Marlins to join the elite 3,000-Hit Club.
The Museum collection contains tens of thousands of artifacts. Here are a few iconic items. Please note some of these items may not be on display.
Cap worn by Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 4, 1955 at Yankee Stadium when the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees to win their first World Series championship.
New York Yankees road jersey belonging to Lou Gehrig in his final season, 1939. The patch on the left shoulder signifies the 100th birthday celebration of baseball in America.
Cap worn by Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates underneath his helmet when he hit his 3,000th, and final, major league hit on September 30, 1972.
Bat used by Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in a game against the St. Louis Browns at Fenway Park on September 14, 1951. With Boston ahead 9-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Williams faced Browns reliever Satchel Paige. Paige struck Williams out with a third-strike change-up that so angered the Red Sox slugger that he banged the bat on the railing near the Red Sox dugout, damaging the handle of the bat.
Bat used by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in 1927 to hit 28 of his 60 homers.
Featured Story
The Dean O. Cochran, Jr. Photographic Archives contains photographs of every aspect of the game of baseball. It depicts the broad diversity of people on the field, the places they played, and the action of the game. The photographs housed in the Archives document more than 150 years of baseball history, visually recording the game’s place in American culture.
Baseball card collecting has been a part of the National Pastime since the early days of baseball, around the time of the Civil War. But it’s fair to say that 150 years ago, no one thought these pieces of colorful cardboard would become incredibly valuable – and a part of our national fabric. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum collection contains more than 140,000 baseball cards.
The Dean O. Cochran, Jr. Manuscript Archives contains a variety of materials, including the papers of individuals, records of organizations, scrapbooks, consciously assembled collections of unique material, along with Hall of Fame created ephemera collections. These collections range in size from a few documents to hundreds of boxes.
The Recorded Media Archives contains tens of thousands of hours of moving images and sound recordings in a wide variety of formats that date from a 1908 Edison Cylinder recording of Take Me Out To The Ball Game. The archives includes 78rpm radio discs, phonograph records, 8mm home movies, reel-to-reel tapes, films, videotapes, along with compact and digital video discs. Recorded on these diverse media are interviews and oral histories; radio and television broadcasts; play-by-play and other commentary; feature, documentary and animated films; popular songs and other music; and Hall of Fame events.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Library contains thousands of volumes dedicated to chronicling the history of America’s Pastime. Books form the bulk of our collection of printed materials. They include novels; biographies; team histories; histories of baseball played in particular cities, states, and countries; children’s books; cookbooks; and various other fictional and non-fictional works.
The Hall of Fame Library has bound editions of many popular baseball periodicals, as well as many that focus on sports in general. Sports Illustrated, Sport, Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, Baseball Digest, The New York Clipper, and The Sporting News are just a sample of the titles contained in the Library’s collection. In addition to print editions, some of these – Sporting Life and The Sporting News, for example – may also be available in microforms.
Complete or nearly-complete runs of various statistical guides are also kept at the Library. The Spalding, Reach, and Sporting News guides form the bulk of the annuals kept here, but other early annuals, such as Beadle’s Dime Base-Ball Player and DeWitt’s Base-Ball Guide, are also available. However, many titles exist, and the Hall of Fame Library strives to include as many as possible. The Hall of Fame Library also has several copies and editions of baseball encyclopedia.
1951 Fort Wayne Daisies program and score book.
Another strong category within the Hall of Fame Library surrounds team publications for Major League Baseball teams, minor-league teams, foreign teams, AAGPBL teams, as well as others. It is important to note, however, that these may not necessarily be complete runs. Publications for minor-league teams are mostly from the latter half of the 20th century and afterward, and they may be limited, depending on the team.
Documents written in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other languages are also available at the Hall of Fame Library.
The archives and collections contain over three million documents, everything from books and magazines to scrapbooks and manuscript collections, as well as over 250,000 photographic images and over 16,000 hours of recorded media. The objects below are a small sample.
This volume includes the years 1921 through 1922. Articles and topics covered incude Ruth acting on stage with Wellington Cross; the possibility Ruth's suspension for "barnstorming" after the post-season; the fines and suspension at the beginning of the 1922 season (and editorial pieces about it). It also includes examples of advertisements featuring Ruth or for Ruth's Vaudeville stage performances.
A black-and-white action photograph of Gloria Cordes delivering a pitch for the Kalamazoo Lassies in 1952. Her arm is outstretched after just releasing the ball.
A photocopy of a scouting report written by scout Jon Neiderer on college pitcher Jim Anthony Abbott. Report includes a rating and a written description on the pitcher's various pitches, abilities and weaknesses, and his signability. The scout wrote this for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A color slide of Rickey Henderson batting. He appears to be dressed in a road uniform for the Oakland Athletics and the stadium in the background may be Fenway Park.
A matted pencil-drawn cartoon by Little Willy King. It depicts an umpire wearing a large chest protector and yelling "Batter-Up."
An Atlanta Braves Spring Training Official Program/Scorecard for 2001. The front cover features a drawing of Andruw Jones with Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in the background.
A speech by Ted Williams delivered on his formal induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 25, 1966 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Featured Story
The Museum acquires items for its collections solely through donations. We invite you to become an active participant in preserving baseball history for future generations by contributing to the Museum and Library collections.
Our educational programs include public events that promote discussion and interaction among generations in the Museum; programs that provide K-12 students and teachers interactive and meaningful learning experiences that align with national learning standards in Cooperstown, online and in their communities; and a robust lineup of virtual programs for diverse audiences.
Across our three floors of exhibit space, you will experience baseball history through artifacts on display, which showcase the important individual and team moments on the field as well as the game's monumental impact on our society.
The library is the foremost repository of baseball information, in all formats, in the world. Founded in 1939 along with the Hall itself, the library is a specialized research facility whose collections and services are available to all.
Our educational programs include public events that promote discussion and interaction among generations in the Museum; programs that provide K-12 students and teachers interactive and meaningful learning experiences that align with national learning standards in Cooperstown, online and in their communities; and a robust lineup of virtual programs for diverse audiences.
Across our three floors of exhibit space, you will experience baseball history through artifacts on display, which showcase the important individual and team moments on the field as well as the game's monumental impact on our society.
The library is the foremost repository of baseball information, in all formats, in the world. Founded in 1939 along with the Hall itself, the library is a specialized research facility whose collections and services are available to all.
