Staff Report
All tickets for the final
2008 Hall of Fame Game,
featuring the Chicago Cubs
and San Diego Padres on
June 16 at Doubleday Field,
were sold Saturday, as the
game was declared a sellout
at 2 p.m., just four hours after
tickets were first made
available. Any returned tickets
will be made available at
9 a.m. on Hall of Fame Game
Day, June 16, in the Doubleday
Field parking lot.
Approximately 400 visitors
braved the cold and rain
in Cooperstown to purchase
about 2,500 tickets available
in the one-day walk-up sale
at the Museum. Patrons
were permitted to lineup
starting at 6 a.m. Saturday
and wristbands guaranteeing
a purchase opportunity
were handed out to those
who joined the line by approximately
9 a.m.
áMuseum Members purchased
the remaining tickets
available for the Hall of
Fame Game through a phone
sale, which began at 10 a.m.
With a seating capacity of
9,571, Doubleday Field has
hosted the Hall of Fame
Game annually since 1940,
the only in-season exhibition
game for many years. Major
League Baseball announced
in January that the 2008
Hall of Fame Game will be
the last in which major
league teams will be sent as
participants.
Cooperstown graduate
Kristian Connolly and some
volunteers were at the ticket
sales Saturday trying to
drum up support for savethefamegame.
com, a website
Connolly started after the
announcement was made by
major league baseball.
In an email to the Crier,
Connolly said he and other
volunteers talked to all people
on line, went to area businesses,
and put up signage
in the village.
“All in all, it was a great
day for savethefamegame.
com,’’ he wrote. ``We were
able to hand out information
to over 500 people and we
were greeted warmly and enthusiastically
by everyone in
line. It was great to be able
to reach so many people in
person and hear their stories,
where they come from,
why they love the HOF
Game, why they want it to
continue, etc., and I look forward
to more of the same inperson
support-building opportunities
in the coming
months.’’
Earlier this week, Senator
James L. Seward said he
would form a panel charged
with developing an alternative
to the annual Major
League Baseball-sponsored
Hall of Fame game.
Seward had earlier joined
the fight to save the game,
but said he heard directly
from MLB commissioner Bud
Selig that the plan to cancel
the game is irrevocable.
``We’ve got to start planning
how we can turn around
a tough break and make sure
we have a significant annual
baseball event that continues
to be a tourist destination,
builds on our baseball
history, and is an economic
asset for our area,’’ Seward
said.
Seward said he plans to
form a local committee that
would include the Hall of
Fame, the mayor of Cooperstown,
the chairman of the
county board, and local tourism/
business representatives
to develop an alternate plan
to fill the Hall of Fame game
niche.
On Monday, June 16,
fans are invited to line Main
Street for the Cooperstown
Game Day Parade, beginning
at noon, presented by
the Hall of Fame, the Cooperstown
Chamber of Commerce
and the village of Cooperstown.
Both teams will
ride trolleys down Main
Street and into Doubleday
Field to conclude the parade.
At 1 p.m., the fan-favorite
Home Run Derby will feature
three contestants from
each major league team,
slugging for beyond the fences.
Following the game, children
12 and under are invited
to run the bases at
Doubleday Field.
A full weekend of programming
for Father’s Day
Weekend, including a special
appearance by Hall of Famer
Ferguson Jenkins, will take
place June 14-16 in Cooperstown.
For a full schedule,
please visit www.baseballhall.
org.
