Gear up
McGwire memorabilia on display in Hall of Fame
Posted: Thursday September 10, 1998 09:10 PM
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Fans jammed the Hall of Fame to get a close view of McGwire's history-making artifacts AP |
COOPERSTOWN, New York (AP) -- Less than 24 hours after an armed escort
delivered it to the Hall of Fame, the baseball that Mark McGwire
slammed for his record-breaking 62nd home run went on display in the main
lobby.
And the fans were there waiting for the unveiling on Thursday
morning.
"The excitement didn't die down overnight, it was magnified," Hall
spokesman Jeff Idelson said. "We had 300 paid customers by 10 this morning.
On a normal day at this time of year, we have 300-400 visitors. We already
have 800, and we're open another four hours."
Many of those who came were youngsters whose parents had to make a
choice -- send them off to the first day of school or take them to the
first day of the exhibit.
Baseball held its own.
"There were tons of kids today, a tremendous amount of very young
children," Idelson said. "There were a lot of people just driving through
central New York, and when they read about the artifacts being here came
by. We talked to one family that was on the way home to Detroit from Maine,
and they just took a left and went about 100 miles out of their way to see
it."
On display are the ball, which was autographed by McGwire and dated
"9-8-98;" McGwire's big brown, flamed-treated Rawlings bat, with his
signature just above the label; his hat, uniform, size 13 cleats and
batting gloves; the uniform his batboy son Matt was wearing; and the
official scorecard of the game kept by Jack Buck, who noted the home run
with a jubilant "62!"
Also on display is the black Rawlings bat Sammy Sosa of the
Chicago Cubs was using
when he hit his 57th home run of the season. That drive broke Hack Wilson's
Cubs record, which had stood as the National League record until McGwire
and Sosa came along.
"I think it's great, especially for my son," said Kathryn Busse, who
was born and raised in Cooperstown and operates two restaurants on Main
Street with her husband. "I'm taking my kids to the Hall. This is a great
experience for them -- once in a lifetime."
Bill Godsill also was there. He was winding down an eight-week
baseball vacation to major and minor league ballparks when he rolled into
town from Oakland, California, on Wednesday.
"It's been a boyhood dream," the 51-year-old Godsill said. "This whole
trip is a dream trip."
With an unexpected bonus. Godsill, a big McGwire fan, had no idea that
Big Mac's gear was on the way to Cooperstown until somebody asked him to
move his faded blue pickup truck from in front of the Hall to make room for
the hoard of media in town to document the occasion.
"It's good for baseball," Godsill said. "I'm happy for him [McGwire].
The pressure's off. Now he can just run away with it."
Tickets to the Hall of Fame now say: "Congratulations to Mark McGwire,
the new single-season home run king."
And they're in demand in this collector-crazy village.
"People are coming just to get a ticket now that the word is out,"
Idelson said.
And if Sosa gets hot again like he did in June when he hit 20
homers? "It's current," Idelson said. "But we're prepared to change
it to Sammy Sosa, if need be."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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