24 years ago today, while attending a weekend-long party in Albany during our college years, my pal
Joe asked me if I wanted to head down to Cooperstown for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
When Sunday morning rolled around, the two of us were so hungover that, if it wasn't for Joe's girlfriend at the time—now his wife—a tradition may never have been born.
This past weekend was the 25th such occasion. I missed the event in 2000 to attend a wedding in Kamloops, British Columbia, and we all missed the actual ceremony in 1990—it was rained out and we couldn't skip work the next day to attend the rescheduled ceremony—but otherwise it's been a pretty strong ongoing tradition that brings friends together to celebrate a common obsession for one weekend a year.
KJ and I skipped the induction ceremony this year as well, due to various reasons, not the least important of which is the future arrival of Little Chuck. We did, however, catch the Hall of Famer parade on Saturday evening, and these are the photos that best capture this particular highlight of the weekend.
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| Ralph Kiner |
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| Al Kaline |
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| Johnny Bench |
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| Gaylord Perry |
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| Phil Niekro |
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| Carlton Fisk |
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| Eddie Murray |
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| Rickey Henderson |
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| Bert Blyleven |
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I am staying for the parade next time. Did Stan the Man" make it?
ReplyDeleteYou definitely should stick around for the parade, Casey. It's probably the best part of the weekend, besides the inductions, but that requires a bit more time commitment.
ReplyDeleteThat settles it...next year, you stick around for the parade and then we go for beers. Don't forget to drag Smitty down there too. :)
Unfortunately, Musial hasn't been there in a few years. I'm pretty sure his deteriorating health is a factor.
Most of those guys still look great, don't they?
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