Cooperstown Calling: Induction Weekend One Week Away

The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Induction Weekend is my favorite time of year. Yes, Christmas is included.

One week from Sunday, on July 26 in Cooperstown, three new members will be welcomed to the Hall of Fame’s roll call. Making up the Class of 2026 are Carlos Beltran, Jeff Kent, and Andrew Jones. If you haven’t attended the induction ceremonies on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center just one mile down the road from the Hall of Fame, please treat yourself some summer.

I wait all year for this event. For 45 years, prior to finding Bradenton, I lived in Central New York. In 1976, my family loaded up the station wagon, waved goodbye to New York City, and relocated to Otsego County. Our family home is located seven miles east of the Village of Cooperstown. Not much has changed on the village’s Main Street since America’s Bicentennial. This is a good thing.

I’ve been attending induction ceremonies since they were held in Cooper Park. Hard to believe today that, until 1991, inductee speeches were delivered on the steps leading to the National Baseball Library. I also remember a time when returning Hall of Famers and baseball guests signed autographs for free and happily stopped on Main Street to take a picture with fans. I remember when, on the night prior to inductions, you could walk into The Otesaga Resort and Hotel, take in a swing band, and share a drink with greats such as Sandy Koufax, Monte Irvin, Joe Cronin, and Warren Giles. This was a simpler time, and I’m so grateful to have experienced it.

Fast-forward to 1982. I was able to get my first job in broadcasting as part of the Hall of Fame’s telecast, then airing live, on ESPN. I walked into the ESPN truck that was parked behind the Hall of Fame, found producer Steve Stedman, and was ready (or at least I thought I was) for what would be asked of me. I soon realized I knew little to nothing about the “real world” of broadcasting, as opposed to what I was learning at SUNY Fredonia.

Mr. Stedman asked me to lose the suit jacket I was wearing, not call him Mr. Stedman again, and study the script. I was inserted on the official ESPN log as stage manager. Oh, one more duty. Stedman handed me a clean, official MLB ball. I was to get each inductee's signature on the ball. The look he gave me, I knew there would be no excuses for failure.

Everything went fine. Signatures obtained, I signed my pay voucher, and, in a couple of weeks, an official ESPN check for $50.00 arrived from their headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

For the next 20 years, I remained part of the ESPN telecast. The show would ultimately go from being shown live to being taped and airing later that Sunday evening. I met so many Hall of Famers up close and personal through my work with ESPN. My work schedule went from one day to three, and my responsibilities grew. I have made many lasting friendships.

One year, in 1984, Superstation WTBS (the glory years of Atlanta Braves baseball on TV) was in Cooperstown to air the then-annual Hall of Fame Game. The Braves played the Detroit Tigers. I crewed that game/show, and in the opening shot, it was me brushing off dirt on home plate.

Since 2012, I have been fortunate to cover Induction Weekend for print media outlets. What a privilege. The closer you are to the Hall of Famers, the more you realize how special these people are. The Hall of Fame staff does an outstanding job in making the honorees available at various times during the weekend.

I’ve seen players up close who played as early as 1916 (Burleigh Grimes), Happy Chandler (MLB’s second commissioner), Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Rod Carew, and the list goes on and on. I’ve been in the presence of Bob Feller, Warren Spahn, and Ted Williams, Hall of Famers and military heroes all, as they began conversations that everyone in their surroundings stopped and learned from.

Today, Ozzie Smith represents himself, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Hall of Fame magnanimously. Each Induction Weekend, Smith raises funds for the Hall of Fame’s education department with his Turn Two program. Jim Kaat, now 87, also remains a wonderful ambassador for the Hall of Fame.

The small-town charm of Cooperstown is hard to beat from other sports halls of fame. Arriving in Cooperstown each Induction Weekend is like watching your baseball cards come alive. Your youth follows you wherever you are. The experience is addictive.

One word—Cooperstown—is all that is needed to jump-start a baseball conversation that surely could take you well into the night. When I return home next week, I’ll feel and think decades younger, and escape to a more innocent, less complicated time for baseball. I can’t wait.