We needed to find a couple folding lawn chairs.
My brother-in-law, Jeff, and I were in Cooperstown, New York for the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, featuring the Colorado Rockies’ Todd Helton. It was our first trip to Cooperstown. We were both excited about checking off a major item on our Bucket Lists.
On Saturday, July 20th, the day before the induction ceremony, Jeff and I decided to check out the site where the ceremony would be held. What we found was a huge expanse of green grass covered to a large degree by folding lawn chairs. We talked to a few people and learned that attendees come early, even days before the ceremony, to set up lawn chairs to reserve their spot on the lawn for the ceremony. (There is no cost to attend the induction ceremony.)
Having flown in from Colorado, neither of us had a lawn chair. Not wanting to just sit on the ground during the ceremony and try to look over people sitting in chairs, we embarked on a quest to find two cheap folding lawn chairs. After striking out at four or five stores (“We’re all sold out,” was the common response when we inquired about lawn chairs.), we came across a thrift store. Once again, we were told that they were out of lawn chairs, but the lady at the check-out counter said there was some indoor furniture for 50% off out back. We were getting a little desperate by this time, so we looked behind the store and found a couple dining room table chairs for $7.50 each. We glanced at each other and said, “What the heck!” and bought them.
Back at the induction site, we carried our dining room table chairs out on the lawn and plunked them down alongside hundreds of folding lawn chairs. A lady looked at us and laughed and asked us if we had brought the chairs from our hotel. We said “No” and told her about our big chair adventure and she let out a hearty laugh. Later that evening, I ran into her on Main St. She pointed me out to her companion and said, “There’s the Chair Guy!” and they both giggled while I smiled.
Well, the next day when we arrived at the ceremony, we found our dining room chairs in the spot we left them, now surrounded by a wide array of folding lawn chairs. Our dining room chairs served their purpose perfectly. The ceremony, on a beautiful 77-degree day, was terrific. Since we had walked a mile or so to the ceremony site, we left the chairs on the lawn. I imagine that today they might be for sale once again back at that same thrift store.
Other than our strange quest for lawn chairs, everything else about our trip to Cooperstown went very smoothly. The town itself is beautiful and the streets and homes are immaculate. Two blocks off Main Street is a beautiful nine-mile lake surrounded by lush green trees.
In a lot of ways, it was like being shipped back to the 1950’s. There aren’t any chain restaurants or hotels to be found in Cooperstown. Not a McDonald’s in sight. Main St. is filled with old-time storefronts, most of them selling baseball merchandise and memorabilia. These baseball shops were like extensions of the Hall itself.
Restaurants were quaint and the people working them friendly. Jeff and I ate breakfast at the smallest diner I’ve ever seen. It had room for only six tables. We were seated across from a father and son from Austin, Texas, who were big Adrian Beltre fans. Beltre was being inducted along with Helton, the Minneosta Twins’ Joe Mauer and long-time manager Jim Leyland. Like we did with everyone we met, we had a fun conversation with the father/son duo from Texas.
The camaraderie of being in a small town with thousands of fellow passionate baseball fans was tremendous. Everyone seemed in a great mood. Conversations came easily. There was a large contingent of Colorado Rockies fans, but Twins fans took the prize for biggest turnout. Joe Mauer is clearly a beloved figure in Twins Territory.
Cooperstown is home to an exquisitely preserved old baseball park, Doubleday Field. I had heard about Doubleday Field but I didn’t realize the entrance to the park was right off Main St. One oddity of visiting Doubleday Field on this weekend was seeing Denny McLain, the former Detroit Tiger, and the last 30-game winner in the big leagues, sitting behind a folding table signing autographs and hawking his book. We walked right up to him and had a quick chat. Pete Rose was also signing autographs in a shop on Main St., but he was well-protected in the back of a store. You needed to pay a fee just to walk back to where he was signing.
We spent several hours, over two days, going through the Hall of Fame itself. (Tip: If you go to the Hall of Fame during induction weekend, be sure to buy a membership to the Hall of Fame. That membership allows entry to the Hall an hour before the masses can come in.). The Baseball Hall of Fame exceeded my high expectations. The plaque gallery on the first floor is awe-inspiring, and the other floors had numerous outstanding exhibits about various aspects of baseball history. I’ve attended the football and basketball Halls and baseball’s shrine is by far the best.
I can’t recommend a trip to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame enough. Even better, is a visit during the annual induction ceremony. While there, save some time for a stroll through the small town to admire the country homes (with big porches and gorgeous flower beds), classic-style inns, and historic churches. A boat trip around the lake would be another nice touch.
Oh, and if you book a trip to baseball’s mecca for the induction ceremony, don’t forget to do some early lawn chair planning!