Hall of Fame Induction Weekend - Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - Chaumont to Mars

For some reason I was up earlier than usual this morning - probably dreading the drive home. We had breakfast and then go to the task of loading up the car. We had a number of bags and a cooler to keep the cheese cold. 

 

We said good-byes and hopes that we could spend time together soon in the future. I don't think the Pirates will play the Yankees in Pittsburgh next year, so it may have to be on another trip when Ron and Sue are passing through. 

 

We stopped at Hannaford in Watertown to get some Hoffmann Hot Dogs and Croghan Bologna. There are some things we really miss about northern NY. Also picked up a couple of packages of GF croutons for Amy. Unfortunately, their shipment hadn't been unpacked yet and we could only get two. 

 

 

Then it was down I81 and to the Thruway. Stopped for gas and a rest room visit before heading on the journey. It really is a boring ride, but we were able to listen to some of the Pirates game from the west coast. Ran into a bit of traffic around the Walden Ave. exit in Buffalo, but otherwise an uneventful ride. 

 

Home a little before 5! 

 

A good trip with the HOF Induction and good friends.  

  

Hall of Fame Induction Weekend - Tuesday, 29 July 2025 - Chaumont, New York

A good night's sleep followed by another delicious breakfast casserole. The Duck Harbor Inn is the best bed and breakfast ever!

We headed out a little after 11 to Clayton. We hadn't been there in ages and it is so nice to see how the village is becoming a bit of a refined tourist area. We spent some time in the new 1000 Islands Artisans and Delicacies, a collection of craft works by many different artists. There is also a section that features delicious looking breads and pastries. We passed on those!

Strolling down the street we happened to meet one of our former colleagues and students. We had a nice chat with Eileen and McKenzie and caught up on all the happenings with their families. 

The Michael Ringer Gallery has certainly grown over the years and featured many items that were not only paintings by Ringer, but other souvenirs of the area. We do not need to buy any more items to put in our house. 

We did a quick walk through of the River Rat Cheese store to see what was good to buy. Decided to come back on our way out of town so that we didn't have to carry food in the heat. 

Ron and Earle decided to take a walk on the river walk while Sue and I meandered through some of the stores, including a really nice book store. Again, I do not need to purchase more books!

We met up in the park and headed across the street for some ice cream. It really was delicious and the same brand as in Cooperstown.

Sitting in the shade, we enjoyed the park and the views of the St. Lawrence.

Back to the cheese shop to get some really good treats!

We headed home and decided that there was not enough of a breeze in the sun room so we had happy hour in the She Shed, where the breeze was more present. 

A delicious shrimp and pasta dish for dinner followed by more conversation until bed. How wonderful that friends can enjoy each other's company without having to be engaged in other activities. 

Headed upstairs and got our suitcases and clothes organized. I watched the last part of the Pirates as they chalked up another victory over the Giants.  

Hall of Fame Induction Weekend - Monday, 28 July 2025 - Chaumont, New York

After getting in so late last night, we looked forward to a chill day. Sue made a delicious French toast casserole for breakfast and after cleaning up we took coffee and headed to the sun room. It was so hot that we all were content to just enjoy the breeze from the lake and chat. When Sue and Ron were at our house in April, it was a short visit that was centered around the Yankees vs Pirates opening day. 

Earle and Ron took a bit of a walk and watered some of the many flowers around their home. Ron definitely has a knack for gardening. Had a bit of lunch - some delicious chicken salad was a highlight. I am not sure how we passed so much time just enjoying each other's company and chatting, but we did.  I could sit and look at the water for hours at a time. 

Can't beat views like this

Sue's She Shed

Around 4 Jim and Kate came for cocktails and dinner. Again, we had hardly seen them in April and we caught up with them with a lot of political talk and exasperation. Ron cooked hot dogs and hamburgers along with the sides that Sue had prepared. Delicious Revel Bars for dessert. 

After they left we talked about watching The South Park episode that skewered DJT, but we couldn't get it to load. 

Off to bed where I watched the Pirates game on my phone. Pulled out a 6-5 victory over the Giants!.

Hall of Fame Induction Weekend - Sunday, 27 July 2025 - Utica to Cooperstown to Chaumont

It was our intention to get up and out earlier this morning, but we had a bit of a delay in getting organized and out. Breakfast and then packing the car and then back to Cooperstown. 

It was a cloudy drive with a hint of rain in the air. We got to the Blue Trolley lot, which had really filled up and we were lucky to get a parking place. We made sure we had umbrellas with us. I had purchased a new plastic backpack for the trip because we needed to be able to keep phone, wallet, and tickets dry. It also needed to be big enough to put our heavy duty ponchos in because umbrellas were not allowed at the induction ceremony. 

The trolley had a stop in the village as well as the induction site and we opted to get off in Cooperstown rather than stand in line for 2 hours at the Clarke Sports Center.  The trolley driver cautioned us to be one of the first in line to get the return trolley after the induction because it would be a 45 minute wait for her to return. 

It was a good call because the threat of a thunder storm pushed the ceremony from 1:30 to 2:30. It was drizzling just a bit as I found a bench right across from the museum. I had my Kindle so I read for a while. Earle walked around a bit, but we were content to wait for a while. We knew that we could get in to our seats starting at 1:00 so about 12:30 we went to get on the trolley. It was quite a long line waiting to get in to the seats when we arrived. And it started to rain just about the time we got to the end of the line - about 1/4 of a mile from the drop off area. 

 

 

Got to the Hall of Fame member seats about 1:30. It was nice that there was complimentary water for everyone in that area. Pre-ceremony entertainment on the jumbo-tron kept us entertained until 2:30. 

Although we had seats for the ceremony, which was nice that we didn't have to cart chairs and sit further back, the views were at times blocked by the very tall guys sitting in front of us. It was also sunny and seeing exactly what I was photographing was a bit challenging

Jane Forbes Clark is the chairman of the Board of the HOF and handles all the introductions and presentations for the ceremony. 

 I tried to get photos of all the players who had died in the last year, but only managed one as the tall guys kept moving. 

The first inductee was Billy Wagner, the reliever for the Atlanta Braves was the first speech.   

Next up was the tribute to our Bucco's Dave Parker. His son, Dave, Jr. accepted the honor for his father. The speech was beautifully done and quite poignant. The poem he read at the end brought tears to my eyes, much to the bewilderment of the Ishiro woman sitting next to me. 

 

Here I am, 39.
About damn time.
I know I had to wait a little,
but that's what you do with fine aged wine.
I'm a Pirate for life.
Wouldn't have it no other way.
That was my family,
even though I didn't go on Parade Day.
I love y'all, the Bucs own my heart 

The next inductee was Dick Allen from the Phillies. His wife did a remarkable job honoring her late husband. 

The next honoree was CC Sabathia. I was amazed that there weren't a multitude of Yankee fans to celebrate his election.  His speech was a bit funny and showed a great personality with a few digs at Ishiro. 

Because we knew there were so many Suzuki fans in attendance and in order to make sure we got the first trolley back, we left before his induction. We could listen to the presentation and his speech while waiting at the clearly marked trolley stop. 

We were among the first there and knew that nothing would be coming until after the ceremony ended. HOWEVER, there was the most incredible misinformation rampant and no one seemed to know what was happening after waiting about a half hour for the Blue Trolley to appear. I asked a security guard and he said that it would be "right along." WRONG, after another 15 minutes we were told that we had to take one of the shuttle busses into the village and pick up the trolley back to the parking lot from there. Needless to say, people were quite angry and rightfully so. 

We finally got on the road a little before 7 with an ETA of 9:45 to Chaumont. Good friends understood that dinner plans went awry and we would be LATE in arriving. We were originally going to stop for a bite to eat, but decided that Combos, were dinner enough.  

We stayed up and chatted with a glass of wine and some snacks that more than made up for our delayed arrival. Good friends also give up their air-conditioned bedroom for their guests. Just an act of pure kindness with the heat that has settled over the whole east coast.  

 

Hall of Fame Induction Weekend - Saturday, 26 July 2025 - Utica to Cooperstown to Oneonta to Utica

After a bit of a fitful night's sleep, we had breakfast and left our hotel about 9 a.m. It was just

under an hour on country roads to the Blue Trolley Lot. This lot was advertised to have transportation to the induction site as well as a stop in the village for the Hall of Fame Museum. We had excellent timing as the trolley pulled in just as we parked. 

About a 10 minute ride into the village and we were at the Hall of Fame. It was a very hot and humid day and we were glad to get into the air conditioning. I had joined the Hall of Fame when it was announced that Dave Parker was to be inducted and so had free admission. We had been to the Hall last year on our Buckley trip so we didn't feel the need to revisit all the exhibits.

We did opt to see the introductory movie, Generations of the Game. It is a good overview of the history of the Hall with commentary by many of the Hall's members. After the film we doubled back to the area that was dedicated to the new inductees. It was packed as could be expected. 

We didn't try to get to the other inductee areas as it was just too crowded.

While looking at the exhibit, we met Doe Boyland, who was a teammate of Parker and a very close friend. He talked of how sick Dave was at the end, but was so happy that he finally made the Hall. He mentioned that he had a speech ready of Parker's son wouldn't be able to deliver his. 

 A couple of photos from random exhibits - especially since Rose now has a chance to get into the Hall.

We then headed up to the 3rd floor to see the new exhibit featuring baseball in Japan. It was interesting in that I had never known Japanese baseball dated back to the 1880s. It had just been opened this year, especially timely since Ishiro Suzuki was the 1st Japanese player elected to the hall. 

The display of World Series rings was dazzling. How they have gotten bigger and blingier through the ages is unbelievable.

 

We then revisited the Soul of the Game exhibit that featured the players of the Negro leagues and the area that featured women's baseball. 

Another area that we hadn't seen last year was the area devoted to each of the teams that had artifacts that were housed in replica lockers. 

Finally, we were fascinated by the collection of bobbleheads that were on display. While trying to find all the Pirates ones, I struck up a conversation with a woman who happened to have lived in Cranberry. She was actually the granddaughter of George Sisk. Suzuki beat Sisk's longstanding record of  most hits in a single season.  In 2004, Ichiro had 262 hits, breaking Sisler's previous record of 257 hits set in 1920. She was an invited guest by Suzuki. 

There were many exhibits honoring Clemente. Maybe one of these days his number 21 will be retired across baseball as was Jackie Robinson's 42. 

 We went down into the HOF Gallery where we were able to see Jim Leyland's plaque that was installed last year after his induction. 

 It was sad to see the space where Parker's and Allen's plaques were going to hang without their signatures. 

 

We scoped out the museum shop, but it was too crowded to even move and so we left with no purchases. 

It was a little after 3 and we were getting a bit hungry. Earle got 2 hot dogs from one of the street vendors and walked down to Tin Bin Alley, an ice cream shop for a Peanut Butter Pie dish. I sat in the little park and enjoyed a bit of a breeze and "lunch."

 

We walked around the village and into some of the stores. It was pretty touristy for the most part, but the bookstore had quite the collection of baseball books, but not many about the Pirates. 

On our way back to the trolley stop we stopped into the HOF Pop-up shop, which was a lot less crowded and bought 2 souvenir t-shirts. 

Back in the car, we headed to Oneonta. When Amy lived in Oneonta, we loved going to Brooks Bar-B-Q. I decided that since it was only a half an hour from Cooperstown, an early dinner (usually it is packed and they close at 8) would be in order. We got gas and then headed to the diner. 

 

 Wow, what a difference. There were no crowds and the once sit down restaurant was now a buffet. You ordered a protein and then everything else was on the buffet line. It was at most a mediocre meal. It was so disappointing and not worth the drive. Earle had the brisket and I had the half chicken, the white meat dried out and flavorless. 

Back on the road and to Utica where we settled in, organized to leave in the morning and then watched the Pirates beat the Diamondbacks 2-0. Good win for Heaney. 

Hall of Fame Induction Weekend - Friday, 25 July 2025 - Mars to Utica

So we are off to the Leatherstocking Region of NY. We left about 9:35 from Mars on our way to Utica. For a Friday traffic was pretty light with mostly trucks on the road. We stopped to fill the car and empty us in Fredonia. We could have made it to the Angola rest area, but I hate that rest stop because it is always so crowded and you have to walk a mile from the parking lot to the main area that spans the thruway. 

Back in the car in about 20 minutes and continued the long I-90 journey. I was amazed at how many overhead toll trackers there were. In the past when we traveled the thruway, we would pass through actual toll booths even with an E-Z Pass. I will be anxious to see how they are all itemized when we get our statement. 

Another brief rest stop in Cannastota and then a short drive to the Utica Hampton Inn. We arrived just a little before 4 and went right to the room thanks to the digital key. The room looks like it has been renovated and has more than enough plugs for all the electronics - my gauge as to how modern a room is. 

Got settled in and checked the 167 emails before we got ready for dinner. We had decided on Chesterfield’s Tavolo which was a 5 minute drive or a 9 minute walk. Because of the heat and the business of the road, we opted for the drive. Well, that was stupid. It was basically across the street and it would have been a 5 minute walk. 

We met Angus and Maureen there. How great to see them after about 16 years. There was never a lull in the conversation as we discussed their protest activities, books, television shows, travel, our children, and so much more. 

Dinner was delicious as was the margarita that preceded it and an order of calamari for the table.  I had chicken parm of which half went home with Angus and Maureen. Earle had the traditional Utica Chicken Riggies - didn’t get a picture.

Back to the room and organized for the morning. We watched the Pirates on the iPad, because I had not brought the HDMI cord that usually goes with me. Of course this TV had directions for connecting a device. Usually the TVs don’t recognize them. It was a good game except for the outcome - Dbacks 2 = Pirates 0.  They are honoring the COBRA this weekend as they

Then a time to write before heading to bed.