INSIDE: WHERE THE STARS ARE SIGNING/a8
Volume 211, No. 29
O M C O PE
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Cooperstown’s Newspaper
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EDITION
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1808 BY
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m e 1:30 p. k Spor ts Cent r Y a N l , C stown Cooper
INDUCTION 2019 E WIL
eball s a B l a Nation of Fame tinez Hall Edgar Mar ra e ano Riv lladay • Roy Ha ssina • Mari e Smith u Mike M ld Baines • Le July 21 ay, Haro ., Sund r
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Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, July 18, 2019
COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
For 211 Years
Newsstand Price $1
TIM MEAD NEW HALL OF FAME PRESIDENT
Hail To The Chief! Tim Mead, the Baseball Hall of Fame’s new president, is nothing if not approachable. Here, he poses with fans from Hartford, Conn., after they asked him to snap a photo of them in front of the scoreboard in front of 25 Main St., which he gladly did. From left are Luis Garcia, his wife Carmen and daughter Glendaly. In front is granddaughter Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal Macci, 8.
By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
T The Freeman’s Journal
Since last Induction, Matt Hazzard changed caps from Cooperstown Chamber executive director to entrepreneur. The Leatherstocking Trolley proprietor has made his two-trolley fleet available to supplement the Village of Cooperstown’s three this weekend to ferry a possible record-breaking crowd into downtown.
Induction, Yes; But Don’t Miss Famers’ Parade COOPERSTOWN
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e all know about Induction 2019, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at the Clark Sports Center. But don’t miss a more recent highlight; The Parade of Legends, your best chance to get a close look at the 50plus Hall of Famers in town this weekend. It starts at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20, and runs from the fire hall down Main Street to the Hall.
im Mead is anything if not approachable. Walking by that display board of standings in front of the Hall of Fame the other day, Glendaly Garcia of Hartford, Conn., called out to the new president of Baseball’s Mecca: “Can you take our photo?” Unhesitatingly, he did, then posed with the family, now thrilled at meeting the man who holds one of the highest-profile jobs in the National Pastime. That kind of personal touch is important, the Garcias can tell you: A decade ago, dad Luis was diagnosed with cancer, and the family brought him to Cooperstown to fulfill a lifePlease See MEAD, A7
D OUBLEDAY has a FRIEND Many Friends Aim At Raising $800K To Complete Redo By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
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SABR MEETS: The local chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research meets at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at Tillapaugh Funeral Home, 28 Pioneer St., and features three baseball writers, Jane Leavy, Erik Sherman and Jay Jaffe. Members, non-members welcome. NEW THIS YEAR: Fans, plan to take in the Hall’s latest exhibit, “Shoebox Memories,” a display of the best and rarest of the 200,000 samples in its baseball card collection, including the most valuable, of Honus Wagner.
Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal
Jeff Katz, former mayor and new Friend of Doubleday president, said the organization aims to raise $800,000 for next year’s centennial of the historic site.
THE CLASS OF 2019:
here some people saw scraps, Jeff Katz and Quinton Hasak saw a fundraising opportunity. “When the demolition of the third-base bleachers started, the question arose about what we were going to do with them,” said former mayor Jeff Katz, now president of the Friends of Doubleday. “They’re not the original bleachers, but they’re still a thing from the field.” Someone offered to buy the entire pile for $1,000. “It wasn’t ours to sell, but even so, not for that little,” said Katz. “It’s worth more than fill.” Though they had toyed with the idea of benches, Katz thought they might be too Please See FRIENDS, A9
Roy Halladay • Edgar Martinez • Mike Mussina • Mariano Rivera • Harold Baines • Lee Smith ► Follow links to profiles at www.allotsego.com
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION
AllOTSEGO.com
FOLLOW INDUCTION WEEKEND AS IT HAPPENS AT www.
Like a good Neighbor, StAte FArM iS there. ® with…
Melissa Manikas, Agent Cooperstown, NY 13326 607-547-2886