Heretofore the closest I have been to the National Baseball Hall of Fame was reading Richard Ford’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Independence Day (1995). Ford’s book is the slow-paced story of a divorced writer-turned-real estate agent who takes his estranged son to both the basketball and baseball Halls of Fame over a 4th of a July weekend.
Considering that Ford describes Cooperstown, New York as a sleepy little burg that closes after 9 p.m. with no mention of late summer crowds, I did not know what to expect. I did have an idea of a few of the plaques that I wanted to see, but for the most part I just went with the flow and allowed the museum, the idyllic New York village (with many dining choices now), and the Ommegang Brewery to take its hold on me.
The Plaques
The first floor atrium of that contains the plaques has a cathedral like quality where you stroll into each alcove to peruse over the immortalized players. (And I am not hyperbolizing when I use the word "cathedral" since when I was there during the opening hours a couple was getting married.) What makes the plaques especially interesting is the tight summary of each career which includes statistics and some sense of how the person played the game.
Edgar Charles (Sam) Rice
Ever since a feature article by Steve Wulf appeared Sports Illustrateds, July 19, 1993 issue, I have been intrigued by this player. He was born Edgar Charles Rice n 1890 in Morocco, Indiana just a few miles from where I grew up in Iroquois County, Illinois. Rice was married in 1908 and he and his wife had two children and moved to Watseka, Illinois the county seat of Iroquois County. At age 22, while away at baseball tryout in Galesburg, Edgar’s family visited his parents in Morocco and the entire family died in a killer tornado. 
Understandably, Rice drifted for several years before ending up with the Washington Senators as a rookie at age 25. He remarried, but kept his previous life a secret on his way to a Hall of Fame career, which included a famous catch in the 1924 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Take the link to the Wulf article for the complete and memorable story.
Lee Smith
Until I heard Lee Smith humble induction speech earlier this summer, I bared some resentment to Smith for giving up Steve Garvey’s home run in the 1984 National League Championship Series which eventually led to the San Diego Padres victory over my team The Chicago Cubs. Over the years, I had softened especially after the Cubs champsionship in 2016. Smith makes regular appearances at Wrigley Field and Cub broadcasts and he made a simple compelling argument that his lifetime saves record stood for 13 years before it was eclipsed and he is still third on the number of saves behind Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. I like other Hall of Fame Cubs like Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg, and Ferguson Jenkins, but now I can add the tall right-hander with the "bat-shattering fastball and darting slider to my list of likeable Cubs.
Connie Mack
I was even able to feed my new baseball player obsession --- Cornelius McGillicuddy (1863 -1956) aka Connie Mack. Mack won more games as a manager than anyone else and LOST more games as a manager than anyone else. At the Willis Monie bookstore on the Main Street of Cooperstown, I picked up the Volume 3 of Norman Macht’s biography of the player, manager and owner who had a half of a century career with the Philadelphia Athletics. My only regret is that I didn’t browse the store, but to my defense I had spent many hours power browsing The Hall of Fame. Here I am posing for a picture at the 1939 induction ceremony with Babe Ruth on my right, and Connie Mack on my left.
