Cricket comes home to Cooperstown,at the Baseball Hall of Fame-Photos!
Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson & Lloyd Jodah, American College Cricket President
Cooperstown,NY : On April 17 America’s original game came home, and met America’s National Pastime in Cooperstown, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. There, amidst the artifacts of Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson hung the uniforms of James Anderson and Shahid Afridi and artifacts of John Bart King.
The occasion was the Opening of “Swinging Away- How Cricket and Baseball connect” – a joint exhibition between the Marlebourne Cricket Club (MCC) and the National Baseball Hall of Fame,with artifacts from the C.C Morris Library.
As explained by Brad Horn, Senior Director Communication & Education, and Erik Stroehl, Senior Director Exhibitions & Collections,the Exhibit was over a year in the planning spearheaded by Chief Curator Beth Hise.
The result was a momentous day for cricket, and an amazing acknowledgement by the Baseball Hall of Fame of cricket’s place in American history.
Lloyd Jodah, Founder & President of American College Cricket, was invited to the Opening Ceremony and Ribbon Cutting, and he took Adil Bhatti (Montgomery College) the 2011 American College Cricket Championship MVP.
It was thrilling to see avid baseball fans, who had made the trip to this hallowed baseball place, walk through the cricket exhibit, stop, ask each other questions, ask Lloyd and Adil questions, and whilst probably surprised to see cricket in this bastion of baseball, took it in stride and no doubt left a bit closer to that special piece of America that was, and could be, cricket.
One little boy, upon seeing a Gentlemen of Philadelphia touring jacket asked his father, “Is this what a cricket uniform looks like ?”
So Lloyd showed him Adil, in Montgomery College cricket uniform, and said,”This is a cricket uniform.”
The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was simple, and afterwards Lloyd & Adil were excited by the opportunity to get pieces of the ribbon- one day they will be displayed in an American College Cricket Hall of Fame.
Lloyd then made a presentation of an American College Cricket University of Pennsylvania cricket shirt to the National Baseball Hall Fame President, Jeff Idelson. Penn began the 2nd college sports team in the USA back in 1842, a cricket team. But not content to rest on past glories Penn Cricket became an early supporter of American College Cricket and participated in the 2010 and 2011 national Championships.
Players and longtime Coach Kamran Khan from Haverford College, which started the first college sports team in US history in 1834 (a cricket team) did cricket demonstrations, along with Adil, for Hall of Fame visitors.
Everyone connected with “Swingiing Away” deserve the thanks and appreciation of the cricket community, and hopefully some will take a drive to this beautiful little town, nestling on a lake, and see cricket as they have never seen it before….as Americana.
Top photo above : Courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum.
Babe Ruth’s Yankees locker
The First Hall of Fame class
Adil Bhatti (Montgomery) & Babae Ruth (Yankees).
Haverford Colllege player teaching the game
Longtime legendary Haverford Coach Kamran Khan
Future USA wicketkeeper
23 Apr 2011, 8:43 pm
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19 May 2011, 7:43 pm
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