Village, HOF kick off Induction Weekend

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July 21, 2012

Village, HOF kick off Induction Weekend

By JOE MAHONEY Staff Writer The Daily Star Sat Jul 21, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

COOPERSTOWN -- Thousands of baseball fans are expected to join 45 of some of the greatest athletes who ever played on the diamond for this weekend's enshrining of Barry Larkin and the late Ron Santo in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Hotels and bed-and-breakfasts in close proximity to the village sported "no vacancy" signs, and visitors had to wait in line to get a table at the Cooperstown Diner and other local eateries.

"Everything is aligning very nicely," Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson told The Daily Star. "The vibe we're getting for the weekend is very exciting."

He said the Hall of Fame is expected to see waves of visitors from Cincinnati and Chicago. Larkin's presence is attracting legions of Reds fans, while Cubs fans are showing up in droves to celebrate the induction of Santo with his widow and three children.

"Cincinnati and Chicago have always been strongholds for us," Idelson said.

The roster of Hall of Famers scheduled to attend Sunday's induction reads like a Who's Who of Major League Baseball.

It includes such storied stars as Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Bert Blyleven, George Brett, Lou Brock, Jim Bunning, Andre Dawson, Carlton Fisk, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Tony Gwynn, Al Kaline, Sandy Koufax, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro, Jim Palmer, Tony Perez, Gaylord Perry, Jim Rice, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Ozzie Smith, Billy Williams and Dave Winfield.

The Hall of Fame will conduct its annual awards presentation at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Doubleday Field.

Among those to be recognized for their achievements are Fox Sports television analyst Tim McCarver, who will receive the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence, and Toronto Sun baseball writer Bob Elliott, who is to receive the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for his major league coverage.

Seating for the event at Doubleday will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Sunday's induction ceremony, to be held at Clark Sports Center, will begin at 1:30 p.m. Admission to both the awards presentation and the induction ceremony is free.

Village shopkeepers said the excitement of baseball fans streaming into town was infectious.

"We really love seeing all the baseball fans coming through town," said Matt Grady, operator of Stagecoach Coffee on Pioneer Street. "We're really happy for all the fans of Ron Santo and Barry Larkin."

"The people you see walking around here really seem to be enjoying themselves," said Martin Tillapaugh, the attorney for the village of Cooperstown. "It's a wonderful, friendly crowd we have here."

Today's forecast for Cooperstown, from the National Weather Service, calls for partly cloudy skies, with a 20 percent chance of rain and a high temperature of 81 degrees. Sunday is expected to warm up just a bit, with a high temperature of 84 degrees, though the chance of rain is forecast to increase to 40 percent.