Part of the job description for Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, is the enviable task of going to Major League Baseball cities to bring historic memorabilia, for loan or to keep, to Cooperstown for public display.
Alexander Cleland had that similar enviable task 75 years ago, in a year when the new museum was experiencing a major turning point toward its success.
From the sports page of The Oneonta Star on Monday, May 3, 1937, came news that, "Denton Tecumseh Young -- known to baseball fans as 'Cy' because of the cyclonic destruction he left in the ranks of opposing teams -- caressed his loving cups today and announced he was going to give them to Baseball's Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y."
"I don't need them," Young simply told the Associated Press.
It wasn't reported, but one can imagine that a pumped fist in the air and a loud whoop of delight came from Alexander Cleland in Cooperstown upon news of Cy Young's donation. Cleland was then the secretary of the recently established baseball museum, then found in a room of 20-22 Main St., today's Village Library building.
The Freeman's Journal reported on May 12 that Cleland had returned from a trip to Dover, Ohio, to accept Young's trophies and other memorabilia, including a complete uniform and glove Young used during his years in the big leagues.
"Mr. Cleland stated that he was royally received not only in Mr. Young's home in Dover, but in Cleveland, where the fame of the Base Ball Museum had preceded him."
For Cleland, obtaining this memorabilia was quite a triumph for the young museum. Ever since Stephen Clark had brought Cleland on board to implement the museum in Cooperstown, getting donations of historic items had been a struggle. While Clark financially backed the idea of a museum, Cleland is credited with the idea for its inception, according to James Vlasich's book, "A Legend for the Legendary: The Origin of the Baseball Hall of Fame."
Oddly enough, Cleland was no fan of the sport to begin with. He came to the U.S. from Scotland in the early 20th century and was hired by Stephen Clark in 1931 to become the director of the Clark House in New York City, which was founded by the Clark Foundation. It was a settlement house designed to provide services for immigrants, in obtaining temporary housing and employment.
Cleland was brought to Cooperstown in 1934 to meet with Mr. Clark on matters of the Clark House. After finishing his business meetings, Cleland walked through the village and noticed the construction going on at Doubleday Field. The expansion and improvement project was one under the Works Progress Administration program. An enthusiastic worker apparently asked Cleland what he thought of the project and told him that the village was preparing for a 100th anniversary of the game of baseball in 1939.
It was on the train ride back to New York when Cleland pondered the construction worker's remarks and thought of the idea of a museum of memorabilia. When back in New York, Cleland had a formal memorandum typed and sent to Stephen Clark, regarding his idea.
Clark saw the potential of his employee's idea, and suggested he assemble a committee to "formulate a policy and plan of action for furthering of the Memorial plan." A proposed building to house the memorabilia was part of that plan. The library building was meant to be a temporary home.
With the momentum of the collections on the rise in 1937, it was announced on Monday, June 9, that a new fireproof building would be built. The Star reported the next day, "The site of the museum will be the Leo block on Main street, adjoining the ACC gymnasium, which was recently purchased by the Clark estates. The new structure will be connected by a passageway with the gymnasium building.
"On the strength of many voluntary expressions of baseball lovers in all parts of the country to contribute to a project for a perpetual memorial to the national game, and for the secure keeping of the fast growing valuable collection of curios, the Board of directors of the museum have arranged to finance the proposition through a mortgage, which it has been able to secure on favorable terms and which may be retired in the future when funds are available."
The museum opened in 1939.
On Monday: Another museum in Howes Cave grew in 1992.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Mark Simonson
1937 a turning point year for Baseball Hall of Fame
- Mark Simonson
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General Clinton Canoe Regatta got a new home in 1972
Ever since 1963, when Charles Hinkley and a group of Tri-Town businessmen came up with the idea for what we know today as the General Clinton Canoe Regatta, people lined the shores of the Susquehanna to watch the canoeists as they made their 70-mile trek from Cooperstown to Bainbridge.
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Sunday movies in Oneonta finally shown in 1934
You know an issue is divisive when a vote to resolve it is quite close. In Oneonta during the early 1930s there were probably plenty of discussions or arguments at the family dinner table or sermons from the pulpits on Sunday mornings, regarding whether or should be able to see a movie in Oneonta on Sunday.
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Politics, fitness and landmarks dominated local news in May 1968
Area residents mulled over the idea of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller as their next President of the United States. New fitness opportunities emerged for all ages. One area landmark was saved while another was razed. It was only a part of our life and times in May 1968.
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Local people sought income in many ways in 1933
In the economy that was the Great Depression, there were times people would do what it took to try to earn some money.
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Local windstorm in 1983 caused tense moments
I realize I've got the wrong month in mind when I say "May came in like a lion." However, that's what happened in 1983 as a number of twisters moved through our region, leaving plenty of damage behind in their trails. Add some melting snow and heavy rain, and scenes of cleanups were widespread 30 years ago this month.
- Saturday, May 4, 2013
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Disaster, expansions put people to work in May 1913
- Monday, April 29, 2013
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Job opportunities abounded in area 45 years ago
If you were looking for a job in April 1968 in our area, or perhaps looking to change your employment situation in the near future, opportunities were pointing in your favor.
- Saturday, April 27, 2013
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Oneonta greeted an aviation giant in 1928
An early aviation superstar came to Oneonta in 1928.
- Monday, April 22, 2013
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Area saw its own armed standoffs 30 years ago
This past Friday, we watched how the Boston area went into a lockdown during a tense search for the last suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. Had I still been living and working in that area, as I was in the early 1990s, I would have had a day off from work Friday, as police scoured the city of Waltham.
- Saturday, April 20, 2013
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U.S.S. Maine explosion, war drew much local sentiment
For most people in our area in early 1898, a growing conflict between two distant nations probably didn't get much attention, other than some glances at the newspaper. When a young Oneonta man was one of many injured or killed in an explosion of a battleship he was aboard, the local attention increased markedly to what was soon to become the Spanish-American War.
- Monday, April 15, 2013
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Oneonta river walking path came from a surveyor's daydream
Leon Kalmus of Oneonta spent a lot of time surveying land near the Susquehanna River in the early 1970s around the time Interstate 88 was being planned and built in this area. What he saw along the shores of the river, he called “pristine,� and soon had an idea for some kind of walking or hiking pathway along the shores of the river in the town of Oneonta.
- Saturday, April 13, 2013
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Decline of Prohibition led to return of beer in April 1933
“I think this would be a good time for a beer,� remarked President Franklin D. Roosevelt, when he signed the Cullen-Harrison Act on March 22, 1933. This marked the beginning of the end for Prohibition that year.
- Monday, April 8, 2013
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Dietz Street shifted from residential to commercial through the years
By taking a walk along Dietz Street today, heading north to Walnut Street, one can see a lot of businesses and the recently refurbished parking lot on the east side of the street. It would take some imagination to see this street lined with houses and a church, but prior to the late 1940s, that’s what was there.
- Saturday, April 6, 2013
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Oneontans voted for a 'dry' city in 1918
- Monday, April 1, 2013
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Future city historian kept family busy for Easter and April 1958
- Saturday, March 30, 2013
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Colliscroft became new Oneonta landmark in 1902
If the Oneonta building trade sector of the economy could have awarded a plaque to a most valuable individual customer of 1902, it would have nearly been a shoo-in. That was Edward H. Pardee, who was listed in the Oneonta Directory around that time as a farmer, on Southside.
- Wednesday, March 27, 2013
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Historic Cooperstown cottage got a new address in 1988
To unknowing tourists seeking information from the tourism information center at 31 Chestnut St. in Cooperstown, they would probably believe that the mid-19th century cottage had always been on that site. It blends in well with some of the grand old houses along that street, and the same tourists might think it has an interesting history behind it.
- Saturday, March 23, 2013
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Free mail delivery began in Oneonta 125 years ago
- Monday, March 18, 2013
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Oneonta enacted first building code 60 years ago
There will be no parade, fireworks display or commemorative coins minted for the occasion.
- Saturday, March 16, 2013
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Area isolated during historic March 1888 snowstorm
Earlier in the week, we recalled the "Blizzard of 1993," which was one containing historic snowfall that fell on our region on Saturday, March 13. It was the largest recorded in a single local snowfall in the 20th century, and ever since another storm dating back 105 years. The latter snowfall was worse than the 1993 storm, falling overnight into Tuesday, March 13, 1888. It was commonly referred to as the "Blizzard of 1888."
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