Mission accomplished. The Baseball Hajj has been done. Arrived in Pittsfield (site of the first collegiate baseball game in which Amherst beat Williams 73-32 in 1859) on Tuesday, April 7. The next day I drove to Cooperstown where one of my classmates from the Class of 1975 now lives. For those not familiar with where Cooperstown is, it is really in the rural part of New York far from the bright lights of the cities where the game is played today. My Cooperstown classmate, who I suspect I may have only said, at most, two sentences to over the last 45 years, graciously took me out to lunch and enlightened me about his life over the last few decades and his relatively new arrival in the bucolic village of Cooperstown. He then surprised me by using his annual membership benefits to get me into the Hall of Fame for free. What a pleasant way to begin the Pilgrimage!
The Hall was more than I expected it would be. Reading all the plaques could probably take all day by itself. But when you add in the exhibits... well, it is just not feasible to enjoy all the Hall has to offer in just one day, let alone the two hours I had. Nevertheless, I did read many of the plaques focusing most on the players that I knew. After my two hours ended and the museum had closed, I ventured over to the nearby Doubleday Field where if you listen carefully you can hear the voices of those enshrined nearby.. those honored players who continue to play the game they came to love. Sometimes a field of dreams can also become a field of souls.
I then walked over to the house of my Cooperstown classmate. He invited me in for a brief tour of his home. I thanked him for the lunch and for the museum treat and invited him to visit me next time he is in Northern California. Leaving Cooperstown, I could only reflect that it should not have taken 44 years to get to know one another, but it was better to have finally gotten to know each other a little bit than to have never known each other at all.
Thank you, my friend. I look forward to seeing you again ... soon.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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Composed and posted on February 10, 2015
As chance would have it, this year's Black Alumni Weekend ends the day before the Boston Red Sox have their home opener against the Washington Nationals. As part of my activities associated with attending the Black Alumni Weekend, it is my plan to do a Baseball Pilgrimage. I will be staying in Pittsfield, the town that claims to have a document from 1791 that references a game called "baseball". Strange because, according to some, baseball was not invented until 1839 by Abner Doubleday.
While staying in Pittsfield, I plan on taking a pilgrimage to Cooperstown, New York, to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. I have longed to see the Baseball Hall of Fame and I especially want to see the exhibits of the only two brothers that are currently enshrined there. Do any of you know who they are? Most don't, but I do.
After the pilgrimage to Cooperstown, I will concentrate on Amherst activities, including visiting the Amherst Golf Course to maybe play a round with some fellow Black Alumni attendees and to discuss the Class of 1975 golf outing slated for late May. Of course, I am also hopeful of once again leading the Sunday morning memorial ceremony in the Gerald Penny Cultural Center to honor those Black alumni, students and staff who have left their footprints on Amherst's hallowed fields. But even if I am there alone, a memorial shall be held.
After the Sunday session, I plan on returning to Boston and I tentatively would like to end my Baseball Pilgrimage by attending the Boston Red Sox season opener.
The question I have is where would you recommend that I sit in order to get a good view in Fenway Park? This is likely to be my one and only visit to Fenway. How might I maximize my viewing experience without unduly damaging my government funded wallet?
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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