Guest Article: HOF

Yesterday I got an opportunity to see some of the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. As always, it triggered many memories of some great games, great players, great managers & great owners such as Dick Williams, Stan the Man Musial, Cool Papa Bell & of course Tom Yawkey. My favorite memory is the trip I took with my daughter (then 12 years old) to see Yaz & Johnny Bench be inducted into the Hall. On October 3, 1983 I watched Yaz run around Fenway Park slapping the hands of many fans. It was that day that I decided to go to his induction ceremony scheduled for July 1989. The induction ceremony was free. However, if you wanted to go to the Hall of Fame game, you would need a ticket which cost $5.00 each. The only way you could get a ticket was to purchase it at the Hall of Fame. So on a cold day in March I went to Cooperstown, NY. When I registered at the motel I was fortunate to meet the son-in-law of the owner. He offered me to ride with him & to take turns standing in line overnight, often swapping positions so one of us could sleep in his van. According to the newspaper the next morning, it was the coldest night in NY that winter. I believed it. I got 4 tickets, sold 2 to him & he scalped them. He had most of his family show up at 8:00 AM to get in line with him. I am sure he made some money that July. When the end of July 1989 rolled around we were ready to go to Cooperstown. One mistake I made was not to call for reservations in January that year. We ended up in a motel 30 miles from Cooperstown. Some people said we were lucky. We went to the induction & the next day we went to the Hall of Fame game. It was scheduled to be the Boston Red Sox against the Cincinnati Reds. We got there early to watch batting practice. I saw Jim Rice smoke one way over the fence. I then noticed that the Reds were nowhere to be found. Apparently the Reds were fogged in in Montreal & their plane was grounded. So we sat in our seats on a beautiful July day & watched the Red Sox "A" team from Elmira, NY play the major league Boston Red Sox. This was a major disappointment, especially after I froze my ass off in March to get these tickets. However, that game aside, it was a terrific trip. The memories of going there with my daughter Erin will always be cherished. (Author: Coach Gaff)