Saturday, September 25, 2004
Reds' glory years on display
Hall of Fame, open today, brings it all back home
The Enquirer
It's appropriate that one of the attractions of the Cincinnati Reds' new Hall of Fame and Museum, a huge blue-and-red 1940 National League pennant, was donated by a fan, Buddy LaRosa. After all, that's how the museum secured much of its collection.
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IF YOU GO
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The Reds Hall of Fame and Museum opens to the public today. The Oak Hills band will perform at 8:30 a.m.; the ceremony begins at 9 a.m. Doors open at 10 a.m.
Parking: Free at the Mehring Way entrance to the garage under the ballpark.
Tickets: $8 adults, $6 seniors 55 and over; $5 fans 12 and under.
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And today, the public gets to see the fruit of those efforts when the 15,000-square-foot building officially opens.
Greg Rhodes, the museum's executive director, said there were about 70 significant public donors.
"To get this outpouring of support is a tribute to Reds fans. And it does sort of make you wonder, 'What else might be out there?' "
Along with memorabilia, there are a number of exhibits, some of which are interactive. Fans can watch a history of Reds baseball, try their arm from the mound and look inside a makeshift dugout.
And the big prize? Rhodes said it might be an 1869 trophy ball given to the Red Stockings (Baseball's first professional team) on their triumphant East Coast tour in June of that year. It is on loan from Cincinnati pediatric dentist John Gennantonio.
"The ball dates back to when it all started," Rhodes said.
