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Baseball As America
at Cincinnati Museum Center
On August 16, 2003, Baseball As America, the first traveling exhibit featuring artifacts from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, makes its
fourth stop, at Cincinnati Museum
Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Baseball As America weaves artifacts from baseball history to explore the
game’s unique impact on American culture.
As a feature of Baseball As America during its run in
Cincinnati, the Hall of Fame has included a section highlighting baseball’s special relationship with
Cincinnati.
In the “Queen City,” Baseball is King
Parades and parties herald the return of baseball to Cincinnati each year. The Reds open nearly every season at home, and fans respond with a matchless display of affection that closes shops and businesses (and, just between us, sometimes empties schools).
Cincinnati is where baseball became a business in 1869 when the Red Stockings defied tradition and openly hired professional players. The achievement made history. The team itself became history, disbanding in 1870 as fan support — and income — dwindled. Captain Harry Wright took several teammates (and the “Red Stockings” name) to Boston, founding a new franchise, the ancestor of today’s Atlanta Braves.
After the rise and fall of a second Red Stockings franchise, Cincinnati’s current team, the Reds, formed in 1882. It went on to pioneer innovations such as regular radio broadcasts, air travel, and night games. Blossoming into the famed “Big Red Machine,” the team took consecutive World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Today, its spanking new Great American Ball Park symbolizes the bright future that rests on its glorious past.
Artifacts in Baseball As America pertaining to baseball in
Cincinnati include:
- Cap worn by Reds ace Tom Browning when pitching a rare perfect game, September 16, 1988
- Mitt worn by Reds catcher Ernie Lombardi in 1938 when he was voted National League MVP and won the batting title with a .342 average
- Bat used by Pete Rose to extend his 1978 hitting streak to 44 consecutive games, tying Willie Keeler’s 81-year-old National League record
- Spikes worn by Joe Morgan, second baseman and pivotal member of the “Big Red Machine,” c. 1978
Ball used during the Cincinnati Red Stockings’ undefeated 1869 season
- Medal presented as a wedding gift in 1868 to shortstop and Red Stockings captain Harry Wright from his teammates
- Silk menu for a dinner honoring the Cincinnati Red Stockings upon their return to Cincinnati from a tour of eastern cities, July 31, 1870
- Cincinnati Reds jersey worn by player and manager Buck Ewing, c. 1895-1899
- Program from a May 1912 dinner to dedicate Cincinnati’s Redland Field, built as part of a trend toward more substantial concrete and steel ballparks
- Uniform cap from a green ensemble first worn by the Reds during a 1978 St. Patrick’s Day exhibition game, sparking a spring training tradition now shared by several teams
- Locker tag from Cincinnati’s Crosley Field (formerly Redland Field, but renamed in 1934 for team owner Powel
Crosley)
- Ball struck on March 31, 2003 by Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. for the first regular season hit at the riverfront’s newest landmark, Great American Ball Park
- Crosley Commuter portable radio given to members of the 1940 World Champion Cincinnati Reds by team owner and radio giant Powel Crosley
To learn more about the exhibit, select a section below:
 
 
 
Our National
Spirit
Ideals & Injustices
Rooting for the Team
Enterprise & Opportunity
Sharing a Common Culture
Invention & Ingenuity
Weaving Myths
The
Exhibition | Tour
Schedule | Highlights
The Book | Museum Store | Press
Releases
The Hall of Fame | Become
a Member
© National Baseball Hall of Fame
and Museum, Inc.
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