Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame

I was excited yesterday to attend my first Cincinnati Reds game of the 2014 season, against the San Diego Padres. With rain in the forecast and tornado warnings, however, it didn't look like we would get the game in, but my son-in-law Kevin and I headed to the park anyway, because that's what fans do. Turns out, however, the game never even got started.

After a delay of game (and before we heard the official word that it was cancelled), we decided to see the Reds Hall of Fame. Kevin has toured the HOF before, but this was my first time.

I did my best to contain my excitement. Then I gave up. It's just too cool to see the players and records and moments and games and memorabilia and history I've followed all my life--most closely, from the beginning of the Big Red Machine in 1970, when I was twelve years old (yes, I am that old).

The "Wall of Balls" is a dizzying three-story display representing Pete Rose's record 4,256 hits. It faces an outdoor rose garden (get it?) that marks the physical location where (in Riverfront Stadium) Pete's record-breaking 4,192nd hit landed in left-center field. 

I got to confer a little with Sparky Anderson. I think he appreciated my insights. 

The museum offers all kinds of things to see and do; I could easily spent a whole day there, I think. There's an area devoted to hometown heroes, Reds players who were originally from the Cincinnati area. There are scale models of the Palace of the Fans, the Reds' park prior to 1912, and Crosley Field, the park where I first saw the Reds play. There are interactive areas that are perfect for kids (like me, and even younger): Kids' Clubhouse, an area where you can pitch from a regulation mound, an "outfield wall" where you can catch a ball at the wall, and more. There are exhibits honoring Reds broadcasters and highlight films and baseball cards. And, of course, the  team's world series trophies are on display:

The final stop, at least on the route we took, is the actual hall of fame, a reverential display of Reds greats from every era in the team's history. 

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum opened in 2004 (though the "hall of fame" was started in 1958, it had no physical location until the completion of Great American Ballpark on Pete Rose Way in Cincinnati. You can learn more about the hall of fame and museum at RedsMuseum.org.