• What: Triple Play: Baseball at the Albany Institute
• When: Feb. 7 – July 26
• Where: Albany Institute of History and Art
• How much: Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, $6 for children ages 6-12 and free for museum members and children under 6
• Info: call 463-4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org.
What do Brian Sweeney and Babe Ruth have in common?
Both of them are featured in a new, three-part baseball exhibit at the Albany Institute of History and Art.
“Triple Play: Baseball at the Albany Institute” features “Baseball: America’s Game,” a traveling exhibition featuring items from Bank of America’s baseball collection, plus two community-supported exhibitions – “Play Ball! Baseball in the Capital Region” and “The Clubhouse: Baseball Memorabilia.”
Sweeney’s corner can be found in “The Clubhouse” section, diagonally across from a display celebrating the New York Yankees’ 1939 exhibition game at Hawkins Stadium in Menands against the Albany Senators. The Senators won the game 4-3, with Ruth striking out in the first inning.
Sweeney – a former Major League pitcher now living in Clifton Park – said he was honored to have some of his items included in the exhibit, including the first Major League contract he signed with the Seattle Mariners and jerseys from his career in the United States and Japan.
“It’s very exciting. I’m very humbled to have this put out there,” said Sweeney.
Sweeney spent last season playing for the Albany Thunder of the Twilight League. At first, he wanted to pitch, but he said his throwing arm gave out. So, he wound up playing in center field for the Thunder and he said had a blast.
“What a refreshing, invigorating experience it was to run the bases again, to slide again and to hit again,” said Sweeney. “If this was my last year playing (baseball), I’m happy with that because that year in the Twilight League really renewed my love for the game.”
The Twilight League figures prominently in the “Play Ball” section. Though Sweeney’s Thunder jersey isn’t included, there are several items from the nation’s oldest continuously running amateur baseball league, including a special display celebrating the 2012 Albany Athletics’ Stan Musial World Series championship team.
“Play Ball” will likely be the section that brings back the most memories for Capital District baseball fans. It chronicles the regional history of the sport from the Troy Haymakers of the 1870s to today’s Tri-City ValleyCats.
Albany Institute executive director Tammis Groft said she went around to people’s homes to gather some of the items included in “Play Ball.”
“The challenge and the exciting part is we borrowed so much from the community,” said Groft. “I had the opportunity to meet with a lot of former players, coaches and fans, and I got to hear their stories.”
The community donated so many items, exhibition designer Tom Nelson said his challenge was trying to fit it all together in the space allotted.
“We got a lot more stuff than we could use,” said Nelson.
Each Capital District professional baseball team has a section in “Play Ball.” The Albany-Colonie A’s – the region’s first minor league team since the Albany Senators folded in 1959 – are represented with a jersey, a pennant and programs from the team’s two years in the region. Their successors, the Albany-Colonie Yankees, have several items on display, including a baseball signed by an up-and-coming shortstop named Derek Jeter. The ValleyCats included a collection of their famed bobblehead dolls.
More memorabilia is found in “The Clubhouse.” Among the items donated by local collectors are two seats from the original Yankee Stadium, a locker from Shea Stadium featuring an autographed Tom Seaver jersey from his New York Mets’ days, and baseballs signed by Joe DiMaggio and President Richard Nixon.
However, the true centerpiece of the exhibit is “Baseball: America’s Game.” Photographs from the sport’s last 100 years are on display, and people can watch some of baseball’s iconic moments, including “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” and Don Larsen’s perfect World Series game. There are also panoramic pictures of the Major League ballparks in use during the 1982 season, many of which no longer exist.
Nelson said one part of “Baseball: America’s Game” in particular gained his interest.
“There’s a small section about baseball and World War II,” said Nelson. “Some 500 major leaguers just up and quit to join the service, which impressed me. You think about the fact that they gave up their careers so they could serve their country. And about 1,200 minor leaguers quit to join the service, too.”
Beyond the exhibits, the Albany Institute has a series of guest speakers appearing during the exhibition. The list includes Janet Marie Smith, Vice President Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers (Feb. 22); Tim Wiles, Guilderland Public Library director and former Director of Research at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (March 1); and a panel discussion about the Twilight League featuring Edward Delanty, Dick Barrett and others (March 22).
The museum also offers baseball-themed family programs, including drop-in art making sessions most Saturdays between now and April, a series of Lego building challenges Feb. 14-16 and Wiles’ performances of “Casey at the Bat” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” March 29.
The Albany Institute of History and Art, located at 125 Washington Ave., is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, $6 for children ages 6-12 and free for museum members and children under 6. For more information, call 463-4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org.
