Schrader's Little Coopertown at the St. Pete Museum of History

Oscar took on docent duties for this one.

It wasn't so long ago that I thought baseball was the most boring of sports. But then the pandemic came, and with it my 90 year old father. What to do cooped up during the long summer months except watch baseball? And so my love of the game began. (It helped that the Tampa Bay Rays made it to the World Series that season.)

A recent getaway to St. Pete -- for a run of all things -- included a visit to the St. Pete Museum of History. While the rest of the exhibits were interesting enough, it was Schrader's Little Cooperstown that made the stop worthwhile. There is so much info packed into this small space that you could spend an afternoon there. Of course there were places to go and people to see, so we didn't. But I foresee another visit in my future. 

The exhibit highlights players who made baseball history. I have a personal affection for Babe Ruth given the connection between his career and the musical "No, No, Nanette." Ruth played for the Red Sox until 1920 when he was traded to the Yankees to raise capital ($100,000!) to finance Sox owner Harry Frazee's investment in the farce "My Lady Friends." The show was adapted into "No, No, Nanette" and then the movie "Tea for Two" in which Doris Day played Nanette. As they say, it had legs. To see a clip, click here. But I digress. 

Ruth of course was a power hitter of the highest degree. He led the League in home runs twelve seasons, with 1927 being his best year. He hit a whopping 50 balls out of the park that season, resulting in his being given the nickname "The Sultan of Swat." His contributions to the Yankees also led to Yankee Stadium, new at the time, often being referred to as "the house that Ruth built." It's quite an homage. 

No exhibit about baseball would be complete without some attention being given to Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in the Major League. He was 28 years old when he first took the field for the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 15, 1947. While I suspect that sounds young to people reading this post, it is old for an MLB rookie. (As an aside, the oldest rookie outside of the Negro Leagues was 35 year old Jim "the Rookie" Morris, who played -- wait for it -- for the Rays back in 1999.) 

Robinson's stats are quite impressive. In his first season he led the National League in stolen bases, hit twelve home runs and was selected as the first ever Rookie of the Year. But that was just the beginning. In his sophomore season, Robinson batted .342 (which is really, really good) and led the National League in stolen bases. He was named National League MVP for that season.

In 1997, Robinsons jersey number -- 42 -- was retired. Except, that is, for the annual Jackie Robinson Day celebration when every player, coach, manager and umpire across the League wears #42. I love it. 

Speaking of love, the exhibit also boasts a baseball signed by Marilyn Monroe to Joe DiMaggio when the couple was dating. It reads "to the greatest baseball player." You might wonder how the couple came to meet given that Marilyn was not a fan of the game. DiMaggio initiated the meeting after he saw a picture of Monroe taken at the White Sox training camp. (With her high heels on, I don't think she was going to make it around the bases, but I suspect DiMaggio had another type of scoring on his mind.) 

Their marriage lasted a mere nine months, reportedly due to DiMaggio's inability to live with the constant media attention that surrounded Marilyn. Still, DiMaggio showed up for Monroe when there was a crisis, whether it was her hospitalization for a nervous breakdown or an emergency gall bladder removal. For two decades after her death, he had fresh roses delivered to her grave twice a week. I'm not sure what to make of that, or the fact that he stopped after 20 years. Enough is enough? And with that, I'll end this post. 

For more on the St. Pete Museum of History, click here. Happy exploring!