Published: March 06, 2008 03:20 pm         

Final Fame Game tickets on sale Saturday

Connolly to drum up support for savethefamegame.com

Staff Report

Tickets for this June’s final Hall of Fame Game will go on sale Saturday, with approximately 2,500 seats available through a one-day walk-up sale at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. Museum members can purchase tickets by phone starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. The 2008 Hall of Fame Game will be played on Monday, June 16, and will feature a pair of National League rivals, the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres. The Game will begin at 2 p.m., with pre-game festivities starting at noon with the Hall of Fame Game Day Parade on Main Street, presented by the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce and the Hall of Fame. The always-popular Home Run Derby will commence at 1 p.m. at Doubleday Field.

The 2008 Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game and Cooperstown tradition since 1940, has remained the only in-season exhibition game for the last several years, and has been held independently of Hall of Fame Weekend since 2003. Major League Baseball has announced that this will be the final Hall of Fame Game.

Shortly after the announcement was made, Cooperstown graduate Kristian Connolly formed the website savethefamegame.com. On the website, he urges fans to send letters to major league baseball and Hall of Fame officials asking them to reconsider the decision.

In an email to the Crier, Connolly said he and other savethefamegame volunteers will be at Saturday’s ticket sale trying to drum up support for their mission.

``In the coming weeks and months, savethefamegame.com will be making its presence felt at events where we can reach a lot of people on the ground to help spread the word and keep the pressure on MLB and the MLBPA. Check savethefamegame.com for updates,’’ Connolly wrote.

Hall of Fame official Brad Horn said Monday that they have had no further communication with Major League Baseball officials about the Hall of Fame Game since January’s announcement. He said Hall officials are in talks about other possible scenarios for the Weekend other than the game, and an announcement will be made when a decision is reached.

Ticket prices for the Game are $12.50 for first and third base seats and $11 for outfield seats. Chicago will be the home team and will occupy the first base dugout at Doubleday Field. The Padres will occupy the third base dugout as the road team. Doubleday Field has a seating capacity of 9,571. Tickets will not be available for Internet purchase this year, due the commemorative nature of the event.

On-Site Ticket Sale: Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, approximately 2,500 tickets will be available through a one-day, over-the-counter sale at the Museum. Tickets are limited to six per customer. Patrons will first be permitted to line-up beginning at 6 a.m. on Saturday, though access to the Museum will not begin until 9 a.m. Patrons must hold their place in line. Tickets will be sold until the allotment has been exhausted or until 5 p.m. ET. All visitors purchasing tickets to the Hall of Fame Game during the first-day sale will be admitted free to the Museum on Saturday.

Hall of Fame Members: Hall of Fame members will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase a maximum of six Game tickets per membership beginning Saturday by calling the mail order department at 888-425-5633, option 2, beginning at 10 a.m. Phone orders will be accepted until the supply has been exhausted or 4 p.m. EST, whichever comes first. Valid membership numbers are required for purchase. No member discounts apply to this sale. Should tickets remain after 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, members will have the exclusive chance to purchase tickets by phone from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. EST from March 10-14.

General Purchase: Only in the event any tickets remain following the one-day sale and member-exclusive period, those quantities will first be available beginning Monday, March 17 by calling the Museum’s mail-order department at 888-425-5633, option 2, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., EST, Monday through Saturday.

The 2008 Game marks the sixth consecutive year that it has been held independently of Hall of Fame Weekend, which is scheduled for July 25-28. Prior to 2003, the Game was held in conjunction with Weekend ceremonies, as a stand-alone game on the Monday following induction ceremonies since 1977.

Hall of Fame Weekend 2008: Hall of Fame Weekend will be held July 25-28 in Cooperstown and feature the induction of BBWAA electee Rich “Goose” Gossage, along with Veterans Committee electees Barney Dreyfuss, Bowie Kuhn, Walter O’Malley, Billy Southworth and Dick Williams. Induction Ceremonies will take place on Sunday, July 27 at the Clark Sports Center, at 1:30 p.m. ET. There is no admission fee for the Induction Ceremony.

Dave Niehaus, the winner of the 2008 Ford C. Frick Award, along with Larry Whiteside, the 2008 J.G. Taylor Spink Award recipient, will also be honored. Additionally, the first Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, named in memory of baseball’s great ambassador, will be recognized.