The Oneida County History Center will host a virtual talk by Lou Parrotta, the City of Utica Historian, on the history of baseball in the Mohawk Valley, and the local players who made it to the Major Leagues, set for Wednesday, August 12th. [Read more…] about Mohawk Valley Baseball History Virtual Talk
sports
Baseball on the Erie Canal Virtual Talk
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site has announced a virtual presentation by Derrick Pratt of the Erie Canal Museum, who will discuss the Erie Canal’s many connections to the earliest days of professional baseball. [Read more…] about Baseball on the Erie Canal Virtual Talk
French Pugilist Georges Carpentier’s Visit To NY
French pugilist Georges Carpentier was traveling with the Seils-Floto Circus from Albany to Montreal in May 1920 when the train stopped briefly at Plattsburgh.
(In an interesting side note, Carpentier was traveling in the same private rail car that President Woodrow Wilson used a few months previous on his trans-continental campaign to gain support for the League of Nations.) [Read more…] about French Pugilist Georges Carpentier’s Visit To NY
‘Prince Hal’ Schumacher: A North Country Baseball Legend
A celebrity sports delegation attended the Saint Lawrence University commencement on June 12, 1933.
“It was the first occasion that a major league ball team had ever came here to see one of their number receive his degree,” the Ogdensburg Journal reported. “In fact, it was the first time that such a ball team ever came to the village.”
Twenty-two members of the New York Giants were at the university campus at Canton to see standout pitcher Harold Henry “Prince Hal” Schumacher graduate. [Read more…] about ‘Prince Hal’ Schumacher: A North Country Baseball Legend
40 Years After An Olympic Miracle
This episode of A New York Minute in History recalls the “Miracle on Ice,” when the U.S. Men’s Hockey team upset the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. [Read more…] about 40 Years After An Olympic Miracle
Buffalo Sports History Chronicled in New Book
Author Greg Tranter’s new book Makers, Moments & Memorabilia: A Chronicle of Buffalo Professional Sports (Buffalo History Museum and Western New York Heritage, 2019) explores the origins of Buffalo professional sports history from 1857 through today.
Stories are shared alongside photographs and unique artifacts provided by the Buffalo History Museum and Western New York Heritage. The individuals, figures, and moments were selected by the community through surveys, to reflect the memories that resonate with sports fans and historians alike. [Read more…] about Buffalo Sports History Chronicled in New Book
Buffalo Museum Celebrating 60 Years of Bills Football
Six decades of Buffalo Bills football stories are set to be told through exhibitions, events, and programming at The Buffalo History Museum in October.
The month features new artifacts in the Icons exhibit, an exhibit of original artwork highlighting Bills artifacts, memories, unique stories, and more. [Read more…] about Buffalo Museum Celebrating 60 Years of Bills Football
Abner Doubleday’s 200th Birthday Celebration Set For Ballston Spa
Members of the Saratoga County History Roundtable and Brookside Museum are set to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abner Doubleday’s birth on June 26, 2019 in Ballston Spa. [Read more…] about Abner Doubleday’s 200th Birthday Celebration Set For Ballston Spa
Golfer Babe Ruth Played at Plattsburgh’s Hotel Champlain
Babe Didrikson’s visit to the North Country in 1934 was historic, especially for Plattsburgh, where it was acknowledged as one of the greatest moments in the city’s history. She was an American hero (thanks to a startling performance in the 1932 Olympics), undeniably one of the world’s top athletes, and a phenomenon because of her high levels of talent in various sports. Plattsburgh’s remote location in New York’s northeast corner makes it difficult to get noticed, so Didrikson’s visit was regarded as a major coup.
Coincidentally, she wasn’t the only Babe from the stratosphere of sports fame to visit Plattsburgh in the 1930s. Even more unlikely is that both Babes were among the most famous athletes in America, and both were able competitors in sports other than the one that brought them the greatest fame. Didrikson, a track-and-field gold medalist, brought her basketball team to Plattsburgh, while Babe Ruth, a baseball giant, came north to play in an international golf tournament. [Read more…] about Golfer Babe Ruth Played at Plattsburgh’s Hotel Champlain
Something BIG Was Once Afoot in the Adirondacks
This appears to be the easiest North Country riddle ever, but humor me and give it a try anyway. What is very tall, very hairy, probably didn’t smell very good, and set tongues wagging when it was seen in the northern Adirondacks several times in early 1933? Just to be safe, take a moment and think about it. Hey, you never know — it could be a trick question. But if you’re still stumped or not certain of your answer, here’s another clue that might prove the clincher: it was known for having very large (OK … BIG) feet.
If you answered anything other than Gil Reichert, you’ve been successfully misled. No apologies here, though, for the description above fits both Reichert and your likely choice (Bigfoot) to a T. [Read more…] about Something BIG Was Once Afoot in the Adirondacks