[ad_1]
COOPERSTOWN, NY – Homer Osterhoudt has almost never missed the annual Induction Ceremony at the Baseball Hall of Fame
It was at the inaugural event on June 12, 1939, taking candid photos of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins and Walter Johnson. The long-time resident of Cooperstown then attended 64 of the next 67 inductions, including last year at the age of 99 and residing in a badisted living center.
It was easy to spot at the Clark Sports Center.
But when Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Chipper Jones, Trevor Hoffman, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell enter the hall on Sunday, Osterhoudt will not be there. He died last month at 100.
"We were all hoping it would happen this year," said Cindy Falk, deputy mayor of the village, a friend of a local Baptist church who visited Osterhoudt during palliative care. "It was so important to him."
Osterhoudt's son, Darrell, and Darrell's wife, Priscilla, who live in Virginia, will be present in his place.
"We will continue in the tradition, but I do not know for how long," said Darrell Osterhoudt by telephone
The dedication of Homer Osterhoudt to the induction ceremonies was not due to the love of baseball.He was, at best, an occasional fan without allegiance to any particular team.But he felt like part of the Hall because, as a young man, he In 1937, Osterhoudt was hired as a laborer at the Bedford Construction Company and continued to work on the Hall during the winter of 38.
"We installed a cement mixer in front of the building. Post Office on Main Street ", recalled in 2008 during an interview for an oral history program at the State University of New York, Oneonta." We transported cement to the foundation on the other side of the street for the Hall of Fame After completing the foundations, they set up the sides of the building with cement blocks and bricks.
When the hall opened to the first clbades of Inductees in 1939, Osterhoudt ran through the village to photograph them (and Major Leagues) as they arrived, paraded in a parade, gathered on a flat -form in front of Hall for induction and played a game at Doubleday Field
"It was quite an event for Cooperstown"
Osterhoudt snapshots provide a more visionary kinetic events of this day that the famous group portrait of 10 of the 11 inductees alive (except Ty Cobb, who was late).
Osterhoudt's Amateur Camera Ruth's emergent images delivering her induction remarks, Dean Dizzy warming up for the game at Doubleday Field, and Wagner signing an autograph at the local train station. He also captured Hank Greenberg strolling down a village street while fans were trying to follow him, Cookie Lavagetto and Stan Hack carrying flags in the induction parade, and Johnson leaning out of the platform. induction to the Hall to sign his autograph
After serving in the air force in the South Pacific during the Second World War, Osterhoudt married Marion Potter, worked as a mailman for more than 30 years and served his church and Boy Scouts. In retirement, he delivered meals to the elderly.
"He just thought that's what you do: you live in a community, you get involved in things," said Darrell Osterhoudt. "It was just his philosophy, he did not think it was unusual."
And he continued to witness almost every induction. Sometimes he asked the Hall of Fame, like Ozzie Smith, to sign his pictures. In 1989, he donated several of his 1939 photos to the room, and was then invited to attend an annual debate at the Hall that commemorates the first enthronement
"It was a happy man who loved the Hall of Fame, the people who came to him, "said Jeff Idelson, the Hall's president. "He realized the impact he had on people who loved the game more than him."
Brad Horn, former Public Relations Officer at the Hall, added: "It was the attraction of Cooperstown, always with a smile on a story."
At the time of the enthronement there are four years, Osterhoudt reflected on the unexpected fame that had brought him longevity.
"Everyone wants to take my picture and wants my autograph" and Sentinel from West Virginia. "I suppose I'm a celebrity, that's at least what they say."
Source link
