LeaguePark

It’s a beautiful day for baseball here at League Park! We’ve got a great event coming up this Saturday at the park. I hope many of you can make it. But before the big event, I wanted to bring you up to speed on what’s been happening. Representatives of Osborn Engineering and I met with the Ward 7 League Park Committee last week and it went very well. The Committee is charged with the task of gathering information and making recommendations to Councilman Dow on the future of League Park. Though they have not yet chosen the design for the park, we all agree that construction MUST begin no later than Spring 2010. Over the past year, the remaining structures at the park have deteriorated quite a bit and we all agree that restoration can no longer wait. That is terrific news. I am also very happy to report that The League Park Society has entered into a partnership with Bertman’s Original Ball Park Mustard. If you’ve been to an Indians game in the last 75 years, chances are good that you know Bertman’s. Their mustard was introduced to the world at League Park, and this Saturday it will be back at the park that started it all. Bertman’s has been called the best mustard in the big leagues by a number of sports writers. Also, the Baseball Heritage Museum has offered to host a League Park display at the museum and also to allow us to start holding meetings at the museum. We will begin holding bi-monthly meetings at the museum in downtown Cleveland starting in November. That will allow us to delegate some duties and prepare for Opening Day 2010. Watch for news about meeting dates coming soon. If you’d like to perform some duties for LPS, try to attend our November meeting. Opening Day 2010 will be Saturday, April 24 and will celebrate the 100th birthday of League Park II. (Opening Day 1910 was on April 21, but that is a Wednesday next year, so we’ll go with Saturday to allow more people to attend.) The League Park Society has begun to look into acquiring what is left of 7209 Lexington Avenue in Cleveland. That was the address of Shoeless Joe Jackson when he played in Cleveland. He lived just two blocks past the outfield fence and walked to the park for each home game. A new house has been built at 7211 Lexington and it appears that they may have purchased all or some of the 7209 lot. If any part of the lot remains, we will explore purchasing that space. If the owners of 7211 own it, we will ask permission to make it an historic spot to celebrate Cleveland’s rich baseball history. We hope to put in some of Mrs. Jackson’s favorite plants that grew there during their time in Cleveland, a bench and a plaque and care for the area. Speaking of Shoeless Joe, we have started working on a campaign to get the ban holding him back from the Baseball Hall of Fame lifted. Joe was found not guilty in a court of law, yet the rule banning him from the Hall of Fame continues in force. We have begun working on the campaign with the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum, the Cleveland Blues and others. Part of the rich history of Cleveland Baseball and League Park includes the Cleveland Buckeyes. LPS has registered the rights to the name and hopes to field a new Cleveland Buckeyes team in 2010. The team will honor the noble history of the Negro Leagues team and will help celebrate and educate kids about its history. We are now seeking sponsors to help us purchase new uniforms for the team. We will be announcing the new team to the media at Saturday’s event. Speaking of Saturday, I hope you can join us for a day filled with base ball. Yes, two-word base ball because it will be a day of vintage base ball featuring our home team Cleveland Blues. The Blues have invited the Cleveland Forest Citys, Hoover (PA) Sweepers and the Pittsburgh Franklins to play four games starting at 1. Two games will be ongoing simultaneously. Before the games begin, you’ll get a chance to see the new vintage team from Cleveland’s Whiskey Island hold a practice starting at noon. At 12:30 a press conference will take place to tell fans and the media of our new partnerships with Bertman’s and the Ward 7 Committee. We’ll also be introducing the new Cleveland Buckeyes team, featuring Ted Toles (1947 Cleveland Buckeyes) officially passing the torch to the new team. Vern Fuller, former Cleveland Indians second baseman will throw out the first pitch in the first Blues game. Bottles of Bertman’s will be on sale to help raise funds for LPS to pay for the event. And to go with the mustard, League Park Foods will bring their hot dog cart with hot dogs, chili dogs, beer brats, chips, peanuts and soda pop. Remember to bring some lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on. We don’t have bleachers yet. Bring your baseball gloves as well. It should be a great day of fun and celebration. Come to the park for any or all of the event. The fun starts at noon and the games start at 1 and will continue until about 4. Of course, I am always honored to show fans some of the historic parts of League Park and show the Osborn concept for the future. Come get some mustard and autographs and photos. Spread the word to friends and your local media. If the media wants more info, have them contact me for the press release. Let’s make this event something special. Things are looking great. Come support the Grand Lady of Ballparks as we celebrate her past and her future. If you have any questions or need anything at all, I am always available for you. I hope to see you on Saturday!

Ohhh...a few more quick notes. We've added a few new things to the League Park website. Have a look at the letters of support from the Indians, Red Sox and others. Also, we are starting to list partners who are working with us. The famous Bertman's Base Ball Mustard, Cleveland Blues and Osborn Engineering are listed and we're always open to partnering with other organizations and corporations. Russ

Hi All, Thanks for the good words. We appreciate the support of our work to save League Park. Thank you for the donations. Every cent of every donation goes toward operating expenses. None of us is paid a cent. To answer a question, our mailing address is in Amherst because I live there and since I do my League Park work in my home office, the post office box there just makes it easy to pick up the mail. In the next couple of weeks you'll see our new address in downtown Cleveland. The League Park Society is a diverse group. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, the members of the Society can live all over and we still get things done. Some of the key members of the LPS live in Cleveland, Parma, Medina and other areas. We all donate our time and talent, mostly from home. I hope you can join us at League Park on Sunday, September 12 for some vintage base ball and fun. We hope to have more information on the new Cleveland Buckeyes and on our new campaign to get Shoeless Joe Jackson into the MLB Hall of Fame. Come out and join us if you can. The games start at 1. Russ

Hi Everyone, It is so good to see such positive discussion regarding League Park. The League Park Society is a non-profit 501©3 organization that has done a great deal of research, networking and team building in an effort to raise awareness and fascilitate the salvation, restoration and rebuilding of the historic park. League Park is one of a kind and we believe that if it is saved and rebuilt in an historic and thoughtful manner, it could create many great things for the area. Besides for local and national events...the home games of the Cleveland Blues and new Cleveland Buckeyes and a "little league" team we will sponsor and so much more...League Park can draw national events from all over the country. In addition, we have networked with area pro sports teams about free sports camps and clinics for area youth and so much more. League Park can be a functional museum with a hall of fame, meeting and party rooms and much more, able to accomodate baseball (all leagues and ages), softball, football, soccer and more. In our 16 months of work we have heard from a movie producer, people in charge of world youth baseball tournaments and more. League Park can also be the home of local civic and church events, company picnics and meetings, birthday parties and so much more. I hope you might all consider being a part of the League Park Society. There's nothing to join...just help. Visit our website at http://www.leaguepark.org . Send us a note and we'll add you to the database. We ask only that you do what you can and want to do to help. From writing to Cleveland city officials to spreading the word, any help is a great gift to saving the Grand Lady of Baseball. I hope you will join our work to save League Park and celebrate that history and make the future something spectacular. I am sure that if we build it, great things will come. Russ Haslage, Director The League Park Society