The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown; the Minor League museum is in Memphis, Tenn. (Auburn was a strong candidate for the site) now there is a plan to establish a New York-Penn Baseball League museum and Hall of Fame in Batavia.
Why Batavia?
Batavia is the birthplace of the league. On Jan. 9, 1939 at the Hotel Richmond on Main St. in Batavia, a group of baseball men met and agreed to form a Class D professional baseball league. It was called the PONY League. The league became the NY-P League in 1956. It has been operating consecutively for the past 64 years.
Paul Marriott, starting his fifth season as general manager of the Batavia Muckdogs, introduced the museum plan at the league's fall meeting in Williamsport, Pa. Marriott, a former Auburn assistant GM, gave NY-P directors more information on the idea at the baseball winter meetings last December.
Patrick Weissman, curator of the local Holland Purchase Historical Society and a season ticketholder, who had the original idea about starting the baseball shrine in Batavia, is directing the museum effort.
He had held three preliminary meetings with a experienced committee, including Brad Rogers, former GM of the Batavia club; Hal Mitchell, Muckdog Booster Club president; Bill Dougherty, secretary of the Genesee County Baseball Club; Mary Ann Bowman, member of the Batavia Regional Recreation Corporation; Dennis Dwyer, former president of the Genesee County ball team; local realtor Joe Gerace and author Bill Kauffman.
The New York-Penn League directors have given tentative approval to proceed, A formal presentation will probably be made at the league's spring session. Marriott said the museum, if it is built, won't be a financial burden to the league. The building will also include a gift shop stocked with league merchandise.
The committee pointed out that Batavia is centrally located along the New York Thruway with an exit just a mile to downtown. The city is also the gateway to the Greater Niagara Region. It is a major tourist destination with Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls and Canada less than a hour's drive.
Batavia is the seat of Genesee County which is the home to Six Flags-Darien Lake Resort, a major theme park and concert venue.
Batavia administrator Matt Copler has endorsed the project and the current Batavia Downtown Development Agency is looking for new businesses and attractions to help revive downtown. It is the hope of the committee that a NY-P League museum could be the centerpiece to the revitalization.
It was also said that the museum can be used as a marketing tool to promote interest in the teams and cities throughout the league.Building a museum of any kind is a tremendous undertaking.
It will probably take at least two years of planning and fundraising. The Holland Purchase Historical Society has given the committee space for initial setup and a mailing address and has allowed curator Weissman to participate in the project at no charge. A permanent location for the museum will be investigated after approval is gained.
Batavia is the birthplace of the league. On Jan. 9, 1939 at the Hotel Richmond on Main St. in Batavia, a group of baseball men met and agreed to form a Class D professional baseball league. It was called the PONY League. The league became the NY-P League in 1956. It has been operating consecutively for the past 64 years.
Paul Marriott, starting his fifth season as general manager of the Batavia Muckdogs, introduced the museum plan at the league's fall meeting in Williamsport, Pa. Marriott, a former Auburn assistant GM, gave NY-P directors more information on the idea at the baseball winter meetings last December.
Patrick Weissman, curator of the local Holland Purchase Historical Society and a season ticketholder, who had the original idea about starting the baseball shrine in Batavia, is directing the museum effort.
He had held three preliminary meetings with a experienced committee, including Brad Rogers, former GM of the Batavia club; Hal Mitchell, Muckdog Booster Club president; Bill Dougherty, secretary of the Genesee County Baseball Club; Mary Ann Bowman, member of the Batavia Regional Recreation Corporation; Dennis Dwyer, former president of the Genesee County ball team; local realtor Joe Gerace and author Bill Kauffman.
The New York-Penn League directors have given tentative approval to proceed, A formal presentation will probably be made at the league's spring session. Marriott said the museum, if it is built, won't be a financial burden to the league. The building will also include a gift shop stocked with league merchandise.
The committee pointed out that Batavia is centrally located along the New York Thruway with an exit just a mile to downtown. The city is also the gateway to the Greater Niagara Region. It is a major tourist destination with Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls and Canada less than a hour's drive.
Batavia is the seat of Genesee County which is the home to Six Flags-Darien Lake Resort, a major theme park and concert venue.
Batavia administrator Matt Copler has endorsed the project and the current Batavia Downtown Development Agency is looking for new businesses and attractions to help revive downtown. It is the hope of the committee that a NY-P League museum could be the centerpiece to the revitalization.
It was also said that the museum can be used as a marketing tool to promote interest in the teams and cities throughout the league.Building a museum of any kind is a tremendous undertaking.
It will probably take at least two years of planning and fundraising. The Holland Purchase Historical Society has given the committee space for initial setup and a mailing address and has allowed curator Weissman to participate in the project at no charge. A permanent location for the museum will be investigated after approval is gained.
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