The Pilgrimage

[Kawika]

My wife and I made the Cooperstown hajj in October 2007. The trees were in their autumn beauty (apologies to Yeats) and nobody was there, it's too crowded (apologies to Berra). Translation: we had the town in its fall splendour and the HoF virtually to ourselves. If you can swing it, the Otesaga is the place to stay. Its nineteenth century class and its exquisite setting on the lake make the price worth it; they might even be running deals on rooms this time of year. One bonus: rates include a not-to-be-believed buffet breakfast. We spent six happy days at the Otesaga and we still get all woozy reminiscing about our time there. Even if you stay elsewhere be sure to drop by the hotel just to check it out. The Inn at Cooperstown looked like a grand place to stay as well.

As for restaurants we took most of our meals at the hotel but there was a deli on Main Street we ate lunch at named Danny's Market that served up righteous sandwiches and pastries.
Baseball card shops? Tons of them, way too many, all selling what appeared to be the same ersatz memorabilia. Cooperstown is the ultimate quaint American small town except for the fact that the locals have to drive over to Mt Pilot or wherever to go to a movie or a hardware store or a decent supermarket, probably because they've been displaced by these "card" shops. Best place I found was The National Pastime which was a shop the size of a small barn loaded to the rafters with old time baseball shmata, all way overpriced but a total gas to wander through. Alas, word has it they closed up for good a year or so ago anyway.

Other attractions: Of course there is Doubleday Field just around the corner from the HoF. Can't forget that. Aside from that I don't know of any other specific baseball attractions. The Hall of Fame will take care of that nicely. There are two other museums nearby, just a three minute pop up the lake from town. First is the Fenimore Art Museum. It's a smallish museum, you can give it a quick honest once-over in 90 minutes. Great colonial art, an extensive American Indian exhibit, also a collection of very interesting life masks cast from the actual faces of Thomas Jefferson, Dolly Madison etc. The Farmers Museum is a sprawl of colonial era buildings and a collection of old time farm inplements. My wife grew up on a farm so she thought it was terrific. I, on the other hand, grew up thinking corn came from a can but even so I found the Farmers Msm to be very interesting and worth a visit. If you're just going to be in C'town for a couple of days I would forget the foregoing and spend every possible minute at the Hall of Fame.
Have fun!

[calvindog]

What David said. The Otesaga is incredible; at the very least you need to get in there for a meal and sit on the rocking chairs overlooking the lake. And Doubleday Field is beautiful.

[GrayGhost]

There are also reasonable priced hotels/motels, and there used to be a Best Western too nearby, for those who can't swing the excesses. But, by all mean, sitting by that beautiful lake and such, can't beat it.

[ibuysportsephemera]

What everyone else said previously...also check out Willis Monie Books on Main Street. They specialize in sports but especially baseball books. Their pricing is fair and even if you do not buy anything it is great to browse. Enjoy.

Jeff

[leftygrove10]

My wife and I went to Coopertown back in 1996 or 1997. We stayed at the White House Inn on Chestnut Street, which was within walking distance of the Hall of Fame and other museums.

I remember the baseball card shops. I didn't find anything exciting in them. I do remember a Mickey Mantle Museum which was really neat, but that museum might have closed a few years ago. I also remember a photographer in town that had uniforms of all of the MLB teams. He took pictures of people in those uniforms. The picture that my wife and I had taken in his shop is sitting right behind me as I type. It is a great picture!

If you collect a particular player, I would recommend seeing what the Hall of Fame's research library has to offer. They have MANY pictures of the players. The pictures are expensive to buy if you aren't a relative and they charge for photocopies, but you might find something of interest in there. The Hall of Fame also has a neat little gift shop. They sell the yellow Hall of Fame plaques -- both singles and the complete set.

Others on the board have mentioned VIP tours that they have gotten in Cooperstown. Apparently, the Hall of Fame has LOTS of stuff in their museum that isn't displayed for the public. Perhaps one of David's pictures above shows these things. I didn't get a VIP tour, but if you know someone important -- or know someone who knows someone important -- at the Hall of Fame, it might be neat to get a VIP tour.