State 48 steps up to the plate: Arizona could get first baseball history museum
"We are asking people to step up to the plate and help us make this baseball museum come true," Susan Rucci, executive director of the Mesa Historical Museum said. The Mesa Historical Museum is seeking funding to renovate a 4000 sq ft auditorium on its property, which was deemed unsuitable for public use in the early 2000s. The auditorium, built in 1939, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and needs upgrades. Susan Rucci, executive director of the museum, is asking for donations to secure this project. The museum has been collecting baseball memoribilia since 1947, some of which are currently displayed at the museum's exhibit "Play Ball."
Publicerad : 4 veckor sedan förbi Author: Stella Sun i Sports
"We are asking people to step up to the plate and help us make this baseball museum come true," Susan Rucci, executive director of the Mesa Historical Museum said.
MESA, Ariz. — Arizona's connection to baseball runs deep. Way deeper than most people realize. The Valley has been home to Cactus League Spring Training since 1947 and a lot of history and memoribilia has been collected since it began.
Some of it is on display at the Mesa Historical Museum's exhibit "Play Ball: The Arizona Spring Training Experience & Cactus League Hall of Fame." But these key pieces of America's pastime don't have a permanent home yet.
Decades of baseball history could soon be on display in Arizona's first and only baseball museum... If enough fundraising money is secured.
"There are so many fascinating stories that we have about baseball here in Arizona. That's not just about the Cactus League, [like] the history of Arizona baseball, from the Japanese internment baseball leagues [and the] Native American baseball leagues.
Susan Rucci, the executive director, said there's so much memoribilia that it needs to be rotated and can't be on display at the same time. She said the play ball exhibit is one of the most popular.
With public interest only growing each time spring training rolls around, Rucci said the Mesa Historical Museum is looking to renovate a 4000 sq ft auditorium located on its property. The Lehi auditorium was constructed in 1939, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the early 2000s, it was deems unsuitable for public use, according to the MHM.
"Just launched a big fundraising campaign and we are going to renovate that building," Rucci said. "We will be able to tell so many more stories."
"We are asking people to step up to the plate and help us make this baseball museum come true," Rucci said.
According to MFM, the electrical wiring in the auditorium needs to be upgraded. Along with the roof, wheelchair ramp, and more.
"We have been hearing from a lot of people around the community who has baseball memorabilia. And they want to share it. They want the public to see it so they have contacted us to loan us some of their baseball memorabilia," Rucci said.
Ämnen: Baseball