Best Cities For Baseball Collectors And Enthusiasts

The home of the first all-professional baseball team in 1869, Cincinnati remains a city steeped in tradition especially as it relates to its Cincinnati Reds. With so many firsts in baseball throughout the years, five World Championships, and countless baseball heroes making Cincinnati their home, it is no surprise that the Queen City boasts the largest team Hall of Fame and Museum in all of baseball. Throughout the storied history of the club, the fans have remained the one constant and the museum strives to preserve and promote that great history to thousands of fans, young and old, year round. To do this, we rely on many of the artifact collections of the fans who generously donate and loan their collections to the game so that we may share them. Whether it’s baseball cards, historic photos, or autographs from Crosley Field or Riverfront Stadium era players, the business of buying, selling, and collecting is a popular enterprise for some and a hobby for many.

Just ten minutes from downtown Cleveland, The Baseball Heritage Museum is in the former ticket office at League Park, a ballpark built in the era of Ebbets Field, Fenway, and Comiskey Park. The grandstands are gone, but the field has been restored to its original dimensions. Come stand where the American League Cleveland Indians won the 1920 World Series and the Negro League Cleveland Buckeyes won the 1945 Championship. This is also where Babe Ruth hit his 500th home run, and Joe DiMaggio had his last hit before his streak ended. Inside the museum you will experience the stories, photographs, letters, programs, uniforms and other game-used treasured memorabilia detailing the important contributions from the Latin and Caribbean leagues, the Industrial and Barnstormer leagues, and the Negro and Women's leagues that helped shape the history of the great American pastime. Admission is always free.

The Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum in Greenville, SC, opened in 2008 as the national centerpiece honoring one of the most beloved figures in baseball history. The museum is in the small brick house where “Shoeless Joe” lived and died. In addition to a baseball library and gift shop, the museum displays artifacts, photographs, films, and other items of interest associated with Jackson’s historic life and baseball career. Remembered through countless books, several movies, and even a Broadway play, Jackson continues to be one of most publicized ball players of all time. As Mayor of Greenville, SC, I cordially invite baseball fans to visit the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum where Joe is always safe at home!

Each year, nearly 2.4 million boys and girls in more than 80 countries worldwide participate in Little League Baseball and Softball, with many of them dreaming of heading to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to participate in the Little League Baseball World Series. Since its founding in 1939, Little League has since become the world's largest organized youth sports organization, and much of the league's history can be found at The World of Little League: Peter J. McGovern Museum and Official Store. Featuring more than 300 artifacts, including a personal collection of Little League Founder, Carl E. Stotz, a fully interactive exhibit hall, and the only complete game-worn Babe Ruth uniform on display in the world, the World of Little League Museum is a perfect place to spark the inner child of baseball enthusiasts from all around the world. In fact, some of my fondest baseball memories stem from my days playing Little League. It had a direct impact on my love and appreciation for baseball.

The Roger Maris Museum in Fargo, N.D., was created to honor Maris, who hit a Major League Baseball record 61 home runs during the 1961 season for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season record of 60 home runs in 1927. Maris requested that his museum be located in his home town of Fargo and the museum be built where people would see it. He also requested the museum be free and open to the public.The museum opened at the West Acres Shopping Center in Fargo in 1984 and true to Maris’ wishes, is visible, accessible and free. The glass-enclosed exhibit enables visitors to view displays and artifacts from Maris’ youth and Major League playing days including his jerseys from the Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, his MVP awards, many bats, home run balls and baseball cards as well as a portrait of Maris presiding over his Sultan of Swat crowns. There is a separate room where visitors can watch video highlights of his career while sitting in actual seats from Yankee Stadium.The museum was home to Maris’ S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year belt he received in 1961 until it was stolen from the museum in 2016. The belt was awarded for 27 years to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States. It was made from alligator skin with a solid gold buckle and encrusted with diamonds and other gems. 

The Clemente Museum is open by appointment only for guided tours. The tours are about 1.5 hours, and the tour guide will show you through the entire Museum, sharing stories about "The Great One". Please call or email our office to set up a tour, 412-621-1268 or [email protected]

The Field of Dreams Movie Site welcomes all baseball lovers and lovers of this movie to this home, this farm, this baseball field, this little piece of heaven on earth. Welcome to this place where dreams can come true. A place of fertile soil, traditional values and simple pleasure and the LOVE of baseball. And in Dyersville, Iowa, at the century-old Lansing family farm with its quaint, and oh-so-recognizable house, baseball still ranks as a favorite pastime for all ages. What better place to come to with family and play a game, run the bases, or just have a "catch with dad"! Come visit the farm and tour the baseball field and now for the first time ever you can schedule a home tour, and if you've never witnessed a Ghost Sunday Show, it is a 90-minute, family-friendly comedy routine at the Field of Dreams Movie Site held at 1pm in 2017 on these Sundays July 2, 16, and 31st and August 13, 2017. Thrill in the Team of Dreams event on Sept 3-4, 2017, where Major League Baseball's most celebrated players will take to the field for a celebrity game on Sunday, September 3 as well as an autograph session that allows fans to take home a memento of the weekend. For more information please check our website: www.fodmoviesite.com.

The Ted Williams Museum & Hitters Hall of Fame located at Tropicana Field is free to all game day ticket holders. The 10,000 sq. ft Museum houses 96 Baseball greats of the Game, from Babe Ruth to Pete Rose, every team is represented. The Museum has a Negro league section and a history of the AAGPBL as seen in the movie "A League of their Own". There is something for evry fan at the Ted Williams Museum & Hitters Hall of Fame. The Staff of the Museum conduct charity sports auctions full time for the TB Rays, Boston Red Sox & Minnesota Twins both in spring training and at each major league park throughout the season. The Museum has thousands of autographed pieces, representing every team, in every major league sport. The Museum conducts signings with players at the ballparks throughout the season and fans can meet and get an autograph for a donation to one of the many Museum charities. The Ted Williams Museum inducted Pete Rose & Willie Horton on February 18, 2017 at our annual on the field dinner at Tropicana Field. Fans received free autographs during the reception form such greats as Tony Perez, Louie Tiant, Tony Oliva, Roy Halladay and many more. Please visit one of our locations and help us maintain one of baseball's greatest treasures.

Rickwood Field, America's oldest baseball park, is a mecca for baseball enthusiasts and collectors, social historians, and everyone simply interested in the national pastime. As both a baseball venue and a cultural destination, the ballpark captures the rich spirit and tradition of America's game. In addition to hosting over 175 games annually, the park is also home to numerous collector and exhibitor events. The annual Southern Association Baseball Conference attracts authors, historians, and collectors from around the South, who share their research and display their collections. The Southeastern Glovers group also hosts an annual event, consisting of opportunities to show, sell, and swap baseball and sports memorabilia. And the annual Rickwood Classic ballgame features an on-site memorabilia auction, as well as a separate silent uniform auction, where patrons bid on the game-worn Classic uniforms. Event schedule and details are available on-line, at rickwood.com. We look forward to seeing everyone at the ballpark!

This year the Tennessee Association of Vintage Base Ball will open the 2017 season with 180 ballists taking the field at 10 different historic sites and museums across the state. Twelve teams will grapple throughout the summer to claim the pennant and play for the Sulphur Dell Cup. And, although scores will be kept for the matches and the standings will be updated after every game, the real purpose for the league is to entertain and educate the fans who attend our games. Our ballists will mingle with the crowd, answer questions about the arcane rules, and pose for the ever-present photographers. If we can send our fans home with a bit more knowledge about the history of base ball and with a smile on their faces, we will have truly won the game!

The National Ballpark Museum is a wonderful place to step back into time to the golden age of the Great American Pastime. Baseball fans of all levels - from the casual fan to ardent students of the deep and storied history of the game - will enjoy the tour of the museum.

The Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center is a place where the values that made Yogi Berra a national treasure — respect, perseverance, teamwork and excellence — live on for a new generation of learners and leaders. Open noon to five, Wednesdays through Sundays, the Museum is home to a permanent collection of numerous photographs and artifacts that document Yogi's inspirational life, as well as a 65-seat stadium style theater. Through culturally diverse, sports-based exhibits and programs, “the House that Yogi built" is keeping the legacy of baseball’s winningest player alive and strong, because when it comes to doing what’s right, “It ain't over!"