Someone reminded me that this week is the anniversary of Ted Williams being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Part of the research that I conducted to write Extra Innings, which imagines Ted Williams returning to life in the future through cryonics, was at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
During his induction speech, among other topics, Ted spoke eloquently and forcefully about the need for the Hall to recognize the old Negro Leaguers--and he lived to see it happen. One of the most interesting aspects of that speech, I discovered, was that it was written -- not quite on the back of the proverbial envelope -- but on the note paper of a tiny motel he stayed at the night before.
It would have been just like him to eschew the fancy digs at the nearby Otesaga Resort Hotel and go his own modest way. Just think, that little motel he wrote his speech in played a pivotal role in baseball history and I'm guessing not many people know about it. It was a privilege to hold those modest sheets of paper in my hands.
During his induction speech, among other topics, Ted spoke eloquently and forcefully about the need for the Hall to recognize the old Negro Leaguers--and he lived to see it happen. One of the most interesting aspects of that speech, I discovered, was that it was written -- not quite on the back of the proverbial envelope -- but on the note paper of a tiny motel he stayed at the night before.
It would have been just like him to eschew the fancy digs at the nearby Otesaga Resort Hotel and go his own modest way. Just think, that little motel he wrote his speech in played a pivotal role in baseball history and I'm guessing not many people know about it. It was a privilege to hold those modest sheets of paper in my hands.
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