One-of-a-Kind Baseball Mementos At History Colorado

From History Colorado: Play Ball! opens next week at History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway in Denver.

The new exhibit showcases the Marshall Fogel Collection, one of the greatest sets of baseball artifacts ever assembled outside the Hall of Fame. This celebration of our national pastime features more than 160 one-of-a-kind objects evoking the game’s greatest moments—both on and off the field. The 3,000-square-foot temporary exhibition will bring visitors through stories that begin on the ball field and echo through American history and culture.

Play Ball! features classic baseball artifacts including more than 40 bats of the game’s greatest players, including Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson. Visitors will be able to size up their hands against Babe Ruth’s, find the nails Ty Cobb used to hold his favorite bat together, and admire the glove flashed by Willie Mays to make some of the game’s most memorable catches. From another side of baseball, they’ll be able to see the receipt for roses Joe DiMaggio sent to Marilyn Monroe and colorful mid-century advertising posters promoting the products of a bygone era.

Learn about historic efforts of Jackie Robinson to racially integrate the game and Jewish players who were intentionally walked. See some of the actual jerseys and tickets associated with the game’s darker moments, like the throwing of the 1919 World Series, Pete Rose’s gambling, and Mark McGuire’s steroid use.

Uniforms, programs, and schedules from the Denver Bears will remind visitors of baseball in Colorado before the Rockies. The efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Denver will be chronicled, including the construction of Coors Field and its impact on Lower Downtown Denver.

Play Ball! opens to the public on April 7 and is included in the cost of a general admission ticket: $12 adults, $10 students/seniors 65+, $8 children 6-12; children 5 and under are free. For complete information, visit here.

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