Cooperstown, New York

  

 Sixty-five miles west of Albany amid upstate New York’s rolling woodlands sits the gracious tree-lined village of Cooperstown.

  Founded in 1786 by the father of Last of the Mohicans novelist James Fenimore Cooper, the town is proudly stuck in time.

 According to legend, it was here, in 1839, that civil war hero Abner Doubleday laid out the dimensions of a diamond--

                                     --and originated the game of baseball.

Precursors to the game go back thousands of years, but the historical origins of baseball took place in the mid-nineteenth century.

                                If you like baseball, this is the place for you.

    

In the U.S. there is only one recognized “shrine” to baseball—Doubleday Field.

 It is here that the sport evolved with universally recognized and consistent rules of participation.  The field is in daily use as teams from all over the country come here to play.

The grandstand was erected here in 1939 behind a field that was part of the early days of baseball.

 It is the perfect link to the past, as Babe Ruth and many other Hall of Famers made game appearances at Doubleday Field, just as they still do today.

We camped for the night right behind the grandstand at Doubleday Field.