The World Champion Boston Red Sox will play the Detroit Tigers in the 2005 Hall of Fame game set for Monday, May 23, on historic Doubleday Field.

The only in-season exhibition game held during the Major League Baseball championship season, the Hall of Fame Game has been scheduled annually since 1940, matching teams from across the majors at the 10,000-seat stadium.

The Boston Red Sox played in the first Hall of Fame game when a young Ted Williams hit two home runs in a 10-9 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

"We are honored to host two franchises with long and storied histories in Cooperstown," said Dale Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "We thank Major League Baseball for continuing this historic tradition and are elated that the World Champions will be playing at Doubleday Field just months after winning their first World Series in 86 years."

Petroskey and the Hall of Fame will not only be hosting the World Champions, but also another team that has special personal meaning.

"The Tigers will always have a special place in my heart having been born and raised in the Detroit area and a fan of the team since I was five-years-old. I'll have a little extra tingle in me when the old English "D" shows up in Cooperstown on May 23rd," Petroskey said. "I'm also a great fan of Alan Trammell and he's the Detroit manager so the day should be extra special."

The 2005 game marks the third consecutive year, and the third time ever, that the game has been held independently of Cooperstown's Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, which is scheduled for July 29 through Aug. 1.

Two years ago, the game was moved to June, where a full weekend of programming now accompanies the game. The May date is the earliest ever for a Hall of Fame Game.

The Third Annual Cooperstown Game Day Parade will feature both teams participating in a Main Street event on game day, with other activities for the weekend to be announced soon, according to the Hall.

"I think the game in May, especially with the Boston Red Sox coming, will be a fabulous kick off for the season," said Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce director Polly Renckens.

She said she had hoped the Red Sox would be selected for the game not only because of their World Series victory, but because of the closeness of Boston to Cooperstown.

"We kind of saw the effects of teams not from the area. Any time teams from Philadelphia, Boston, New York or Baltimore play, you know you have a winner," she said.

Renckens said she didn't think the early date would impact the attendance and would probably make it easier to attract high school bands to march in the parade because the game won't be right at the end of the school year.

"We may be able to draw on more local talent," she said.

Renckens hopes to be able to piggyback some events for the weekend and will look around the Boston area for groups people would enjoy.

She also predicted tickets would go quickly.

"I'll bet they'll be sold out in two to three weeks. The reaction from Boston fans has been tremendous," she said.

The Hall of Fame Game has traditionally paired inter-league rivals, but will feature teams from the same league for the fourth time in Game history, the first time since 2001, when Milwaukee and Florida, both of the National League, participated. May 23 will mark the earliest Hall of Fame Game date in history, surpassing June 13, the previous earliest, on four occasions, most recently in 1949. It will mark the fourth time a defending World Champion will appear in the contest, the first since 1986, when the Royals faced the Rangers, and the fifth time overall a World Series team from the previous season appeared in the game.

Both teams will be making their seventh appearance in the Hall of Fame Game, Boston's first since 1985, when the club lost to Houston, 5-3, and Detroit's first since 1995, an 8-6 loss to the Cubs.

The Red Sox last appeared in Cooperstown in 1989, but the scheduled game against Cincinnati was canceled after the Reds were stranded in Montreal. Boston then played an intra-squad contest. The Red Sox are 4-2 all-time in Game history, matching the Yankees and Rangers (4) for most wins all-time by a franchise. Boston appeared in the first-ever Hall of Fame Game in 1940, losing to the Cubs, 10-9, in a game called after seven innings due to rain.

The Tigers are 2-3-1 all-time in Game history, tying the Mets in the 1978 game, which was called after seven innings due to rain.

Game tickets will be limited to six per customer, and will be available for purchase beginning Feb. 19. Prices are $11 for first and third base reserved seats, while outfield reserved seats are $10. Tickets can be purchased at the Hall of Fame, over the Internet and by telephone.

A limited number of tickets will first be available through a one-day, over-the-counter ticket sale at the Museum on Saturday, Feb. 19, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. All visitors purchasing tickets to the Hall of Fame Game during the first-day sale will be admitted free to the Museum on Feb. 19. Patrons for the first-day ticket sale will not be allowed to line-up outdoors overnight. The Museum will open at 9 a.m. on Feb. 19, at which time patrons will be allowed into the Museum. Patrons must hold their place in line. With the reigning World Champions participating, patrons are advised to arrive at 9 a.m.

Friends of the Hall of Fame members will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase a maximum of six game tickets per membership from Feb. 21 through 25 in two convenient ways: at the Museum's on-line store at baseballhalloffame.org; or by calling the mail order department at 888-HALL-OF-FAME, option 2, anytime from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., EST. A 75 cent handling charge will be assessed to each ticket. Valid membership numbers are required for purchase. No member discounts will apply to this sale.

Any remaining tickets will be available for the general public, limited to six per customer, to purchase beginning March 1 at 9 a.m., until ticket quantities are no longer available. Tickets will be available for general public purchase in two ways: at the Museum's on-line store at baseballhalloffame.org, or by calling the Museum's mail-order department at 888-HALL-OF-FAME, option 2, from Monday-Saturday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., EST. A 75 cent handling charge will be assessed to each ticket.

Hall of Fame Weekend will be held July 29 through Aug. 1 in Cooperstown. Highlighting the 2005 Hall of Fame Weekend festivities will be the Induction Ceremony on Sunday, July 31, at the Clark Sports Center, at 1:30 p.m. ET. Other events are being planned and will be announced soon. There is no admission fee for the Induction Ceremony. The 2005 BBWAA election class will be announced on Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. eastern time at baseballhalloffame.org. The 2005 Veterans Committee election class will be announced on March 2 at 2 p.m. eastern, also at baseballhalloffame.org.