Tickets for the 59th annual Hall of Fame Game, featuring the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers, will be available for the first time in a one-day sale at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum this Saturday, Feb. 19, beginning at 11 a.m.

Boston will be making its eighth appearance in the Hall of Fame Game, its first since 1989, when the club was scheduled to play Cincinnati, but Reds' travel delays forced the Red Sox to hold an intrasquad game.

Detroit's appearance will be the club's seventh overall, first since 1995, an 8-6 loss to the Cubs.

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. Ted Williams homered twice for the Sox in that contest.

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.

And on Saturday, the museum will welcome former Boston Red Sox infielder Pumpsie Green, the first African American to join the Red Sox, for a special event in conjunction with the insititution's tribute to Black History Month.

More than half of the available ticket allotment will be on sale during the one-day, over-the-counter ticket sale.

The museum is encouraging the public not to line up outdoors overnight for the one day ticket sale. The museum will open at 9 a.m., at which time patrons will be allowed into the museum. Patrons must hold their place in line.

Visitors purchasing tickets to the Hall of Fame Game during the first-day sale will be admitted free to the museum on Feb. 19.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Game are $11 for first and third base reserved seats, while outfield reserved seats are $10. Tickets are limited to six per customer.

Pumpsie Green will be the featured guest to discuss his career in baseball in a special Legends Series event at 1 p.m. in the museum's Grandstand Theater, open to all visitors.

The 71-year-old Green became the first African-American player to join the Red Sox in 1959. Green appeared in 344 major league games over five seasons with the Red Sox and Mets.

Once the one-day sale ticket allotment is depleted, fans will have at least one additional opportunity to buy tickets.

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 Feb. 25 in two convenient ways:

• at the museum's on-line store at baseballhalloffame.org;

• by calling the mail order department at 888-HALL-OF-FAME, 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. Becoming a Friends of the Hall of Fame member does not guarantee that tickets will be available for purchase, however.

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 2005: 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. Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg will be honored, along with any candidates to emerge from the 2005 Veterans Committee election class, which will be announced on March 2 at 2 p.m. eastern, at baseballhalloffame.org. The winner of the 2005 Ford C. Frick Award, to be announced Feb. 22, along with Peter Gammons, the 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award recipient, will also be honored.

Open seven days a week the year round, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, the Hall of Fame is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. after Labor Day, until Memorial Day Weekend. Summer hours are from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily. Ticket prices are $9.50 for adults (13 and over), $8 for seniors (65 and over) and for those holding current memberships in the VFW, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion and AMVets organizations, and $4 for juniors (ages 7-12). Members are always admitted free of charge and there is no charge for children six years of age or younger, active and retiredacard-carrying military personnel. For more information, visit the website at baseballhalloffame.org or call 888-HALL-OF-FAME (888-425-5633) or 607-547-7200.