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8-02-2007
Induction plans paid off
Cooperstown played host to an estimated crowd
of 75,000 people Sunday for the Baseball Hall of
Fame Induction of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony
Gwynn.
Pouring that many people into a community of
2,000 had the makings of a chaotic situation, but by
all reports, everything ran very smoothly with only
minor problems.
"It was great - a super, super weekend. It was
99 percent good," Mayor Carol Waller said Monday
morning.
Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey called the
weekend’s success a "total community effort."
Waller called together officials to begin planning
for the Induction shortly after results of the balloting
were announced in January. People had been talking
about 2007 for years and it was obvious it was going
to be a big one - as big as or bigger than 1999 when
George Brett, Robin Yount and Nolan Ryan joined
the Hall of Fame.
The Induction itself was a success as well, with
both Ripken and Gwynn talking about the
importance of being role models and trying to do
everything the right way.
Ripken said his father, Cal Sr., always told him if
you take care of all the little things in life, you never
have to worry about the big things.
It seems village and Hall of Fame officials followed
that advice because it is obvious now that the
planning paid off.
Finding remote parking lots for visitors and
shuttling them into the village worked well to cut
down on traffic congestion that could very well have
resulted in major gridlock. While a small amount of
fans did become unruly when leaving the ceremony,
they were definitely in the minority.
The mayor wants to have another meeting soon to
review this year’s Induction and make any necessary
changes to create a roadmap for future years.
Village residents played a large part in the success
as well.
Police chief Diana Nicols said she witnessed
many, many acts of kindness by residents over the
weekend. She said it taught her that "Cooperstown
residents are a very spectacular group of people."
We believe local officials, the Hall of Fame and
the community at large should be congratulated for
an excellent Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.
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