CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – 19 News is getting ready to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday next year. We’re profiling people and places that are the backbone of America.
Some say it starts with our nation’s pastime, baseball. The game’s roots go back more than 120 years here in Northeast Ohio. In this week’s “We The People segment,” we take you to a place that is preserving a huge piece of America.
An iconic 134-year-old League Park sits in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood. It was home to a number of professional sports teams. Mostly known as the home for the Cleveland Indians and the Cleveland Buckeyes.
It saw some of the game’s greats take the field there for more than 40 years.
The park’s ticket office was transformed into the Baseball Heritage Museum 11 years ago. Now a tourist attraction. 10,000 visitors walk through the museum and park every year. Ricardo Rodriguez is the director. For the last six years, it’s been his mission to preserve as much of Cleveland’s rich baseball history as possible.
“League Park, yes the Cleveland Baseball Club was born here. They played here until the 30s. But, what a lot of people don’t realize is or forget about is that the Cleveland Buckeyes also played here and in 1945 the Cleveland Buckeyes won the Negro League world championship,” said Rodriguez.
Tracking down artifacts, getting donations to keep the museum’s lights on, and combing through years of history. All so that generations for years to come know all about the game of baseball and how it ties to our nation’s history.
The Baseball Heritage Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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