VOICE ONE:
Baseball, football and basketball are popular sports in theUnited States. All three have museums that tell about the sports andhonor their best players. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. The story of three sports halls of fameis our report today on the VOA Special English program, THIS ISAMERICA.
((MUSIC BRIDGE: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”))
VOICE ONE:
We start our story with a stop in the northeastern United States.The National Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, New York.Cooperstown is a small town in the center of the state.
Some people believe that a mannamed Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball in Cooperstownin eighteen-thirty-nine. Doubleday and his friends used to chasecows out of a field so they could play a game called “town ball.”Town ball involved twenty to fifty boys. The boys attempted to catcha ball hit by a “tosser” who used a flat piece of wood.
VOICE TWO:
One day, the story goes, Abner Doubleday made changes to the gameof town ball. He reduced the number of players. He added a pitcherwho threw the ball and a catcher who caught it. He used a stick todraw a square-shaped area in the dirt. He also added bases for thebatter to run around after he hit the ball. The new game was calledbaseball.
In nineteen-thirty-four, an old baseball was discovered in afarmhouse near Cooperstown. It was said to have belonged to one ofthe boys who played the first game of baseball with Abner Doubleday.
VOICE ONE:
A local businessman, Stephen Clark, wanted to show the oldbaseball to the public. So he decided to establish a nationalbaseball center. People from all over the United States sent moneyand baseball objects for the new museum. Ford Frick was president ofbaseball’s National League at the time. He proposed that a Hall ofFame also be established to honor baseball’s best players.
The first election for members in the Hall of Fame was innineteen-thirty-six. Five players were named. They were Ty Cobb,Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson. Moreplayers were elected every year. The National Baseball Hall of Fameopened officially in nineteen-thirty-nine. The event celebrated theone-hundredth anniversary of the game.
VOICE TWO:
Today, more than three-hundred-fifty-thousand people visit theBaseball Hall of Fame and Museum each year. You can see thousands ofobjects that were important in the history of baseball. There areseats and signs from some of the fields where early baseball gameswere played.
You also can see some of the equipment used by the sport’s mostfamous players. And you can learn about the yearly championship ofNorth American baseball, known as the World Series.
VOICE ONE:
Two-hundred- fifty-four men are honored in the Hall of Fame. Thenewest member, Ozzie Smith, was admitted in ceremonies last month.Many other members attended the event. It was followed by a gamebetween the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. The teams playedon the field where baseball is said to have been first played.
Some people have called the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum anational treasure. They say anyone who wants to know America mustvisit this museum in Cooperstown, New York.
((MUSIC BRIDGE: “Mr. Touchdown U.S.A.”))
VOICE TWO:
Americans have been playing the game of football in some formsince the earliest colonies were established more than three-hundredyears ago.
Settlers brought the game with them from England. The game wasplayed about the same way soccer is played today. In the middleeighteen-hundreds, American colleges played a form of footballcalled “association.” Each team had its own rules. Ineighteen-seventy-six, officials from several universitiesestablished a set of rules for all teams to follow. The new game wasofficially called football.
VOICE ONE:
Today, professional sports are a big business in the UnitedStates. Most players are paid large amounts of money. Large crowdspay to attend professional football games or other sporting events.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton, Ohio. It is abouteighty-five kilometers south of the city of Cleveland. There areseveral reasons why Canton was chosen. A successful, professionalfootball team, the Canton Bulldogs, played there in the early daysof the sport. Jim Thorpe, one of the first great professionalplayers, played with the Bulldogs for a time.
Another reason is that theAmerican Professional Football Association was founded in Canton innineteen-twenty. And, in the nineteen-sixties, the citizens ofCanton launched a well-organized campaign to build the Hall of Famein their city.
VOICE TWO:
The Pro Football Hall of Fameopened in nineteen-sixty-three. It shows the history of professionalfootball. It also honors the game’s greatest players.
At the museum, you can see a film about football in a theaterthan turns into a football stadium. You can learn about the historyof professional football in the United States. You can also learnabout each of the thirty-two National Football League teams.
There are several special areas of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.One lets visitors test their knowledge about the game. Another tellsabout the yearly championship game, called the Super Bowl.
VOICE ONE:
There are two-hundred sixteen members of the Pro Football Hall ofFame. They include players, coaches and team owners. There is astatue, picture and information about each one. New members arechosen each year. Five new members were added in a ceremony onAugust third. They are George Allen, Dave Casper, Dan Hampton, JimKelly and John Stallworth.
More than six-million people have visited the Pro Football Hallof Fame since it opened. Visitors have come from every Americanstate and as many as seventy other countries.
((MUSIC: “Sweet Georgia Brown”))
VOICE TWO:
The Basketball Hall of Fame is the newest of the three sportshalls of fame. It is in Springfield, Massachusetts. The museum isnamed in honor of James Naismith, the man who invented basketball.Its official name is the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.Naismith invented basketball in eighteen-ninety-one. He taught aphysical education class at a school in Springfield, Massachusetts.
One long, cold winter, he had tocreate a game for eighteen young men to play indoors. He inventedthe game of basketball.
In nineteen-forty-nine, the National Association of BasketballCoaches established the Hall of Fame. It opened innineteen-sixty-eight at Springfield College. A new, larger buildingopened in nineteen-eighty-five. More than one-hundred-thousandpeople visit the Hall of Fame each year.
VOICE ONE:
The Basketball Hall of Fame is a museum and entertainment center.It combines history with technology. It tells about basketball atevery level of the game. For example, it tells about professionalbasketball in the United States and in other countries. It tells howthe game is played at colleges, by women’s teams and by disabledpeople.
The Hall of Fame also honors the best players, teams, coaches andofficials. Two-hundred-forty-one people and four teams are honoredthere. More honorees will be added in September. They are LarryBrown, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Lute Olson, Drazen Petrovic, Kay Yowand the world famous Harlem Globetrotters team.
VOICE TWO:
A new Naismith MemorialBasketball Hall of Fame and Museum will open in late September. Thenew building will increase the size of the existing Hall of Fame byalmost one-hundred percent.
Hall of Fame officials say the building will capture all of theenergy and excitement that the game of basketball provides. The mostspecial part of the new museum is an area called the Center Court.It looks like a full-size floor for basketball games. Visitors tothe Center Court will be able to play interactive games and takepart in skill competitions. Officials are calling the new BasketballHall of Fame the finest sports museum in the world.
((MUSIC: “Sweet Georgia Brown”))
VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by George Grow. I’m SarahLong.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.