Walker's Hall of Fame ceremony to be indoors in Cooperstown
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Larry Walker (Maple, B.C.) will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in an indoor ceremony this July. Photo: National Baseball Hall of Fame
February 12, 2021
Official National Baseball Hall of Fame Press Release
Hall of Fame event updates
-- Alternative Plans Being Prepared for July 25th Induction Ceremony; Hall of Fame Classic Memorial Day Weekend Events Canceled --
(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – Due to the ongoing safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum today provided updates regarding its annual signature events: Hall of Fame Classic Weekend, which takes place over Memorial Day Weekend, and Induction Weekend, which is slated for late July. Both of these events were cancelled last year due to the pandemic.
The Hall of Fame announced that all 2021 Hall of Fame Classic Weekend events, originally scheduled for May 28-29, have been cancelled. In addition to the Hall of Fame Classic legends game, which features appearances by Hall of Famers and players representing each of the 30 major league teams, Classic Weekend’s Night at the Museum meet-and-greet event, BASE Race and Cooperstown Classic Clinic have also been cancelled.
“Though we are having to cancel our 2021 Hall of Fame Classic Weekend, the Hall of Fame is maintaining its commitment to hold an Induction Ceremony on July 25,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “We had hoped to be in a position to welcome loyal baseball fans back to Cooperstown for Induction Weekend, but with the continuing uncertainties created by COVID-19, the Board of Directors has decided not to hold Induction Weekend ceremonies at the traditional Clark Sports Center location. We have prepared alternative plans to conduct our annual Awards Presentation and Induction Ceremony as television events taking place indoors and adhering to all of the required New York State guidelines.”
The Hall of Fame’s 2021 Induction Ceremony will honuor the members of the Class of 2020: Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker. Being honoured during the Awards Presentation will be 2021 Ford C. Frick Award winner for broadcasting excellence, Al Michaels, and the 2020 Frick Award winner, Ken Harrelson; the 2021 Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award winner, Dick Kaegel, and the 2020 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner, Nick Cafardo; and the 2020 Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award winner, David Montgomery.
For decades, the Induction Ceremony has been held as an unticketed event, free and open to all fans. Since 1992, the Induction Ceremony has been held on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center, with estimated crowds approaching and surpassing 50,000 at five of the last six ceremonies from 2014-2019. The second-largest crowd on record – an estimated 55,000 people – attended the Hall of Fame’s last Induction Ceremony, which took place on July 21, 2019. Last year’s cancellation marked the first time the Hall of Fame did not hold an Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown since 1960.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum remains open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A comprehensive health and safety plan for the Museum was developed and has been implemented in accordance with guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State, and reviewed by a certified Industrial Hygiene Technician, to ensure cleanliness, physical distancing and reduced contact for visitors and staff. More information about visiting the Hall of Fame can be found at baseballhall.org/reopening.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an independent not-for-profit educational institution, dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its impact on our culture by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global audience as well as honouring those who have made outstanding contributions to our National Pastime. Opening its doors for the first time on June 12, 1939, the Hall of Fame has stood as the definitive repository of the game’s treasures and as a symbol of the most profound individual honour bestowed on an athlete. It is every fan’s spiritual home, with its stories, legends and magic shared from generation to generation.