BASEBALL IN THE BRONX:
NINE INNINGS OF BRONX BASEBALL
Exhibition and Public Programs at the Bronx Museum of the Arts open April 13, 2012
Celebrate nine innings of baseball in the Bronx with the 161 Street Business Improvement District at The Bronx Museum of the Arts (1040 Grand Concourse, at 165th Street) on Yankees’ Opening Day, April 13, 2012. Baseball in the Bronx will feature photographs, ephemera, and artifacts from across the borough and the decades. A series of talks and book signings with prominent sportswriters and historians, and a screening of the film Sugar (2008), will take place from April 15 – 30. During opening week, a free trolley will run between Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Museum. The first thousand visitors to the exhibition will get free Topps baseball cards. This one-month-only exhibition ends May 13, 2012.
“There’s never been anything like this,” said Dr. Cary Goodman, Executive Director of the 161st Street Business Improvement District, which organized the exhibition. “Visitors will be able to view Joe DiMaggio’s bat, Elston Howard’s Golden Glove, and see photographs of the Negro League World Series at Yankee Stadium. They can meet a movie star, talk to an ESPN broadcaster and learn about the history of Bronx baseball.”
Baseball has played a central role in the lives of Bronx residents for generations. People of all ages and backgrounds call the Bronx home and embrace the game. The sport and the borough grew simultaneously and both continue to evolve in the twenty-first century. Each of nine “innings” that make up the Baseball in the Bronx exhibition portrays a different aspect of the game. It begins with the Unions, who played in Morrisania in the 19th Century, and with Esteban Bellan, the first professional Latin American baseball player who was a student at Fordham University in 1863. The exhibit also includes material about:
• The history of Latino Baseball in El Bronx thru Club Cubano Interamericano of Melrose
• Bronx Little League teams from Hunts Point, Crotona, Riverdale and Van Nest
• College baseball at Fordham and NYU
• Baseball alumni from the Bronx
• The ninth and final inning of the exhibit features family photographs from the 1950s to the present day, submitted by the public through an open call.
Brian Richards, Museum Curator for the New York Yankees, is the show’s curator. Private collections from Fordham University, The Bronx County Historical Society, New York University, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, and artifacts provided by Mrs. Elston (Arlene) Howard and Mr. Ricky Martinez will be on display.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Stop by the Bronx Museum of the Arts a few hours before the game to check out these authors, actors, and historical figures in a series of talks and book signings – and a film screening.
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| | Starting April 13, a TROLLEY will run from the businesses along River Avenue and across 161 St to the Bronx Museum, and back to Yankee Stadium - courtesy of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation and SBS’ Avenue NYC program.
Sunday, April 15, 3 PM
Talk and book signing with Arlene Howard and Ralph Wimbish, coauthors of the memoir Elston and Me: The Story of the First Black Yankee, University of Missouri, 2001. New York City Councilwoman Helen Foster will be on hand to open the event.
Monday, April 16, 3 PM
Talk and book signing with Kostya Kennedy, sportswriter and author of the book 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, Sports Illustrated, 2011. New York City Councilman James Vacca will open the event.
Tuesday, April 17, 3 PM
Talk and book signing with New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey, author of Stan Musial: An American Life, ESPN, 2011.
Wednesday, April 18, 5 PM
Talk and book signing with ESPN senior writer Howard Bryant, The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, Pantheon, 2010. Howie Evans, Sports Editor at the NY Amsterdam News, will participate in the event.
Thursday, April 19, 5 PM
Historian Dr. George Kirsch of Manhattan College and Bronx Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan will speak about the history of Bronx baseball.
Saturday, April 21, 11 AM
Locked Out of the Locker Room, a talk by Melissa Ludtke, formerly of Sports Illustrated. NY State Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson will be on hand to open the event.
Friday, April 27, 3 PM
Actor Angelis Perez Soto will introduce the film Sugar, Sony Pictures Classics, 2008. NY State Senator Adriano Espaillat will open the event.
Monday, April 30, 3 PM
Talk and book signing with New York Times sports journalist Bob Lipsyte, An Accidental Sportswriter: A Memoir, Ecco, 2011. |
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SPONSORSHIP
The exhibit is produced by the 161 Street Business Improvement District and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. Baseball in the Bronx is generously supported by The NYC Department of Small Business Services’ Avenue NYC Program, the New York Yankees Foundation, The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, and Sparrow Construction.
161 STREET BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
The 161 Street Business Improvement District is committed to improving the community for those who live, work, visit, and shop on 161 Street in the Bronx. The BID’s goal is to keep the streets clean, promote commerce, and enrich the area through special events and cultural projects. Visit
www.161bid.org for more information.
THE BRONX MUSEUM OF THE ARTS
Founded in 1971, the Bronx Museum of the Arts is a contemporary art museum that connects diverse audiences to the urban experience through its permanent collection, special exhibitions, and education programs. Reflecting the borough’s dynamic communities, the museum is the crossroad where artists, local residents, and national and international visitors meet. The museum’s home on the Grand Concourse is a distinctive contemporary landmark designed by the internationally-renowned firm Arquitectonica.
To get to the Museum, visitors can take the B or D train to the 167 Street/Grand Concourse Station stop and walk south along the Grand Concourse two blocks. Please note: D trains do not stop during rush hour peak times (from 6:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Manhattan-bound trains, and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on Bronx-bound trains). Visitors can also reach the Museum via the 4 train to 161 Street/Yankee Stadium. At the exit, walk east three blocks to Grand Concourse and north four blocks along Grand Concourse. For more information please visit
www.bronxmuseum.org.
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