Also, just commenting on the Ford Frick Award presented yesterday, as a Blue Jays fan I’m very glad that the honour went to Tom Cheek, though unfortunately posthumously.

“Touch ‘em all, Joe,” indeed.

In the most recent language of Public Law (H.R. 2527), later the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act (31, USC 5112), Congress makes note that:
“The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum chronicles the history of our national pastime and houses the world’s largest collection of baseball artifacts, including more than 38,000 three dimensional artifacts, 3,000,000 documents, 500,000 photographs, and 12,000 hours of recorded media. This collection ensures that baseball history and its unique connection to American history will be preserved and recounted for future generations”.

It is clear that the HOF has a tremendous responsibility and reputation to protect. It is possible, that years ago when these issues first came to light, a decision was made that the losses were best kept quiet to protect the reputation of the institution. The problem with this as a position, is it has to be predicated on the premise that the losses were small, well documented, and that actions could be taken promptly to mitigate further losses. Sadly, I think that time is bearing out that the true nature of the totality of the losses may never be known.

Once again, not an apologist for Cooperstown, but in order to know the total loss, you have to have a very solid point of departure; in short, a very detailed inventory list. To have such a list requires time and money, especially when dealing with the volume as articulated above.

My point being that the longer this goes on without being addressed formally at an institutional level, what may have been seen at one time a misguided sense of trust and optimism, is likely to be seen as a combination of apathy and arrogance. This becomes very problematic for me as a taxpayer when you read the above legislation in detail for it calls for a surcharge to be added to the coin’s purchase price and that “all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to help finance its operations”.

As I read this act, the minting of these coins and the prize money for the design etc…is at the expense of the general public, and only recouped through the sales program. In short, we are fronting money for a fundraiser for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. I have no problem with the general spirit and intent of the legislation, but I would feel a whole lot better about if I saw a stronger and more public stance being taken with respect to the responsibility of public stewardship as it relates “to ensuring that baseball history and its unique connection to American history will be preserved and recounted for future generations”.

Dave Grob

Until the idiots who maintain important archives get their security up to snuff, these important repositories will continue to be pillaged by sticky-fingered criminals.