take me out to the ballgame

Summer is upon us, which means the baseball season is literally in full swing.  Nothing says America more than a sunny afternoon at the ballpark with a hot dog and ball cap, cheering on your favorite team.

Now baseball fans can share their passion outside the ballpark too, with a new initiative launched by the National Museum of American Jewish History, our Affiliate in Philadelphia.  The museum is inviting fans of all ages and backgrounds to submit artifacts, photos, and memorabilia that illustrate their connections to the game.  This collecting effort and national conversation will support a major exhibition opening at the Museum in spring 2014 called Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Jews in America. 

This exhibition (which is expected to travel around the country) is the first major exhibition to weave together the history of American sport, leisure and national identity with the story of Jewish immigration and integration into American life.  The exhibition will also tell the stories of other minority groups – including African-Americans, Latinos, Italian and Japanese immigrants – for whom baseball provided an important sense of belonging and pride.

The public is invited to share stories and memories of how baseball has affected generations of fans and their communities through the Museum’s site – chasingdreamsbaseball.tumblr.com.  Here, fans can post images of their memorabilia and share their stories with the Museum’s curators and fellow baseball aficionados.

Those who have visited the National Museum of American Jewish History in the past have likely seen Sandy Koufax’s glove, on loan from the Smithsonian and on view in Philadelphia when the Museum opened in its current location in 2010. 

For more information on the exhibition or public collecting initiative, please read the press release, or visit the Museum’s website at www.nmajh.org.

Just think, here’s something else you can do during the seventh inning stretch!