The Museum will present two exhibits that examine very different aspects of baseball history. The first, The Golden Age of Baseball will feature memorabilia, including bats, balls, uniforms, contracts and more of legendary players. Included will be the game-used bats of Mickey Mantle from the ’62 All-Star Game, Babe Ruth, and Red Sox player Ted Williams. Lou Gehrig’s Goudy card, Joe DiMaggio’s baseball jersey, Jackie Robinson’s contract, baseball cards of all the greats, and a Honus Wagner Letter will be among the items on exhibit. On deck is the bat used by Manny Ramirez in the 1995 World Series that will go on display when Ramirez hits his 500th homerun. Enter through a Yankee Stadium turnstile, and let baseball come to life with items used by the Great Icons of Baseball.

To bring things closer to home, Baseball in Vermont: History Comes Alive at the Bennington Museum will examine the history of baseball in Vermont, focusing on how the game has been played in our own backyards and local ball fields for well over 100 years. Baseball has a rich and fascinating history in Vermont, including professional and semi-professional teams, most notably the Northern League. It has also been the home to innumerable town, company, and farm teams that have entertained players and fans alike. View photographs, from the Bennington Museum, of baseball as it was played in our local communities during the opening decades of the twentieth century. From the finest private collection of Vermont baseball memorabilia in existence, enjoy other treasures, including many items of local interest.

At the Bennington Center for the Arts the focus will be on baseball as art with Heroes and Legends: A Mike Schacht Retrospective. Here the work of Baseball Hall of Fame and Upper Deck artist Mike Schacht will be displayed. Dubbed “Professor Baseball” by New York Magazine, Schacht was the creator and publisher of Fan Magazine, a baseball literary and art triannual. Choosing his childhood heroes as subject matter, Schacht specialized in stylized, romantic images of the Boys of Summer. This exhibit features over 50 silkscreen prints, signed and numbered editions, posters, baseball cards, and some never-before shown original oil on canvas paintings. Visual art fans will particularly appreciate his interpretations of how such luminaries as Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani might have treated the subject.

The Grand Opening for Take Me Out to the Ball Game, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Friday, June 13 from 3 pm to 8 pm at both the Bennington Center for the Arts and the Bennington Museum. Shuttles will be available to transport guests between both locations. Be among the first to experience this exhibit. Traditional baseball fare will be available as well as baseball practice, arts and crafts for kids, raffles for valuable baseball-related prizes and more.