Baseball: America’s Home Run Exhibition Press Materials

03.22.2022
Press Kit

Exhibition in Spanish: Béisbol: El Jonrón de los EE.UU.

Related Exhibition

April 9, 2022 - January 5, 2025

From fan letters and post office baseball teams to the worlds of stamp and baseball memorabilia collecting, Baseball: America’s Home Run / Béisbol: el Jonrón de los EE.UU. explores our national pastime through a unique, postal lens.

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Entrance to the Baseball: America’s Home Run exhibition gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Objects on display in the Baseball: America’s Home Run gallery
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Gallery

Photo by Juan Carlos Briceño

Presentation sheet of Centennial of Baseball Issue three cent stamps pane of fifty, autographed by Postmaster General James A. Farley
3¢ Centennial of Baseball Issue pane of fifty autographed by Postmaster General James A. Farley, 1939

Scott Catalogue USA 855
The June 12, 1939 opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, known as the "Cavalcade of Baseball," was the first professionally marketed sporting anniversary in American history. Postmaster General and New York Yankees fan James A. Farley issued a postage stamp for the occasion.

Panel de cincuenta de la Edición del Centenario del Béisbol, 3¢, autografiado por el administrador general de correos, James A. Farley, 1939
Los actos de inauguración y dedicatoria del 12 de junio de 1939, conocidos como la «Cabalgata del béisbol», fueron los primeros eventos deportivos de aniversario promocionados profesionalmente en la historia estadounidense. El administrador general de correos y aficionado de los Yankees de Nueva York, James A. Farley, emitió una estampilla para la ocasión.

Postal baseball team game-worn jersey
Postal baseball team game-worn apparel

Baseball teams composed of postal clerks and letter carriers first appeared in large cities around the turn of the twentieth century.

Indumentaria utilizada en los juegos por el equipo de béisbol postal
Equipos de béisbol compuestos de empleados postales y carteros aparecieron primero en las grandes ciudades a principios del siglo XX.

Baseball equipment illustrated advertising cover with BOSTON/ MASS. oval cancel, addressed to Mess. Moore and Pollard Proctorsville, Vermont; images of a two-wheeled cart, baseball player standing with left shoulder in front, and one-wheeled cart
Baseball equipment illustrated advertising cover, circa 1880s

Scott Catalogue USA 206
For nearly a century, everyday objects – including mail – carried imagery emphasizing baseball's supposedly American, rural, and White origins. In reality, the game has worldwide roots and has always drawn much of its vitality from cities and from immigrants.

Cubierta publicitaria que ilustra indumentaria de béisbol, circa 1880s–1890s
Durante casi un siglo, los objectos cotidianos portaron imágenes que enfatizaban los supuestos orígenes estadounidenses, rurales y blancos del béisbol. En realidad, el juego tiene raíces en todo el mundo y ha obtenido mucho de su vitalidad de las ciudades y de los inmigrantes.

Press sheet of Legendary Playing Fields issue 34 cent stamps
34¢ Legendary Playing Fields press sheet, 2001

Scott Catalogue USA 3519a
Issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2001, the Legendary Playing Fields stamps speak to the sense of community that fans derive from a favorite baseball park. Eleven ballfields built between 1891 and 1923 are pictured. The stamps were printed in press sheets of 160, then cut into panes of twenty for sale at post office counters.
Loan from United States Postal Service, Postmaster General’s Collection

Campos de Juego Legendarios, 34¢, hojas de imprenta, 2001
Emitidas por el Servicio Postal de los Estados Unidos en 2001, las estampillas de los Legendarios Campos de Juego son evidencia del espíritu comunitario que los aficionados encuentran en su estadio de béisbol favorito. Aparecen fotografiados once campos de juego construidos entre 1891 y 1923. Las estampillas de los Legendarios Campos de Juego se basaron en postales clásicas para darles una apariencia y una paleta de color uniformes.
Préstamo de United States Postal Service, Postmaster General’s Collection

Stamp art painting showing portrait of Jackie Robinson wearing cap; two players in foreground
20¢ Jackie Robinson (Black Heritage Series) approved stamp art by Jerry Pinkney, 1982

Scott Catalogue USA 2016
The Jackie Robinson stamp issued in 1982 was the first U.S. issue ever to honor a specific baseball player. It was also the fifth issue in the new Black Heritage series. Beneath Robinson’s portrait is a vignette of him stealing home plate at Ebbets Field against the Boston Braves, August 22, 1948.
Loan from United States Postal Service, Postmaster General’s Collection

Jackie Robinson, 20¢ (serie Herencia Negra) diseño oficial de estampilla, de Jerry Pinkney, 1982
La estampilla de Jackie Robinson emitida en 1982 fue la primera emisión de EE. UU. en honrar a un jugador de béisbol específico. También fue el quinto número de la nueva serie Black Heritage. Debajo del retrato de Robinson hay una viñeta de él robando el plato en Ebbets Field contra los Boston Braves, el 22 de agosto de 1948.
Préstamo de United States Postal Service, Postmaster General’s Collection

Dodgers baseball jersey in a display case
Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers road jersey, 1948

After purchasing Jackie Robinson's contract, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey met with him privately. "Wear the armor of humility," Rickey advised. "I'm looking for a ballplayer with enough guts not to fight back." The racial epithets and death threats Robinson faced in his rookie year eased somewhat as he turned in impressive statistics. When he struggled at the beginning of the 1948 season, however, the taunting and rough play began anew–especially on the road. This jersey was Robinson's "armor" away from home in that difficult year.
Loan from The Stephen Wong Collection

Camisa de los Dodgers de Brooklyn utilizada por Jackie Robinson en los partidos como visitantes, 1948
Después de comprar el contrato de Jackie Robinson, el gerente general de los Dodgers de Brooklyn, Branch Rockey, se reunió con él en privado. «Ponte la armadura de la humildad», le aconsejó Rickey. «Estoy buscando a un jugador que tenga las agallas suficientes para no responder a las provocaciones». Los epítetos racistas y las amenazas de muerte con las que se enfrentó Robinson en su año de novato disminuyeron ligeramente después de que empezara a producir estadísticas impresionantes. No obstante, al experimentar dificultades al inicio de la temporada de 1948, las burlas y las provocaciones empezaron de nuevo, especialmente durante las giras. La camisa del uniforme fue su «armadura» cuando iba de gira durante ese difícil año.
Préstamo de The Stephen Wong Collection

New York Yankees baseball jersey and pants featuring Joe DiMaggios name
Joe DiMaggio New York Yankees rookie home uniform, 1936

DiMaggio wore this uniform during his spectacular rookie season. By May he was batting .411, and he finished the year with twenty-nine home runs and a World Series championship.
Loan from The Stephen Wong Collection

Joe DiMaggio Uniforme de local de novato de los Yankees de Nueva York, 1936
DiMaggio usó este uniforme durante su espectacular temporada de novato. Para mayo estaba bateando .411 y terminó el año con veintinueve jonrones y un campeonato de Serie Mundial.
Préstamo de The Stephen Wong Collection

New York Yankees road jersey with Baseball Centennial arm patch
Lou Gehrig’s New York Yankees road jersey with Baseball Centennial arm patch, 1937–1939

Gehrig wore this gray flannel jersey (sans Yankee pinstripes) for away games during the 1937 season, when his team-leading thirty-seven home runs helped the Bronx Bombers claim their sixth World Series title. The 1939 Baseball Centennial patch on the left sleeve indicates that Gehrig also wore the garment during the abbreviated final season that defined his legacy.
Loan from The Stephen Wong Collection

Camisa de béisbol de los Yankees de Nueva York de Lou Gehrig con parche del Centenario del Béisbol, 1937–1939
Gehrig usó su camisa de franela gris (sin las rayas de los Yankees) para los juegos como visitante durante la temporada de 1937, cuando sus 37 jonrones (que lo convirtieron en el líder del equipo) ayudaron a los Bombarderos del Bronx a ganar su sexto título de la Serie Mundial. El parche del Centenario del Béisbol de 1939 en la manga izquierda indica que Gehrig también se puso la prenda durante la temporada final abreviada que definió su legado.
Préstamo de The Stephen Wong Collection

Fenway Park #49 scoreboard section
Fenway Park #49 scoreboard section, 1995–2012

The iconic left field wall and manual scoreboard at Boston’s Fenway Park have existed in their current configuration since 1934. The wall was first painted green in 1947. This handpainted 49 indicated when pitcher Tim Wakefield was on the mound for Boston.
Loan from Boston Red Sox

Sección de tablero #49 del estadio Fenway Park, 1995–2012
El icónico muro del jardín izquierdo y el tablero manual en el estadio Fenway Park han existido en su configuración actual desde 1934. El muro se pintó de verde por primera vez en 1947. La sección aquí mostrada se retiró durante las remodelaciones en 1976, y este número 49 pintado a mano en el tablero indicaba el momento en el que el lanzador Tim Wakefield se encontraba en el montículo jugando para Boston.
Préstamo de Boston Red Sox