All the Ballparks Road Trip 2009 Day 28: Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame

On Day 28 (June 16, 2009) before going to the Cincinnati Reds game we visited the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, which is located in the Reds Great American Ballpark.  It is kind of annoying that it is a separate fee to see it even on game day.  I think it used to be free, but now it costs about $12 a person.  The pass is technically a pass for the whole year, but seriously how many are going to be able to use it more than once or even want to unless they happen to change the exhibits several times a year.  I would have felt less ripped off for our one time visit if they had a separate one time only price instead of making you feel like you are getting a fake deal for a yearly pass. Sure that is a great deal if you also happen to go to a lot of Reds games and I do think they have some exhibits that change.

In the entryway they have an interesting logo sign.  They also have the Cincinnati Reds Statue of Liberty design.

The main part of the first floor display is about the Reds former ballpark called Crosley Field.  I found this area interesting because before going here we had visited the Blue Ash Sports Complex, where they have a replica of one of the versions of Crosley Field.

The first part of the second floor has a display on the Negro Leagues, but it was for the most part a repeat of stuff we had recently seen at the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, MO.  One of the interesting things they do have, though, is about the Civil Rights Game, which the Reds do yearly.

One of the parts of the second floor is called Play Ball.  This area has some interactive things like catching a pitch and hitting a ball.  They also have an area that looks like the dugout, which my brother liked because it was not actually a dugout and he could roll into it.  They also had a few things on display related to Reds players, such as MVP trophies and jerseys of Pete Rose and Johnny Bench.

The Play Ball area also had some displays on the old Reds ballparks and a model of Crosley Field.

There was also a room decorated as the ultimate Reds fan room full of Reds souvenirs and decor.

The final part of the second floor before you get to the actual Hall of Fame has a timeline history of the team.  They also have a large memorial to the Big Red Machine of 8 great Reds that played together.

The museum ends with the actual Reds Hall of Fame.  This area has plaques of the Reds Hall of Fame inductees all around the room mostly hanging in pillar formed of the plaques.  They also had some items on display, such as Johnny Bench's Golden Glove.

This photo is of the wall of balls that represent all of the hits Pete Rose got in his career to end up as the all time hit leader, which is a record he still holds.  Nearby here is a rose that represents where his hit that broke Ty Cobb's record when this area was part of Riverfront Stadium.

Read more about the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in my post on my trip blog here.  You can also follow the trip in more real time directly on the blog here, as I am several weeks behind on getting the photo on to gather, but pretty much up-to-date on the blog.  Tomorrow is the last day of the trip and I will then try to catch up on the photo essays, but still most of the in depth information on our various adventures is on the blog and if you are at all into baseball and ballparks I think you will enjoy taking a look at my All the Ballparks Road Trip 2009 blog.