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Hall Ball: One Baseball’s Journey to Cooperstown

Hall Ball
In August, 2010, Ralph Carhart and his wife paid a visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and took a side trip to the Lakeside Cemetery. That’s where the “Hall Ball,” one of the most unique ideas of any baseball fan, was born.
“There are no Hall of Famers buried there, but a gentleman by the name of Abner Doubleday is,” said Carhart.  He is the grandfather of “our” Abner, the mythological creator of baseball, and seeing his name written in stone was the initial inspiration.”
Carhart created The Hall Ball project, which is an attempt to take a picture of a single baseball with every member of the Hall of Fame, living and deceased. Once all 317 photos have been taken, the Ball is to be donated to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Wait, deceased? Yes. Carhart has even traveled to visit the gravesites of many of the Hall of Famers, placing the ball next to their grave stone. I had a chance to ask him about his project:

It takes a lot of work to do what you do. What are you getting out of this?
The reward for me, as an artist, is to create something that has never been done before. I am an amateur baseball historian and my love for the game goes far deeper than just the current standings or who is pitching well on my favorite team. Baseball is one of the most complicated, beautiful, original slices of American history and its tale never ceases to fascinate me. I am looking forward to making something that becomes a part of that tale.

What’s your favorite story about who you met along the way?
The very first photograph of a living player I ever took was of Yogi Berra. I had been nervous about integrating the living players for a while and was uncertain of what to expect, but he was so cordial and sweet, it inspired every photo of a living player that I have taken since. I had a similar experience with Ernie Banks. All of the members of the Hall had great careers. But Berra and Banks were legends. To have my own moment with them, and to receive such warm encouragement from them has helped drive me when I didn’t believe that I really could finish this thing. The fact that they have passed since I started the project has only made that fact that much more poignant.

Who do you wish you could’ve met on this journey, but isn’t around to participate? 
There are so many baseball legends that I wish I could have met who died before I began the project. But, the one that haunts me is Gary Carter. I had a chance to get his photo very early into the project when he was still alive but I didn’t seize it because I still hadn’t figured out how to approach the living players. I reasoned with myself that he was young, and I would have plenty of time to photograph him once I had a solid game plan. He died from cancer within the year and that opportunity was forever lost. Since then I have never failed to take an opportunity to try and photograph one of the living players whenever possible.

Anyone not willing to help?
Only two players have ever told me no, they did not wish to be photographed. The first was Bob Gibson, but he eventually acquiesced and he became photo number 211 in the project. I would like to decline to name the second one because I still have not photographed him and I don’t want to make him look bad. I would like to believe that he will eventually get on board.

What do you hope other people will get out of this? 
I hope other people look at The Hall Ball and realize there is so much more to the story of baseball than many people realize. Even the most ardent modern baseball fan likely does not recognize the names of Kiki Cuyler and Pop Lloyd. These were men who were giants in their times and who have plaques in the Hall, and yet most people have not heard their names. I also hope that, especially in regards to the deceased players, that the images of their gravestones serve as indicators of the sometimes grandiose (as in the case of Babe Ruth, whose stone is gigantic) or tragic (as with Josh Gibson, whose modest stone was installed years after his death) circumstances of their lives and how they left this world. Baseball players are more than just stats on Baseball Reference. They are living human beings and their stories make up an important piece of the history of this country.
Where can we see ‘the ball?’
The Hall Ball can be seen at www.thehallball.sportspalooza.com and all of the photos can be viewed through a link to my flickr account which is located at the site. The site also has blogs I have written about my travels and baseball history, as well as brief bios of most of the members of the Hall of Fame and links to other press coverage.

Written by Lisa Iannucci

Lisa Iannucci has been interviewing professional athletes and Olympians, sports writers and film/tv personalities for more than a decade. Her book, A Film & TV Lover's Travel Guide is now available: https://www.amazon.com/Location-Film-Lovers-Travel-Guide/dp/149303085X

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