New baseball exhibits opens at museum in Corning

CORNING, N.Y. (WETM) — The history of baseball in the Corning area is being shown in a new exhibit at the Corning-Painted Post Historical Society/Heritage Village Southern Finger Lakes. The exhibit is called “Corning at Bat, A Journey Through Our Baseball History.”
The exhibit walls display pictures of teams and players from the Corning area, from the 1800s to the 1960s.

The players displayed in the pictures are part of farm teams associated with Major League Clubs such as the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals, among others. Other displayed items are autographed baseballs, gloves, and jerseys, and many of them are related to the Boston Red Sox.

The director of the museum Charlette Smith said how the exhibit can be an education for anyone interested in learning about the players and teams from the local area.

“Part of our mission is not only preserving history, but it’s educating about history. So this really fits perfectly because we have that preservation of those pieces, but then also the education about baseball and the Corning area and many players and people who grew up here and still live here today,” said Smith.

One of the two history-making groups is the Corning Cinderella Softball League. According to Smith, it was formed by four mothers in 1958 who wanted to allow girls to play. Another group is the Corning Brownies; an all-black baseball team who played against other all-black teams in pick-up games before the color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson.

The exhibit is running throughout the Summer until September 21. The hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The museum hopes to add time if more volunteers are available.

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