1970 HALL OF FAME ISSUE
Hall Opens Doors to League Legends
Scores of VIPs on Hand at Dedication
BEACHVILLE, Ont. (Mar. 31) -- Glorious sunshine shone down upon this small central Ontario town for the dedication of the United League Hall of Fame and Museum.  In midday ceremonies lasting just under three hours, and with earth-moving equipment parked across the street as evidence of the ongoing and over-budget construction project, Johnny Antonelli, Roy Campanella, Ralph Kiner, Stan Musial, and Billy Pierce became the inaugural inductees into the young league's shine of immortals.

There were marching bands, balloons, and free hot dogs for the kids, as the inductees were presented with bronze plaques summarizing their achievements in the young league.  Two special VIP boxes were packed with scores of baseball dignitaries for the big event.  Representatives of the defunct National League (Jackie Robinson, Red Schoendienst, and Walter O'Malley) and American League (Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, and Bob Lemon) were present, as well as former and current UL players Mickey McDermott, Willie Mays, Bobby Doerr, and Lou Brock, former managers Shawn Martin and Mark Allen, and special guests Vice President Spiro Agnew, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and Yoko Ono.  Former Commissioner A.B. "Happy" Chander (1945-50) sat next to UL commissioner Timothy J. Smith and delivered an address linking the history and heritage of the UL with its predecessor leagues.  The original National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum inducted its last members (Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx) in 1951, closed briefly in the wake of the collapse of the major leagues, and reopened a scaled back operation five years later.

Beachville, Ontario, about 100 miles west of Niagara Falls and 350 miles west of Cooperstown, N.Y., was a controversial choice for the home for baseball's new mecca, but the town is the site of the first documented baseball game in 1839 between the Beachville Club and the Zorras.  The new museum was built on farmland behind the Unitarian Church off Kings Highway 401, believed to be the site of the historic game.  The Zorra Cafe, in the foyer of the building, is set to open by mid-summer, offering menu items such as hot dogs, peanuts, Cracker Jack, back (Canadian) bacon, and Eskimo bars.