DAYTON -- Of course, the famous Babe Ruth-Hank Aaron-Sadaharu Oh-signed Si Burick baseball will be on display, as well as WorldSeries pins and programs and a trove of pre-1962 baseball cards oncecollected by Daytonian Miriam Jacobs.
Built around two large collections of sports memorabilia donatedby former Dayton Daily News sports editor Burick and Jacobs, Daytonat Bat! is being presented by the University of Dayton libraries andtheir partners for most of the next five months.
'We have these wonderful collections in our special collections,'said Jane Dunwoodie, UD's assistant to the dean of libraries, 'andonly people who know about them get to see them. We wanted to get itout to the public and bring people through our doors.
'Some people think we're only going to show books. We have muchmore than that.'
Burick, who was sports editor from 1928 through his death in1986, long ago donated his collection of awards and programs, WorldSeries pins and other memorabilia to UD. Jacobs, an avid collectorof baseball cards, also donated her collection years ago. Itincludes more than 7,000 cards as well as yearbooks.
The university has decided to open exhibits to the collectionsbeginning today, Feb. 10, with a Roger Freeman minor league baseballphotographic exhibition. Other exhibits and events will run throughJune 14, all free to the public.
Also free is access to the collection for anyone doing researchon the subject matter.
Highlights of the exhibitions, most held at the Roesch LibraryReference Room:
Feb. 15: Bat Chat with former Dayton Journal Herald and DailyNews sports writer Bucky Albers and former pro players discussingthe game and their careers. 1:30 p.m. Visitors are encouraged tobring their collectibles to be evaluated by experts at 3 p.m.
March 29: A tribute to Burick beginning at 2 p.m.
April 19: Reds historian Greg Rhodes will discuss the history ofthe team. 2 p.m.
May 3: Matthew Shank, Ph.D., will talk about the game's biggestscandals beginning at 1:30 p.m. At 3, a game of vintage baseballwill be played at Baujan Field featuring the Dayton Clodbusters andColumbus Muffins -- with 19th century rules.
June 14: Columbus collector Tracy Martin will display historicalequipment and talk about changes, 1 p.m. At 2:30, another vintagegame will be played, involving the Clodbusters, Muffins and UDalumni, faculty and staff.
