OUR MUSEUM IN ACTION
LARRY KALAS FILM COLLECTION
You can help us honor Tom Seaver’s impact on the game. Your gift will support the creation of the new first-floor display and preservation of the collection.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s collection holds priceless treasures that chronicle baseball history — from bats, balls, and gloves to jerseys, spikes and caps. But the collection extends beyond the field to tell the full story of baseball’s impact on American culture. It also includes art, books, baseball cards, photographs and films.
One such collection that gives us a preview into the past and brings memories to life is the Larry Kalas Film Collection. This unique collection features over 35 hours of original film footage in various formats (16mm, 8mm, Super 8mm) on 98 separate film reels/ videotapes.
We have targeted a portion of this collection to digitize and preserve. There are 17 seven-inch reels of Super8 mm color film that contain footage of baseball stadiums from 1976 to 1983.
These home films capture a familiar experience for every fan: the road trip to a new ballpark, the exploration of the stadium inside and out, and a focus on the action from first pitch to the final out.
One film, for example, is from a game at Yankee Stadium on April 15, 1976, between the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins. The 30-minute film documents the “new” Yankee Stadium after its $100 million renovation (and two-year hiatus from games). It includes highlights from the pregame program with legends Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, a first-inning home run by Dan Ford of the Twins and the final out of Yankees reliever Sparky Lyle’s save.
Other ballparks filmed within this collection include: Veterans Stadium, Memorial Stadium, Olympic Stadium, Exhibition Park, Comiskey Park, Wrigley Field, Milwaukee County Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Municipal Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium, Riverfront Stadium, Fenway Park, Busch Stadium, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and the Metrodome.
Your support will help us digitize footage from these iconic venues, preserving the memories from yesteryear to share with fans for generations to come.