Walk Where Legends Walked

Friends Offer Tours

Of Doubleday Field

By LIBBY CUDMORE• Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN – If you’ve ever dreamed of setting foot on historic Doubleday Field, Jeff Katz and the Friends of Doubleday can make that happen.

“People always want to get on the field,” he said. “There’s lots of signage telling people the story of Doubleday, but it doesn’t get them out there.”

The Friends of Doubleday – Katz is president – have begun offering tours 8-9 a.m. every Wednesday and Thursday to take fans through the grandstand, into the dugout and onto the historic field, where they can take pictures or take a run around the bases.

The tours last 45 minutes, and depending which of the three guides you get, you may learn something different each time. “Tom Heitz tells a lot about the origin and the history of the field,” said Katz. “Pete Henrici has done a ton of research on the Hall of Famers who have played here, and Ted Spencer is a great storyteller. It’s luck of the draw.”

The tours last 45 minutes and are by reservation. Following the tour, visitors are allowed to go on the field for photos.

Tours are $20 a person, but you also get an exclusive souvenir – a Friends of Doubleday pin. “You can’t get a pin unless you take the tour,” said Katz.