Sports exhibit hits home for athletes, fans alike

– Photos by Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday

A Major League Baseball landmark for more than a century, Chicago's Wrigley Field is depicted in a tableau that invites fans to look through a viewer at stereoscopic pictures of America's great stadiums.

A container filled with equipment covers many of the sports represented on the display floor ...

One of the locally curated displays includes mementos from the international triumphs of Keller and other members of Pennsylvania's Special Olympics contingent.

A 1910 Muncy Band drum, once bought at auction and used as a family's coffee table in Florida, is emblematic of the link between interscholastic athletes and the band members who support them.

Nostalgia abounds from station to station, including these historical photos of the Newberry Little League and its followers.

Let's hear it for the crowd-pumping assist from mascots, megaphones and marching bands!

Because some of the action happens in the stands and on the sidelines, homage is paid to those who put the "fan" in "fanaticism."

... that flip up to reveal the answers. (In this case, President William Howard Taft in 1910.)

The spillover of athletics into the culture itself is evident in this wall of sports-inspired products.

... while another panel makes sure that even fantasy leagues get their due!

Visitors are greeted by an autographed painting of Larry M. Kelley, a 1932 graduate of Williamsport Area High School, who – as an All-American captain of the Yale University football team – was the first college player to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy.

Williamsport's long connection to baseball is celebrated with such collectibles as a Williamsport Mets scorecard, an Andrew McCutchen bobblehead doll and a bat used by former Crosscutter Jose Bautista when he played at BB&T Ballpark last summer as a New York Met.

Library director Tracey Amey is interviewed by Eyewitness News' Morgan Parrish.

The Smithsonian's contribution includes such interactive exhibits as trivia questions on stadium seat cushions ...

Janice L. Ogurcak, director of public programming and outreach for the World of Little League, invites guests to the museum in South Williamsport and thanks the broader community for sharing cherished items for the public's enjoyment.

The day's keynote speaker was Aaron Keller, of Wapwallopen, who won several medals – including a gold in the 10K race – at the Special Olympics Summer World Games in Abu Dhabi. The Luzerne Countian inspired attendees in his brief remarks, noting that the competition's hosts in the United Arab Emirates consider the Special Olympians to be "determined" rather than "disabled."

A guide to the items on display is among the free material arrayed on a lobby table.

An American Legion uniform worn by Arthur Leroy "Dewey" Waugh, a South Williamsporter who served three years in the Marines, precedes his professional playing days with the Williamsport Grays and Williamsport Tigers. In one of those serendipitous moments that history occasionally delivers, Waugh's granddaughter, Elizabeth P. – a part-time librarian at Penn College – was among those who worked on the exhibition.

What's a sporting event without concession food? Dining Services filled the bill with a menu that featured corn dogs and french fries.

An entryway display case amplifies the "hometown" message through memorabilia that honors a sampling of local sports figures: baseball's Mike Mussina and Tom O'Malley, basketball's Alize Johnson and Kelly Mazzante, football's Gary Brown, and Special Olympics athletes.

This 1947 jacket and glove was worn by Phil Hitesman, a member of the West Branch champion baseball team from Muncy – which raffled two tons of coal to raise money for the commemorative attire.

A shirt autographed by the 2011 Keystone Little League team, which represented the Mid-Atlantic Region in the Little League Baseball World Series, is a reminder of the record-setting crowds that followed the Clinton County players.

A mid-1950s photo depicts a team of Williamsport Technical Institute students (including World War II and Korean War veterans and disabled United Mine Workers), one of the departmental squads that played a monthlong season of lunchtime softball with a coveted trophy at stake.

Decades of auto racing on the Hughesville Fairgrounds' dirt track is noted in this photo of Ted Horn, remembered as one of the best drivers to never win the Indianapolis 500 (despite 10 straight finishes in the top four).