(stock photo) Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson slides safely past retired Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin, during a 2005 regular season game. The Reds & Pirates will play in the Hall of Fame Game on May 15, 2006.
Hall of Fame Game matchup set
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JANUARY 17, 2006
By Happynews Staff

Two National League Central Division rivals, the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates, two of baseball’s oldest franchises, will meet in the 60th annual Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, New York, on Monday, May 15, at historic Doubleday Field. The only in-season exhibition game held during the Major League Baseball championship season, the Hall of Fame Game has been scheduled annually since 1940, matching teams from across the majors at the 10,000-seat ballpark in this pastoral village.
Pittsburgh will be the home team and will occupy the first base dugout at Doubleday Field. Cincinnati will occupy the third base dugout as the road team. The Pirates bring a 1-3-1 record in Hall of Fame Game play into the 2006 tilt, and will be making their sixth appearance in the Hall of Fame Game, the franchise’s first since 1980, when the club built a 9-2 lead en route to an 11-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Pittsburgh also has Hall of Fame Game appearances in 1949 (L, 8-7 to Washington), 1959 (Tie, 5-5 with Kansas City), 1968 (L, 10-1 to Detroit) and 1973 (L, 6-4 to Texas).
The Cincinnati Reds have been selected to appear in the Hall of Fame Game for the seventh time in the history of the game. The Reds have not played the last two occasions in which the club has been selected to play. Mechanical plane troubles in 1989 prevented the team from reaching Cooperstown, and the players' strike in 1981 cancelled the Hall of Fame Game. The Reds last played in the game in 1967, losing 3-0, to Baltimore. Overall, the club is 1-3 in Hall of Fame games, with a win in 1953 (16-6, over the Chicago White Sox), and losses also coming in 1954 (10-9, to the Yankees) and 1941 (2-1, to the Cleveland Indians), in a game halted after six innings by rain. The Reds appeared in the second ever Hall of Fame Game that year, as the tradition began in 1940.
The 2006 Game marks the fourth consecutive year that it has been held independently of Hall of Fame Weekend, which is scheduled for July 28-31, 2006. The May 15 date will be the earliest Hall of Fame Game in history. Prior to 2003, the Game was held in conjunction with Weekend ceremonies, as a stand alone game on the Monday following induction ceremonies since 1977. In 2004, the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers matched up at Doubleday Field on May 23, the then-earliest tilt for the in-season exhibition game.
The fourth annual Hall of Fame Game Weekend will feature the Hall of Fame Game Day Parade in Cooperstown, as well as a weekend tribute to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, featuring appearances by Hall of Fame members and programming for the entire family.
Game Tickets: Tickets are limited to six per customer, and will be available for purchase beginning Saturday, February 18. Prices are $11.00 for first and third base reserved seats, while outfield reserved seats are $10.00. Tickets will be available three ways: in person, over the phone and via the Internet.
At the Museum: A limited number of tickets will first be available through a one-day, over-the-counter ticket sale at the Museum on Saturday, February 18, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. All visitors purchasing tickets to the Hall of Fame Game during the first-day sale will be admitted FREE to the Museum on February 18. Patrons for the first-day ticket sale will not be allowed to line-up outdoors overnight. The Museum will open at 9 a.m. on February 18, at which time patrons will be allowed into the Museum. Patrons must hold their place in line.
Friends of the Hall of Fame Members: Friends of the Hall of Fame members will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase a maximum of six Game tickets per membership beginning Feb. 18 in two convenient ways: at the Museum’s on-line store at baseballhalloffame.org; or by calling the mail order department at 888-HALL-OF-FAME, option 2, anytime from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., EST. A 75-cent handling charge will be assessed to each ticket. Valid membership numbers are required for purchase. No member discounts will apply to this sale.
General Purchase: Any remaining tickets will be available for the general public, limited to six per customer, to purchase beginning February 28 at 9 a.m., until ticket quantities are no longer available. Tickets will be available for general public purchase in two ways: at the Museum’s on-line store or by calling the Museum’s mail-order department at 888-HALL-OF-FAME, option 2, from Monday-Saturday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., EST. A 75-cent handling charge will be assessed to each ticket.
The Hall of Fame Game has traditionally paired inter-league rivals, but will feature teams from the same league for the seventh time in Game history, the second consecutive year that two teams from the same league will meet. It is the first match-up of two National League teams since 2001 when Milwaukee and Florida participated. The 2006 Game marks the fourth time in history that two division rivals will meet, joining 1986 (AL West: Kansas City and Texas), 1997 (NL West: Los Angeles and San Diego), and 1998 (AL East: Baltimore and Toronto).
Hall of Fame Weekend 2006: Hall of Fame Weekend will be held July 28-31 in Cooperstown. Bruce Sutter was elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America as the class of 2006, and he will be joined by any candidates to emerge from a special election of Negro leagues and pre-Negro leagues candidates on Feb. 27. Induction Ceremonies will take place on Sunday, July 30, at the Clark Sports Center, at 1:30 p.m. ET. Other events are being planned and will be announced soon. There is no admission fee for the Induction Ceremony. The winner of the 2006 Ford C. Frick Award, to be announced Feb. 21, along with Tracy Ringolsby, the 2005 J.G. Taylor Spink Award recipient, will also be honored.
Open seven days a week the year round, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, the Hall of Fame is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. after Labor Day until Memorial Day Weekend. Summer hours are from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily. Ticket prices are $14.50 for adults (13 and over), $9 for seniors (65 and over) and for those holding current memberships in the VFW, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion and AMVets organizations, and $5 for juniors (ages 7-12). Members are always admitted free of charge and there is no charge for children six years of age or younger, active and retired card-carrying military personnel. For more information, visit our Web site at baseballhalloffame.org; or call 888-HALL-OF-FAME (888-425-5633) or 607-547-7200.