page_title: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
section_title: First floor
hierarchical_section_title: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum / The museum / First floor
caption_attribution_description: Plaque Gallery at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
context_page_description: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, and operated by private interests. It serves as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, displays baseball-related artifacts and exhibits honoring those who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations". Cooperstown is often used as shorthand for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, similar to "Canton" for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
  The Hall of Fame was established in 1939 by Stephen Carlton Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Clark sought to bring tourists to a city hurt by the Great Depression, which reduced the local tourist trade, and Prohibition, which devastated the local hops industry. Clark constructed the Hall of Fame's building, and it was dedicated on June 12, 1939. The erroneous claim that Civil War hero Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown was instrumental in the early marketing of the Hall.
context_section_description: Baseball at the Movies houses baseball movie memorabilia while a screen shows footage from those movies.
  The Bullpen Theater is the site of daily programming at the museum (trivia games, book discussions, etc.) and is decorated with pictures of famous relief pitchers.
  Inductee Row features images of Hall of Famers inducted from 1937 to 1939.
  The Perez-Steele Art Gallery features art of all media related to baseball. Dick Perez served as an artist for various projects at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for 20 years, starting in 1981 
  The Plaque Gallery, the most recognizable site at the museum, contains induction plaques of all members.
  The Sandlot Kids Clubhouse has various interactive displays for young children.
  Scribes and Mikemen honors J. G. Taylor Spink Award and Ford C. Frick Award winners with a photo display and has artifacts related to baseball writing and broadcasting. Floor-to-ceiling windows at the Scribes and Mikemen exhibit face an outdoor courtyard with statues of Johnny Podres and Roy Campanella (representing the Brooklyn Dodgers 1955 championship team), and an unnamed All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player. A Satchel Paige statue was unveiled and dedicated during the 2006 Induction Weekend.
  An Education Gallery hosts school groups and, in the summer, presentations about artifacts from the museum's collection.
caption: Plaque Gallery in 2001. The central pillar is for the newest (2000) inductees at the time.
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