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Horrific milford fire brings out best of humanity, page 4 VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Volume 217, No. 30
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, July 24, 2025
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Past Hall of Famers To Gather for Induction
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COOPERSTOWN ifty-three pastinducted National Baseball Hall of Fame members are expected to return this week, July 25-28, to celebrate the induction of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025. As of July 18, 56 total Hall of Famers, including 2025 electees CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner,
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are scheduled to be a part of Hall of Fame Weekend festivities in Cooperstown, officials said. The Class of 2025, which also includes the late Dick Allen and Dave Parker, will be inducted on Sunday, July 27, with the Induction Ceremony beginning at 1:30 p.m. The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air live on MLB Network,
which has televised every Induction Ceremony since its launch in 2009. Admission to the July 27 Induction Ceremony is free. On Saturday, July 26, the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation will be held at 3 p.m. at the Alice Busch Opera Theater in Cooperstown. Thomas Boswell will receive the Baseball Writers’
Association of America Career Excellence Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing and Cleveland Guardians voice Tom Hamilton will receive the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for major contributions to baseball broadcasting. As of Friday, July 18, the Hall of Fame members expected to return to Continued on page 11
Dick Allen, Dave Parker Hall of Fame Legacies Finally Resolved By CHARLIE VASCELLARO COOPERSTOWN f Dick Allen’s cleats could talk, what a tale they would tell. Perhaps they could explain why he chose to walk away from the Chicago White Sox in September of 1974, while leading the American League in home runs with nearly a quarter of the season left to play. If the enigmatic and outspoken Allen were still alive, he might be able to add some insight as well, and perhaps answer some lingering questions about his often puzzling and controversial career. Allen’s red and white striped Adidas cleats are on display in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2025 “New Inductees” exhibit on the hall’s second floor. Just like nearly every artifact in the hall’s collection, there is a back story to Allen’s cleats. Although they can’t tell us what happened on the day he decided to walk away,
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Photo by Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Dick Allen’s red and white striped Adidas cleats are on display in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2025 “New Inductees” exhibit.
INSIDE ► Art Garage Mounts baseball exhibit, page 2 ► ‘Good Trouble’ in Neahwa Park, page 3 ► golfing for a good cause WITH THE SQSPCA, page 3 ► TO FUND OR NOT TO FUND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, page 4 ► ONE GOOD LIMERICK DESERVES ANOTHER, page 4 ► OCCA BUILDS COMMUNITY FOR CONSERVATION EFFORTS, page 5 Follow Breaking News On
there is someone who can. Bob Hemond, 61, is the son of former White Sox General Manager Roland Hemond. The elder was a seven-decades-long Major League Baseball executive and the first recipient of the Hall of Fame’s Buck O’Neil Award in 2011. Bob was a 10-year-old kid nosing around where he wasn’t supposed to be in the home team’s clubhouse at Comiskey Park when he witnessed this turning point in Allen’s career. One of five Hemond children, Bob was breaking one of his father’s three hard and fast rules: 1. Be off the field before the gates open; 2. Don’t ask players for autographs, and; 3. No going into the clubhouse during the game. “One game day in late August, I ventured up to the clubhouse door,” Hemond said. “The security guard let me in because he had seen me many times before. It was completely empty until Dick Allen walked in, and the game was still going on.
I think this is when he decided he was going to quit baseball. He was very quiet, smoking a cigarette and removing his cleats. He tossed his cleats into the clubhouse trash can and flicked his cigarette butt into the can on top of the cleats.” Young Hemond walked over to Allen and asked if he could have his cleats. “Sure, kid,” was Allen’s response. It was a great time to be one of Roland Hemond’s kids. “Before White Sox games, me, my brother, my sisters, and all the others players’ kids would have pick-up games on the Old Comiskey Park playing field. Many times, Dick Allen would leave the clubhouse early to throw batting practice to us,” said Hemond. “We would also shine shoes for the players in the clubhouse before Sox home games.” “All of us kids loved Dick Allen, but for me he became my absolute Continued on page 6
St. Mary’s School To Be Converted to Senior Housing By MONICA CALZOLARI
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ONEONTA t. Mary’s School at 34-36 Walnut Street in Oneonta is about to undergo a major renovation. Within 1822 months, the building will be converted into eight apartments for seniors. Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek called a press conference on Tuesday, July 8 to announce this project, which took three years of planning and approvals. One of the developers for the project is Al Rubin, an Oneonta resident and chief executive officer, founder, and president of A & D Transport Services Inc. Rubin teamed up with engineer and architect Lee Marigliano of Delhi, who owns LRM Architect PC, to form SMS Oneonta Realty LLC as equal partners. SMS stands for St Mary’s School.
Photo by Monica Calzolari
Father Chris Welch (left) smiles with the red bow in his hand after the ribbon cutting following Mayor Mark Drnek’s (right) announcement that St. Mary’s School will be converted into senior housing by Al Rubin (with scissors) and his partner (not present) in SMS Realty LLC.
Each partner is investing 50 percent of the cost to convert the underutilized school into senior housing. The total investment is “north of $1,000,000.00,” Rubin said. Rubin has been a longtime parishioner of St. Mary’s Church. “My marriage was blessed in this church and all our kids were baptized here,” he said. “This is a beautiful, historic building,” Rubin added. He plans to keep the name of the building and the Madonna statue intact. “It is a win-win,” according to the Rev. Chris Welch of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. “It cost $250,000.00 per year to keep up [and heat] the school,” Welch said. He explained that the school was mostly used for “faith formation” in recent years. Continued on page 8
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD