Williams Museum Closes

[mosox]

This is sad. With the Red Sox involved in so much development around Fenway, they certainly can find a way to move Ted's museum to Boston.

 

Associated Press

Posted April 2 2006, 11:37 AM EDT

 

 

HERNANDO, Fla. -- The Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame closes Sunday, a victim of a lack of attendance and interest following the baseball star's death.

 

The diamond-shaped museum, which opened in 1994, attracted sports legends to its many events and featured a collection that chronicled Williams life, including his exploits as a fighter pilot, baseball legend and accomplished fisherman.

 

 

 

LocalLinks

 

But poor attendance caused in part by its out-of-the-way location in west-central Florida made running the museum too expensive, said David Staples, a volunteer who has worked at the museum since its opening.

 

``You can't exist too many years like that without having some kind of endowment backing you,'' Staples said before the museum's opening Sunday. ``We just weren't near any metropolitan areas where you could draw regular attendance.''

 

Staples has opened and closed the museum on Saturdays and Sundays since the opening. He's seen prominent figures such as Joe DiMaggio, Muhammad Ali and President George H.W. Bush attended ceremonies at the museum.

 

Many other sports figures came to visit and, specifically, share time with Williams, the last hitter to bat .400. But after Williams' death in July 2002, that stopped happening.

 

``All his friends and associates that used to come here, they would come out of respect to Ted, having breakfast with him and talking to him,'' Staples said. ``He was a lure.''

 

Citrus County resident Monte Irvin, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, said the museum ceremonies were special.

 

``Down through the years all the great hitters and pitchers have visited the museum and spent time looking through it,'' Irvin told the Citrus County Chronicle. ``We'll miss all that.''

 

The museum's main collection celebrates baseball in many ways, including the Hitter's Hall of Fame, a Williams creation that features 54 players, including Babe Ruth, Stan Musial and Pete Rose.

 

The baseball exhibits are being moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, and Staples hopes a home can be found for the fishing memorabilia and war exhibits as well.

 

However, the museum foundation will remain intact and the collection will only be on loan to other locations, Staples said.

 

``It's not going to be given away or sold in any way,'' Staples said. ``It's going to be broadened and more and more people will be exposed to these things.''

[Soxfan1]

Maybe a mini museum in fenway.

[BoSox34]

I've been waiting years for this to happen.

[Goalstopper]

it would be more popular if it was in boston. i would go at least once.also why is this guy putting museams in florida when they were celebrated in places far away? i would guess it is expensive for a museam here. but it has done the fine art museam or the kenedy museam okay.doesn't florida have two of the lowest baseball populations?

[The Monster is my Mom]

it was put in florida because that is where Ted lived for the last 40 or 50 years of his life. The museum was litirally right down the road from his house.