Press Release collection
Scope and Contents
This collection is organized into three series. Series I Major League teams contains press releases from each Major League team except the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals between 1938 and 2001. There are also press releases from the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), St. Louis Browns (now the Baltimore Orioles), and Washington Senators (now the Texas Rangers). Series II contains press releases from the Office of the Commissioner, American League Office, and National League Office between 1931 and 1990. Series III contains press releases from the Rolaids Relief Man Award and Baseball America News between 1982 and 2003. Please note that this is not a complete run of press releases put out by each organization.
Dates
- 1931-2003
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions but viewing materials does require an appointment. Please contact the Giamatti Research Center, research@baseballhall.org, 607-547-0330.
Conditions Governing Use
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum provides use copies of materials to facilitate private study, scholarship, and research. The Museum welcomes you to use materials in our collections that are in the public domain and to make fair use of copyrighted materials as defined by copyright law and with proper citation. Permission to publish materials must be obtained from: Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, 25 Main St., Cooperstown, NY 13326 Phone: 607.547.0330 E-mail: research@baseballhall.org
Biographical / Historical
A former journalist named Ivy Lee wrote the first-ever press release on behalf of his client, the Pennsylvania Railroad, in response to a 1906 train wreck. To ensure that the media had accurate information about the accident, he wrote a statement, and the New York Times ran his release verbatim.
As editor of the weekly Sunday Mercury, William Cauldwell made mention of baseball on May 1, 1853, and later that year devoted space to the Knickerbocker–Gotham match of July 5. These were the first press accounts of baseball games since various newspapers covered the three October 1845 contests between clubs from Brooklyn and New York.--The Baseball Press Emerges, by John Thorn, 2011.
Extent
12.71 Linear Feet (in 40 legal document boxes)
14.02 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This is a collection of press releases put out by the Office of the Commissioner, American League and National League offices, Major League teams, Rolaids Relief Man Awards, and Baseball America News.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series in chronological order. Series I Major League teams, Series II Commissioner's Office, American and National Leagues, Series III Rolaids Relief Man Award, Baseball America News.
Physical Location
Manuscript Archives, Aisle 12, Range a, Shelf 1
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift (BL-85-2013)
Appraisal
No materials were removed during accessioning or processing.
Processing Information
Items were placed in acid-free folders and in archival legal document boxes.
Source
- National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Press Release Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Claudette Scrafford, Manuscript Archivist
- Date
- 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Archives Repository