“Preserving History...
Celebrating Excellence... Baseball Forever.”
Our mission derives from the fulfillment of the
first two elements in our slogan. In the interest of better
preserving the record of excellence in Texas baseball history,
we have initiated an ongoing study of those who have contributed
greatly to Texas baseball history and we are building a database
of worthy candidates for future consideration as inductees into
the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. At the same time, we also are working on the formalization
of clearer standards for determining what constitutes one’s
eligibility as a candidate for induction into the TBHOF.
We celebrate excellence through our annual induction banquets.
Our first banquet in Houston attracted 600 people to the J.
W. Marriott near the Galleria on November 12, 2004 to witness
the induction of seven new deserving members of the Texas Baseball
Hall of Fame: Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros;
Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers; Coach Jim Gilligan of Lamar
University; announcer Bill Brown of the Houston Astros; and
two posthumous inductees: Rube Foster, the founder of the 1920
Negro League, and Debs Garms, the 1940 National League batting
champion.
Our goal is to build, or develop in partnership with appropriate
sponsors, a downtown Houston presence in the form of a Texas
Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum of Texas Baseball History.
This museum will be adequately staffed with a core group of
salaried people, including a director, historian, and curator.
Until such time as we have the financial support to open this
facility, our considerable memorabilia collection will remain
is safe storage in Houston.
Until our permanent base in Houston is secured, we are going
to do all we can with the limited resources available to us
to reach out to the entire state. That part of our effort will
not change once we are physically grounded in Houston, because
our charge of responsibility is the entire state. We are, and
we shall remain, the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.
In addition to the TBHOF.org Web site, one of the first ways
we plan to reach out is through the TBHOF Newsletter. You will
find details about it on this Web site in the very near future.
It will include developing information on everything we’ve discussed
here, but it will also feature articles on a broad variety of
subjects in Texas baseball that are being written by some of
the finest baseball writers in Texas.
How can you help? If you are interested in supporting the Texas
Baseball Hall of Fame in its journey to becoming the finest
state baseball hall of fame in the country, we need you to seriously
read the material found in the Lone Star League section of this
Web site, and step up to the plate with your financial help.
We cannot succeed here without the help of all of you who really
care about the preservation of Texas baseball history.
We also welcome your comments, questions, ideas, and offers
of service in the trenches with the rest of us who are doing
this because we believe it’s worth doing. Please don’t hold
back. Please visit the "Contact Us" section for more details.
One More Thing. For years, people have mistakenly confused us
with our good friends in Waco, The Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Although we have worked with them in the past, they are not
us, and we are not them. We are totally separate organizations.
The Texas Sports Hall of Fame exists to honor excellence in
all Texas sports, including baseball. Our Texas Baseball Hall
of Fame exists to preserve history and honor excellence in baseball
only. For us, baseball is more than enough to keep us busy.
We believe strongly that baseball is complex enough and rightfully
deserving of its own separate spotlight through the Texas Baseball
Hall of Fame. Another easy way to keep us separate in mind is
by location: The TSHOF is in Waco and the TBHOF will open its
site in Houston — as soon as it becomes financially feasible..
Thank you for your time, and let us hear from you soon. We need
you.
Bill McCurdy
President/Executive Director
Texas Baseball Hall of Fame
