Rob Edelman's
Baseball Journeys
The Leonard Maltin of baseball films, Rob Edelman is a longtime contributor to Maltin’s annual
movie guide. His book, Great Baseball Films, is an exhaustive register of baseball films released from 1915 to 1993.
Edelman is also the author of Baseball on the Web and a contributor to Total Baseball and The Total Baseball
Catalog.
With his wife, Audrey Kupferberg, Edelman has co-authored books including Matthau: A Life, Meet
the Mertzes and Angela Lansbury: A Life on Stage and Screen. Edelman, who resides in Amsterdam, N.Y., is a SABR
member, offers film commentary on WAMC Public Radio and is a lecturer at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany
where he and Audrey teach courses in film history.
Rob shared with MBHT some photos from his baseball travels so that
we could share them with you.
By Bob Moon
Baseball travel takes
many forms. There are well-planned and mapped-out baseball excursions such as MBHT's current Lewis and Clark trip. There are simple trips to a game, museum or baseball event.
And there are baseball-related activities attached to a business trip or vacation. For Rob Edelman — as for most baseball
fans — the latter two are the usual routes.
His work on Great Baseball Films and with WAMC Public Radio has made Edelman a frequent visitor to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. His love of minor league baseball
finds him traveling to Syracuse. And when Edelman journeys to another city — on vacation or for business — he likes to check
out that city's ballpark, see a game and experience baseball in a new environment with a different climate, topography and
food.
Edelman's connection to the Hall of Fame began with research on Great Baseball Films. He later donated
his collection of baseball-film-related materials that is now a part of the hall's permanent archives. The collection contains
photographs, lobby cards, promotional materials, postcards, slides and sheet music. WAMC sends him to Hall of Fame Induction
Weekend for broadcasts and commentary.
"I could live at the Hall of Fame," said Edelman. "If you love it, you never
get tired of it. Whenever I'm there, if time permits, I'll look at the different galleries, exhibits and plaques."
It's
the atmosphere of Hall of Fame Induction Weekend that's especially enjoyable for Edelman. The small-town setting of Cooperstown,
the chance meeting of a Hall of Famer on the street and the intimacy of a game at Doubleday Field provide a unique experience unlike any other.
Trips to Syracuse's
Alliance Bank Stadium
to see the International League's Sky
Chiefs are regular fare for Edelman and wife Audrey, who shares his love of baseball. Some are unplanned. "It's only a
two-hour drive from Amsterdam," he said. "Sometimes if it's a nice day, we'll just decide to go."
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