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Continued from page 18 n 1994 however, it was Idecided that the Ontario Place location was almost too big of a venue for the colâ€" lection and it was recomâ€" mended that smallâ€"town Ontario would be betterâ€" suited to host baseball fans. In 1994, 12 towns in southwestern Ontario were anxiously _ bidding _ to become the new home of the hall of fame and museâ€" um, but it was a group of St. Marys residents who were eventually successful On June 4, 1998, the new Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame officially opened its doors in a 160â€"yearâ€"old farmhouse on a 32â€"acre wooded site donated by St. Marys Cement. Hall of fame day trip worth the drive Today, every nook and cranny of the renovated farmhouse at the end of Church Street is cramâ€" packed with mementoes from baseball‘s 160â€"yearâ€" plus history. "It‘s a policy of the hall of fame that we never buy any of the memorabilia which goes on display here," says Valcke. "We just bug and bug the guys until something gets here." The major focus in the Blue Jay and Expo room at the moment are the careers of Canadians Gary Carter and Dave McKay â€" the pair were inducted into the hall of fame on June 23. McKay, who is Mark McGwire‘s perâ€" sonal pitcher for batting practice, is also the only Canadian to hit a home run in his first Major League atâ€" bat. And everyone knows Gary Carter, the former Jays catcher with the mileâ€"wide smile. Carter kept everything along the way in his storied career behind the plate. Tom Valcke, executive director, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum "No one ever leaves here disappointed..." There are big plans in store for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Mary‘s, Ontario. See next week‘s Chronicle for the full story. Canada‘s Cooperstown From the Blue Jays tote bags, to shin guards and shoes, it‘s all on display. McKay, on the other hand, didn‘t really keep any souvenirs for himâ€" self. But luckily, his brother Al, from British Columbia, kept everything. The bail from that famed first major league home run now belongs to the hall of fame, as does a remarkable inscribed and autographed photograph from McGwire to McKay from McGwire‘s unforgettable 70â€"plus home tun season.The photograph commemmorates â€" homer #62 and the inscription by McGwire thanks McKay for his many practice pitches. In â€" the â€" international room, encased in glass next to a 1993 World Series troâ€" phy, are two of baseball‘s greatest treasures â€" Babe Ruth‘s bat and Ty Cobb‘s Among many Canadian firsts in Major League Baseball, is the fact that Babe Ruth hit his first and only home run in the minor leagues in Canada. The hall of fame and museum was once home to the ball that Ruth nailed that first homer with, however it was stolen when the facility was still located at Ontario Place. The culprit, in trying to escape with the ball, ended up tossâ€" ing it into Lake Ontario. Today, many people claim to have the ball, saying they rescued it from the depths. 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Prce dves nat inchude admin. fee, lcanse or applcable imas 1998 AUDI A4 2.8 QUATTRO In the next room, across from an interesting looking antiquity from the 40s â€" turns out it‘s a pitching machine â€" is a display about Canadian women in baseball... remember the movie "A â€" League of Their women played among those ranks on teams like the infaâ€" mous Rockford Peaches. Just a couple of years ago, the 17 female players who were still alive, were inducted into the hall of fame. All 17 came from across Canada for the ceremony and left behind their pictures and other The Blue Circle Field, behind the hall of fame, has been done to major league specifications. it is expected that one day Canada‘s national team will train there. Sixtyâ€"four _ Canadian Field of Dreams memorabilia for a permaâ€" nent display. A banner which graced the outfield in the Hollywood movie is also central to the display. 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