2006 NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY

By P.J. Harmer

Staff

Star photo by Julie Lewis Rich de la Rigaudiere of Downingtown, Pa., padlocks lawn chairs together Friday outside the reserved seating area at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown. De la Rigaudiere said he’s an avid baseball fan who will attend his 12th Induction Ceremony with high school friends. The stage for the 2006 Induction Ceremony is in the background.

Writer

Bruce Sutter might get a chance to finish what he started.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America made former right-handed reliever Sutter the first member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2006 on Jan. 11.

Sutter’s spotlight got a little crowded, though, on Feb. 27. A special Negro leagues election resulted in 17 more Hall of Famers, including Effa Manley, who will become the first woman enshrined in the 67-year history of the Hall.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Sutter is the only living electee among those who make up the largest Hall of Fame class, meaning he is likely to close an Induction Ceremony that also will feature speeches from media award winners Gene Elston and Tracy Ringolsby.

Elston, a 47-year veteran of announcing, won the 2006 Ford C. Frick Award. Ringolsby, a 30-year baseball writer who co-founded Baseball America, won the 2005 J.G. Taylor Spink Award.

Forty Hall of Famers are expected to return to Cooperstown for the 2006 Induction Ceremony, which starts at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Clark Sports Center.

"We’re all thrilled about this weekend," said Brad Horn, the Hall’s director of communications. "Maybe more so than those of the past because we have 18 new families becoming part of the Hall of Fame family."

After a one-year hiatus, George Grande is scheduled to return as master of ceremonies. Grande ran the show for 25 years before missing 2005 because of a family illness. ESPN’s Gary Thorne served as the emcee last year, when the inductions of Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg drew an estimated 27,000 fans.

Horn said this year’s crowd should fall within the 10-15,000 range.

"We’re expecting a smaller, but hopefully enthusiastic, audience," Horn said.

Country Music Hall of Famer Charley Pride, a former Negro leagues player for the Memphis Red Sox, will sing the American and Canadian national anthems.

Buck O’Neil and Sharon Robinson will give special speeches during the ceremony, which will bring the total number of Hall of Famers to 278. O’Neil is a former Negro leagues player and manager who was not among the special selections this year. Robinson is the daughter of late Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.

Sunday’s ceremony is free and open to the public. Horn said it will be held outside rain or shine, but severe weather could force the ceremony to move inside.

The event will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio and the Hall’s website, http://www.baseballhalloffame.org.