Press Release: Museum to Host 37th Annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture May 27-29

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 15, 2026 --  Groundbreaking Author Melissa Ludtke, the Larry Lucchino Keynote Speaker, Will Deliver Her Presentation on May 27; More Than 60 Papers to Be Presented -- (COOPERSTOWN, NY) – The home of baseball will welcome writer and author Melissa Ludtke, who shattered barriers covering big league teams, as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum presents the 37th Symposium on Baseball and American Culture May 27-29 in Cooperstown.   The event, co-sponsored by The State University of New York at Oneonta and the Hall of Fame, will feature more than 60 presentations selected from academic paper submissions from across the country. More than 140 participants from 30 states ranging from California, Hawaii and Florida will be represented.   The 2026 Symposium will officially begin on Wednesday, May 27, at 1 p.m. with the Larry Lucchino Keynote Speaker Melissa Ludtke, who helped blaze trails for women covering the major leagues. The Lucchino Family Foundation is generously supporting the Symposium by naming the annual keynote speaker in memory of the late Larry Lucchino, who served as CEO of the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox. The Foundation was created in honor of Larry Lucchino to support his deep commitment to community vibrancy and in recognition of his profound impact on professional baseball.   All sessions require registration for the Symposium. The Symposium will feature 24 breakout sessions with themed presentations. Topics for panels exploring the unique relationship between the National Pastime and American culture include minor league baseball, baseball cards, race and ethnicity, military veterans, women in baseball and many more.   A full schedule of Symposium events and presentations is available on-line by visiting baseballhall.org/symposium.   For information on the 2027 Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, please contact Hall of Fame Library Director Cassidy Lent at clent@baseballhall.org.   The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an independent nonprofit educational institution, dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its impact on our culture by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global audience as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to our National Pastime. Opening its doors for the first time on June 12, 1939, the Hall of Fame has stood as the definitive repository of the game’s treasures and as a symbol of the most profound individual honor bestowed on an athlete. It is every fan’s “Field of Dreams,” with its stories, legends and magic shared from generation to generation.