Take Me Out to the Ball Game: Legacies of Baseball from the Alan Novak Collection

The collection will be on view Sept. 16 through Dec. 15 in the Upper Gallery. An opening reception is planned Oct. 1, from 6 to 8 PM.

Novak’s collection of original works of art and material culture related to the game of baseball is focused and based on the historic and important figures of the game. He began his collection primarily with memorabilia related to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees, and has since expanded his interests to the Philadelphia Athletics and to the context of major accomplishments by athletes such as Satchel Page, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Thurman Munson, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and many others. This exhibition will include original paintings by Dick Perez, Tom Moser, Stephen Holland and Gerry Dvorak. Several original works by Arthur Miller, will be included. Complementing the paintings will be a diverse and significant collection of unique baseball memorabilia including 19th century Harper’s and Leslie’s woodcuts, T-3’s (Tobacco Cards) and silks, a 1927 Yankees signed ball, Joe DiMaggio’s 1937 Player of the Year Award, Thurman Munson trophies, a split bat from the 1941 All Star Game, signed by the respective teams from the National and American Leagues, a bat attributed to Lou Gehrig, and 1869 Red Stockings etching. The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, based in Cooperstown, New York, will also be lending significant objects and memorabilia from its permanent collection.

Novak, a 1971 graduate of Ursinus College, is an attorney with Conrad O’Brien, West Chester, Pa.