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State baseball history on display at Cultural Heritage Center during World Series

While the nation turns its attention to Major League Baseball’s “Fall Classic,” better known as the World Series, the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre has an exhibit on display that celebrates baseball tradition closer to home. “Play Ball! The National Pastime in South Dakota” will be on display in the Hogen Gallery of the museum through August 2016.

“People do not realize how deep baseball’s roots are dug in South Dakota,” said Jay Smith, museum director at the Cultural Heritage Center. “Redfield’s own Deacon Phillippe won the first World Series game as a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903, and George ‘Sparky’ Anderson from Bridgewater won a couple of World Series titles as manager of the Cincinnati Reds and the Detroit Tigers. There is a rich baseball history on display in the museum that our visitors can explore.”

“Play Ball!” traces the history of baseball in South Dakota from the territorial era to the present through artifacts, images, video and hands-on activities that will inspire, educate and entertain audiences.

“Now is a great time to visit the exhibition as another major league baseball season concludes and we have an opportunity to remember South Dakota’s contribution to baseball history,” Smith said.

The museum and the exhibit are open during regular museum hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CDT Monday through Saturday, and 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday. There is a small admission fee for adults, but kids 17 and under get in free.

For more information, visit www.history.sd.gov or call (605) 773-3458.