MUSEUM / Jordan

On Saturday we met at the Mickey Vernon Sports Museum. This title is relatively recent, the museum was once called the Delaware County Hall of Fame for sports. When we arrived we met a museum guide Jim VanKoskie who was friends with the late Mickey Vernon. Jim led the class into the room dedicated to one of the NBA’s top 50 players of all-time, Paul Arizin. Paul Arizin and Mickey Vernon have striking similarities. Neither played high school sports yet they remarkably emerged to become Hall of Famers in their professions, Arizin a basketball player, Vernon a baseball legend .These are guys you may have not heard much about because of the players that played in there era but both players shared a few individual honors and achievements, including scoring titles and battings top honors. The most interesting thing in my opinion was the film about Vernon. How down to earth he seemed and his natural love and interest for the game was amazing. He was one of the first to document the players around him and catch the living legends that played around him throughout his career. What makes him unique is how he realized he was a part of something special and gathered priceless documentation like photos, autographs, and video footage. Next we took a tour of the rest of the museum which was informational and impressive. As you climb up the stairs there is a different Olympic Medalist from the Delaware County on each step waiting up on the wall beside you. Each floor is decorated with great players from throughout the county. The memorabilia stationed on the third floor was packed with different intriguing items. There were pictures, cards, and throwback jerseys the athletes had worn. An interesting fact that I learned was about how big the Delco baseball league was around the area, it was a league the players were proud to be playing in.