Hall of Fame Parade of Legends July 26

Main Street in Cooperstown features the top smiles-per-mile rate in the baseball world.

But when the Hall of Fame Parade of Legends hits town, that rate increases to record levels - thanks to the fans cheering their heroes and the Hall of Famers grinning right back at them.

The newest fan favorite during Hall of Fame Weekend, the Parade of Legends, returns to Main Street in Cooperstown at 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 26. The parade, now in its fifth year, will originate on Chestnut Street, then proceed down Main Street before concluding at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Fans are encouraged to gather near Pioneer Park at Main and Pioneer streets for optimal viewing opportunities. Live announcements introducing all of the Hall of Fame members and participants will be featured.

Fans will have a front-row seat to catch a glimpse of the returning Hall of Famers as they parade along the route. Hall of Famers will ride down the parade route in trucks provided by Ford Motor Company. Fifty-six Hall of Famers are slated to be in Cooperstown for Hall of Fame Weekend.

At Pioneer Park, event emcees will entertain the crowd with contests and activities.

Immediately prior to the Parade of Legends, the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation will be held at Doubleday Field starting at 4:30 p.m. The one-hour program will feature the presentation of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing to Roger Angell of the New Yorker. Longtime Texas Rangers voice Eric Nadel will receive the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence, and Joe Garagiola will be honored in absentia with the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award. The returning Hall of Famers will watch the Awards Presentation from seats on the Doubleday Field stage.

MLB Network's Greg Amsinger will emcee the Awards Presentation, which is free and open to the public.

The Parade of Legends is just part of the July 25-28 Induction Weekend in Cooperstown as Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, Tony La Russa, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas and Joe Torre are enshrined as the Class of 2014 at the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Induction Ceremony takes place at 1:30 p.m. on July 27 on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center, one mile south of the Hall of Fame on Susquehanna Avenue. Admission to the Induction Ceremony is free.

The 2014 Induction Ceremony will be televised live on MLB Network, will be broadcast nationally on Sirius XM Radio Channel 89 and will be available via a webcast at www.baseballhall.org.

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