COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – If you are a baseball fan and you have never been here to the National Baseball Hall of Fame then you need to go soon and cross the journey off of your bucket list.

Each year baseball greats from on the field, in the front office, and even the press boxes are selected to have a bronze plaque in the “Plaque” Gallery. That weekend is attended by thousands as the present inductees are joined by many of the previous inductees in a frenzy of baseball.

If you go and plan to fly, you have some choices. Albany, New York is around 74 miles away. Syracuse, New York is approximately 93 miles away. The drive from New York City is 196 miles. Several miles of the trip are on two-lane highways through tiny towns that make you wonder where people buy their groceries or send their kids to school.

So why Cooperstown for the location of the Hall of Fame? Abner Doubleday, who would later serve as a Union general during The Civil War was credited with inventing baseball in 1839. The field where he supposedly created the game is fittingly the home of Doubleday Field and can be rented. Tournaments for all ages from Little League to adult senior leagues are held at Cooperstown Dreams Park and other facilities away from the main part of town.

The claim that baseball was the invention of Doubleday has long been dispelled by historians of the game. But it makes a good story, and the Hall of Fame has been here since 1939, 100 years after the first game was played in town.

Cooperstown, with a population of less than 2,000 people, is a charming town to visit and borders Otsego Lake. There are many great restaurants, both on Main Street and on the outskirts of town. Not surprisingly, there are numerous stores specializing in baseball memorabilia as well as restaurants with names inspired by baseball.

The Main Street area, known as the Cooperstown Historical District, has been recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

The author James Fenimore Cooper died in Cooperstown in 1851. He is the author of several books including “The Last of the Mohicans” and “The Deerslayer”. The Fenimore Art Museum is located there as well as The Farmers’ Museum.

Cooperstown has been called the “most perfect small village” and “America’s hometown” by various guides and websites. It is worth the drive and for baseball fans, it is a must-see.