Cedar Rapids-born, former big leagues pitcher Cal Eldred will headline two days of programs celebrating the exhibition “Picturing America’s Pastime” at the Dubuque Museum of Art (DuMA) on April 13 and 14, 2024 in Dubuque, IA.
– Casey-award winning author Phil S. Dixon will lead a conversation about the history of the Negro Leagues. Dixon sits on the National Advisory Board for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, has authored seven books, and interviewed over 500 players and their families.
– Illinois-native and Major League Baseball Supervisor of Umpires Larry Young will share highlights from his career which included calling Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout against Rickey Henderson and the 1996 and 2003 World Series.
– Author-historian John Liepa will host a discussion on the origins of baseball in Iowa and author-historian John T. Pregler will discuss his research on Dubuque’s role in the history of professional baseball.
On April 14, the conference shifts to Dyersville for an exclusive program at the Field of Dreams movie site, the “If You Build It Exhibit,” and Dwier Brown’s Baseball Hall of Dreams.
All discussions will take place at the historic Hotel Julien Dubuque, site of a series of meetings that led to the creation of the American League.
All-inclusive tickets are $25 for the general public and $15 for students and members of the Dubuque Museum of Art and the Society for American Baseball Research. Tickets include lunch and refreshments, all talks, and a tour of DuMA’s exhibitions “Picturing America’s Pastime: A Snapshot of the Photograph Collection at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum” and “Picturing Dubuque Baseball curated by John T. Pregler.”
A full conference schedule may be found here: https://dbqart.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Dubuque-Baseball-Classic-2024-Program-updated.pdf
