A new exhibit, Covering the Bases: The Evolution of Baseball in Missouri, is on display at the State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia. The 92-foot-long exhibit examines the illustrious history of baseball in the state from grassroots origins to teams and great players at all levels of the sport.

The public is invited to an opening reception for the exhibition Thursday, July 18, 4-6 p.m., at the State Historical Society of Missouri Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm St., Columbia. The exhibit is in the Wenneker Family Corridor Gallery on the Center’s second floor. Staff who helped develop the exhibition will be available to discuss the process and the collections used to create the display.

Visitors can learn about how Missouri became a pivotal state in the evolution of baseball, from the foundation of the Negro Leagues to the formation of the modern minor league farm system and the first woman to own a major league team. The public can listen to interviews from the National Baseball Hall of fame members Whitey Herzog, Jack Buck, Buck O’Neil, and many more.

Photographs, baseball cards, manuscripts, and stories of players, management, and baseball announcers came from SHSMO collections, as well as other collections across the state. The exhibition will be on display through Dec. 23, 2024, during regular visitor hours at the State Historical Society of Missouri. For more information, visit shsmo.org.