National College Baseball Hall of Fame to be Named After President George H.W. Bush

A notable facility slated to be constructed in Lubbock will be named after a former President of the United States.

The board of trustees of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame announced Thursday that the name of the facility will be the George H.W. Bush National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Before serving as the 41^st President of the United States, Bush played baseball at Yale University. Bush, a first baseman and team captain, played in the first two College World Series in 1947 and 1948.

“To say I am pleased is an understatement,” said President Bush. “While my baseball days at Yale hardly measure up to the likes of my boyhood idol Lou Gehrig, or Hall of Famers like Jackie Robinson or Dave Winfield, I genuinely love the game and am so very grateful for this honor – undeserved though it may be.”

Mike Gustafson, president and chief executive officer of the Hall of Fame, weighed in, saying “We have dreamed of making this facility a reality for several years, and to see it finally happen is a testament to the support we have received from baseball fans in Lubbock, across the state of Texas and across the nation. We are honored to be entrusted with helping to preserve and showcase the history of the game we all love, and this building is the next step in that effort.”

The Hall of Fame was founded in 2004, and the first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2006.

A capital campaign is currently underway to raise the $13 million needed to construct their building and create an endowment. Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin in late June.

More information is available at www.collegebaseballhall.org.