Photos: Stew Thornley's favorite Baseball Hall of Famer gravesites
-- Stew Thornley is a sports historian and travel enthusiast. So perhaps it's natural that he has combined those two passions for a hobby that might seem a little creepy.
Thornley has been on a decades-long quest to visit the gravesite of every deceased Baseball Hall of Famer. He has paid homage at the final resting places of more than 200 enshrinees.
We asked Thornley to share photos of his 10 favorite gravesites, along with a few words on what made them so memorable.
Martín Dihigo, Cruces, Cuba
Thornley: The first Cubaball tour made a special trip to Cruces to see Dihigo's grave. The townspeople held a ceremony for us, with singing and dancing, gave us gifts and went with us to the cemetery.
Rube Waddell, San Antonio, Texas
Thornley: I always love seeing offerings left by people. Rube's had a small fire truck on it. Nice touch, I thought.
Rogers Hornsby, Hornsby Bend, Texas
Thornley: Usually you want to heed "No Trespassing" signs in Texas, but ignoring the sign down this private road is the only way to get to Hornsby's grave. Judging by the number of baseballs and gloves left there, it looks like a lot of people have not heeded the warning.
Effa Manley, Culver City, California
Thornley: Manley, a businesswoman and co-owner of the Newark Eagles franchise in the Negro Leagues, along with her husband Abe, is the only woman in the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Walter O'Malley is buried in this cemetery, too.)
Arky Vaughan, Eagleville, California
Thornley: Possibly the most remote Hall of Fame grave in the United States. Easiest city to fly into and then drive to the gravesite is Reno, Nevada, which is about 200 miles away.
Jake Beckley, Hannibal, Missouri
Thornley: The epitome of a river city, Hannibal has a cemetery on the south end of town. Climb the road up the hill, do a hairpin turn and there is Beckley's grave overlooking the Mississippi River.
Babe Ruth, Hawthorne, New York
Thornley: Classic grave that is obviously visited often, judging by the gifts left.
Bill Terry, Jacksonville, Florida
Thornley: The cemetery caretaker walked me to Terry's outdoor mausoleum. On the way, the caretaker said, with a definite note of pride, "I put him in there."
Carl Hubbell, Meeker, Oklahoma
Thornley: "The Meal Ticket" is written on his tombstone in a small town not far from Oklahoma City. He is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five of the game's great hitters in succession.
Burleigh Grimes, Clear Lake, Wisconsin
Thornley: Burleigh and Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day, are the most famous people from this town and are buried in the same cemetery.