COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- John Schuerholz smiled when he thought back to that Saturday afternoon in July 1983. He brought his two brothers from Baltimore to attend the next day's induction of Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson into the Hall of Fame.
"We were sitting on the dock behind the [Otesaga Hotel], overlooking [Otsego] Lake," he said, "and I told them, 'I don't know if I will get to heaven, but I believe in it. And if I do get there, I hope it looks like that.'"
Schuerholz has moved a step closer to heaven.
At the age of 76 and headed into his 51st year in professional baseball, Schuerholz and his wife Karen were treated to a private tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday, a part of his preparation for his induction into the Hall, along with Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig and former players Ivan Rodriguez, Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell on July 30.