Hobart and William Smith trustee Stephen Wong ’89 helped curate a major Los Angeles Dodgers memorabilia exhibition that opened June 4 at Dodger Stadium, bringing together artifacts from his collection and the team’s archives.
The three-year exhibition traces the franchise’s history from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and includes game-worn uniforms, game-used bats, gloves and other items tied to some of the Dodgers’ best-known players, according to HWS.
Wong, a nationally recognized baseball historian, author and collector, worked with the Dodgers’ project team for more than four months to develop the exhibit. The display includes artifacts connected to Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela, Oral Hershiser and Clayton Kershaw.
The exhibit also highlights Jackie Robinson’s Dodgers career from 1947 to 1956 and his post-baseball activities. Items include an Opening Day 1947 program from Robinson’s Major League Baseball debut, a 1947 Rookie of the Year pin-back button and a 1950 Jackie Robinson All-Stars barnstorming program.
HWS said a 1957 “Time to Score for Civil Rights, Give-Join NAACP” poster on display was originally owned by Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s widow.
Wong has spent decades building a baseball memorabilia collection and has helped organize exhibitions at museums and cultural institutions. His books include “Smithsonian Baseball: Inside the World’s Finest Private Collections” and “Game Worn: Baseball Treasures from the Game’s Greatest Heroes and Moments.”
Wong said baseball artifacts can connect fans to broader stories of history, culture and social change. He previously worked on “Baseball: America’s Home Run,” an exhibition at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., from April 2022 to January 2025.
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