Weaver's passion a gift to game, hall

As Earl Weaver sat in the bar of the Otesaga Hotel, nursing a cold drink and a cigarette and every raw anxiety in his considerable repertoire, this village of 2,400 souls and a single traffic light seemed like any other place where 20,000 tourists suddenly arrive, where the baseball Hall of Fame flings open its doors and where former major league stars are agreeable to signing an autograph the very minute you fork over dollars for the privilege.

Michael Olesker

August 4, 1996