Conroy artifacts going to Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown

Sean Conroy is shown after pitching a complete game on June 25 while playing for the Sonoma Stompers. Conroy, a Clifton Park native, became the first openly gay person to play in a professional baseball game.

In late June, Sean Conroy made baseball history, as the Clifton Park native became the first openly gay man to participate in a professional baseball game.

Now, pieces of that history-making act have been immortalized at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. Both the scoresheet and lineup card from that June 25 game, played between Conroy’s Sonoma Stompers and the Vallejo Admirals in the independent Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs, are now on display at the Hall of Fame.

Brad Horn, the museum’s vice president of communications and education, said that the items are being housed in the Hall of Fame’s “This Year in Baseball” case, which displays notable artifacts from the current year.

“The long-term plan is for those two pieces to be added to our collection, donations that will live in perpetuity here at the Hall of Fame,” he said.

Typically, the case where the Conroy-related items are currently housed is used to display items like the hat from a pitcher who threw a no-hitter or the baseball from a milestone home run.

Horn said that securing items from Conroy — who played baseball locally for Shenendehowa and RPI — was important to the Hall of Fame.

“It shows an intersection of baseball and culture,” Horn said. “His performance on the field coincided with his debut and role as the first openly gay player in pro baseball.”

In his history-making game, Conroy was spectacular, tossing a complete-game shutout, a three-hitter in which he struck out 11.

In August, David Denson became the first player affiliated with a Major League Baseball organization to publicly come out as gay. Denson did so while playing for the Helena Brewers, a rookie-level affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers.

For most of the season, Conroy worked as a reliever for his California-based team. He compiled a 2.70 ERA and 10 saves for the Stompers, which lost in the league’s Aug. 31 championship game.

Attempts to reach Conroy were unsuccessful.

While the Stompers’ season is complete, Horn said the plan is for the Conroy-related items to remain on display for the year’s duration.

“There’s great historical value [with these items] for us,” Horn said.