Duane Reed Gallery invites you to Grassroots Baseball, a special event gallery show exhibit of Jean Fruth’s photography from Grassroots Baseball: Route 66.

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The event opens Sunday, August 14th for a book signing with photographer Jean Fruth, writer Jeff Idelson, and other special guests.

 

Starting in the mid-19th century, the amateur game was part of the fabric of the United States, and when Route 66, the first federal highway connecting the Midwest to Southern California opened in 1926, baseball had already become the vehicle of dreams.

Grassroots Baseball launched in Chicago in 2019 and spent the next three years exploring and promoting the passion, devotion and commitment to the National Pastime that runs deep along the Mother Road.

Traveling in an RV stocked with Rawlings baseball and gloves, and Big League Chew gum, Grassroots Baseball staged clinics in underserved areas along the historic highway to introduce the game to children for the first time. Hall of Fame legends Johnny Bench, George Brett, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Jim Thome and Ozzie Smith, and retired major league stars Bill Hatcher and Bob Shirley who grew up along Route 66, shared their life lessons and wisdom as Clinic Legends.