Hodges already a HOFer in hometown cafe - MLB.com

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In Petersburg, Ind., Hodges’ hometown, Randy’s Americana Café already has him in its Hall of Fame.

Besides selling scrumptious food during breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant has a ton of Hodges memorabilia on display. Randy Harris -- a former mayor in Petersburg -- owns the café. By the sound of his voice, one could tell how proud he is of his collection which ranges from photos of Hodges’ playing days with the Dodgers and Mets to the spikes Hodges wore. All of Hodges’ baseball cards are also on display at the café.

The collection would not be complete without photos of Hodges when he was manager of the Mets, the team he guided to the World Series in 1969. Although it is no longer hanging in the café, Harris owns Hodges’ 1972 uniform, which is now in a vault. Harris paid $200 for the uniform.

“My dad was quite a woodworker. He made a beautiful display case for [the uniform]. It hangs bolted in the vault,” Harris said via telephone.

“Their sentiment was my sentiment, which was, ‘It’s about time,’” Harris said. “[The love] is strong and it’s coast to coast. Gil just had that unassuming personality of strong values that people could see through and knew he was the real deal.

“I think his fans appreciate the type of person he was. It was not only his prowess in playing first base, hitting home runs, being such a skilled manager. I think people just appreciate the loyalty that came from Gil Hodges.”

Every day is Gil Hodges day at the café, but on April 4, which would have been Hodges’ 98th birthday, the café will have a baseball-style lunch in his honor. The food will include ballpark-size hot dogs and peanuts.

“We do that every year. We always appreciate and respect Gil Hodges,” Harris said.

Paying tribute to Hodges at the café isn’t the only thing Harris wants to do. He made a request to the state representatives in Indiana to rename I-69 in Pike County in honor of Hodges.

“I think Gil meant a lot to our community,” Harris said. “Back in the day … the Petersburg J.C. [Junior Chamber of Commerce] organization would organize road trips whenever the Dodgers were playing St. Louis. You would have a busload of friends and fans from Pike County that would travel to St. Louis [to watch Hodges play]. I remember so many of his friends saying, they would holler out, ‘Hey Bud.’ The nickname of Bud would catch his attention … [and] he would spend some time with [them].”

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Hodges already a HOFer in hometown cafe - MLB.com
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