Baseball fans and Iowans will appreciate this museum the most, others can't go too far wrong with an admission price of just $5.00. Not a baseball fan myself, I gleaned more from Feller's obituary than I did from this museum. The treasure of the museum is one of Bob Feller's bats, autographed by Babe Ruth. The Babe borrowed the bat on June 13, 1948, using it as a cane at Yankee Stadium in his final public appearance. You have seen the famous photograph.
I visited the Feller exhibits with an Classic Car group. I love baseball and was very pleased with the exhibit. It was easy to get around and the people answered our questions.
I went there little over a month ago. It was awesome to walk into a part of Americans past time, baseball. You are greeted by a very nice gentleman behind the counter. Next a charming lady, does the presentation. A chance for questions to be answered. Now a chance to look around, this is when the begins.. One has to look at the baseball bat, that Babe Ruth leaned on when he said good bye to baseball. You see pictures of other famous ball players that have played with Bob. Some still stop by this day, to look things over. The baseballs that are signed by other ball players. There is even a section of football too. As you leave town, back to the interest, please stop by the US Cemetary. It's is new and work is being done on it, but its nice for the State of Iowa.
I would say this museum is a "one and done" type. Once you see it one time there is really no reason to go back unless you are a huge Cleveland Indians/ Bob Feller fan. Mural on the outside in neat and lots of information on the inside.
Visited on a Wednesday afternoon. Only a few others; not really busy. Exhibits concentrate on Feller and the Cleveland Indians but there are also pictures and smaller exhibits for football, hockey, and baseball. Extremely friendly personnel. Pretty complete story and exhibits from Feller's early years and his playing career, including a 25-minute video. Not much about his involvement with the Indians and other baseball pursuits after his retirement from playing. Museum is entirely necessary for an Indians' fan but probably marginal for others. Easy to find once you get to the Van Meter exit off I-80.
A lot of differnt things form Bob's life in baseball
nice display of artifacts, pictures and Feller's background
Go to Bob's place 4-5 times per year to browse the museum and meet local and national sports legends. Who'd of thought there is a place in the small town of Van Meter were you could meet your favorite players of years past. Have been attending events their for 7-8 years meeting legends like: Andre Dawson, Gale Sayers, Bob Gibson and the late Bob Feller. It's nice to see the history of the exhibits from Bob's life. I think the prized possession is the Babe Ruth bat. It was Bob's bat that the Babe used to help him stand at his farewell at Yankee Stadium. If you're in the area, be sure to check it out. The staff is as friendly as can be.
Best disappointing visit for sure. It started when we came through the front door. The host was very unfriendly and made us feel like we were bothering him. There was some interesting exhibits, but I would not recommend going out of your way to stop here.
We enjoyed looking around the museum and learning about Bob Feller. It's small and personable, a good break travelling on I-80.