Hall of Famer Lee Smith to host Golf Invitational

-- Annual Event Benefits Pathfinder Village & Hall of Fame’s Educational Programs --

COOPERSTOWN, NY, August 2, 2019 – He saved more games than any pitcher of his generation in a career that ultimately brought him to Cooperstown.

Now – just weeks after his Hall of Fame induction – Lee Smith returns to the home of baseball in support of his new friends in Central New York.

Smith will serve as the celebrity host for the Pathfinder Village-Baseball Hall of Fame Golf Invitational Sept. 3 at the Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown.  As the master of ceremonies, Smith – whose 478 career saves ranked atop the MLB all-time list for 13 seasons and now rank third overall – will finish the 18^th hole with each participant at the Tuesday, Sept. 3, event and serve as the speaker at that evening’s fundraiser dinner.

The Pathfinder Village-Baseball Hall of Fame Golf Invitational will begin with an 12 p.m. shotgun start and features a chance to win team prizes worth more than $6,500, with amateur foursomes playing a two-best ball round on one of the Northeast's most storied courses.

For more information on the Golf Invitational or to register to play, please visit https://pathfindervillage.org/tournaments/golf-tournament.

Proceeds from this event benefit Pathfinder Village located in nearby Edmeston, a residential community dedicated to children and adults with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. Golf events have been the major source for scholarship funds for Pathfinder residents and students since 1982 and directly help the Village’s 90-plus residents and students. More than $2.7 million has been raised for Pathfinder Village through the years.

Proceeds also benefit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum educational programs, which enable the world-famous nonprofit institution to fulfill its educational mission and care for its priceless collections.

The tradition of a Hall of Famer as the master of ceremonies began in 2004 and includes: 2018: Carlton Fisk; 2017: Tim Raines; 2016: Rollie Fingers; 2015: Ryne Sandberg; 2014: Bobby Cox; 2013: Rollie Fingers; 2012: Fergie Jenkins; 2011: Johnny Bench; 2010: Jim Rice; 2009: Mike Schmidt; 2008: Harmon Killebrew; 2007: Mike Schmidt; 2006: Robin Roberts; 2005: Carlton Fisk; 2004: Phil Niekro.

This event continues a decades-long tradition of the Otesaga Resort Hotel supporting the Pathfinder Village Scholarship Fund and the Hall of Fame's Education Programs. Located on the shores of beautiful Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, the Otesaga Resort Hotel has been selected as a “Historic Hotel of America” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Overlooking picturesque Otsego Lake, the Otesaga Hotel’s Leatherstocking Golf Course is considered one of the East’s most scenic and historic par-72 layouts. Designed by the legendary Devereux Emmet in 1909, Leatherstocking has been rated “four stars” by Golf Digest’s “Places to Play.”

The presenting sponsor for the 2019 event is NBT Bank, and the corporate sponsor is Coca-Cola Bottling of Northern New England.