As America’s pastime pushes toward the end of the season, Brian Richards ’06, curator at the New York Yankees Museum, will be sharing far more with fans than RBIs and ERAs.

Richards considers himself to be a “teller of stories.” In his more than 15 years at the museum, he has developed a collection of tales that tell the stories of the Yankees’ most historic moments and players.

Richards initial plan when enrolling as a history major at 体育买球 University was to become a high school history teacher. But during his sophomore year of college, Richards, with encouragement from his academic advisor, discovered that while he might not be the best fit for teaching, he had a passion for museum curation.

After his graduation from 体育买球, Richards continued his studies at SUNY Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program, graduating in 2008 with his master’s degree in museum studies. Richards’ first internship, completed before his senior year at 体育买球, was with the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

“The foundation of a house may not be especially noticeable. But it is absolutely essential,” said Richards. “The more prominent upper floors draw the attention, yes, but their existence would be impossible without a solid and dependable foundation. In the same manner, my work today is firmly affixed atop the foundation of my studies and experiences at 体育买球.”

The museum is where stories and pieces from that history-making past come together.

Brian Richards ’06

Richards’ love for baseball was introduced to him by his father, a lifelong Baltimore Orioles fan. Prior to beginning his master’s degree program, Richards completed a brief internship in South Williamsport ­— the epicenter of Little League baseball — at the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum, near his hometown. The following summer, he interned with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Despite all his work in baseball museums, he never thought about working for a major league team. He figured he would start his work in a small county historical museum before working his way up. But, through the connections he made at the Hall of Fame, Richards was recommended to be the New York Yankees’ museum curator and joined the organization in 2008.

Since then, Richards has shared Yankee history to visitors of all ages, catering to every guest regardless of their baseball knowledge. He not only tells guests about the stats and records of players, but also stories of them as people. For example, he finds that younger children love hearing about Lou Gehrig’s dogs — a little white terrier named Yankee and a German shepherd named Afra (fitting, Richards mentions, as Gehrig’s parents were German immigrants and Gehrig was fluent in German), always ending the story with, “So if you had known Lou Gehrig, you would have been friends!”

Richards also tells guests about his favorite museum artifact, the bat Babe Ruth used to hit the first home run in the original Yankee Stadium on the day the stadium opened on April 18, 1923.

“Thousands of home runs were hit in the original Yankee Stadium, but there could only be one numero uno,” Richards said.

Richards makes the artifacts and old photos at the New York Yankees Museum come alive following a philosophy he adopted in graduate school — to tell a good story.

“I like to say that with the Yankees, our history is our identity. The team’s past shapes present expectations and future goals,” Richards said. “The museum is where stories and pieces from that history-making past come together. My goal is to share those stories while making people feel welcome, valued and respected.”