Mapping the path

EASTERN MIDWEST BASEBALL

Toledo Mud Hens

It’s a much-anticipated day game at Fifth Third Field with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Dad and I get a look at the ballpark, but the game is postponed by rain. We console ourselves with Double Dogs at Hungarian-American icon Tony Packo’s and a visit to the fabulous Toledo Museum of Art.

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The next morning, Dad and I continued southeast, eventually crossing the Michigan border en route to Toledo, the fourth most populous city in Ohio with about 270,000 residents. That border was the focal point of a dispute between Michigan and Ohio known as the Toledo War.

When Michigan was preparing for statehood in 1835, it included Toledo in its boundaries, hoping to secure the economic advantage of controlling the mouth of the Maumee River. Rhetoric grew heated, and militia from both parties lined up on each side of the river, threatening bloodshed. The U.S. Congress intervened in 1836, proposing a deal in which Michigan would receive the remaining three-quarters of the Upper Peninsula in exchange for Toledo. Michigan reluctantly agreed, not knowing that the land it had been awarded was rich in iron, copper, nickel, and silver.

After the 1845 completion of the Miami and Erie Canal, Toledo grew quickly. Glass manufacturers began to arrive in the 1880s, specializing in windows, bottles, construction materials, and glass art, earning it the nickname “The Glass City.” The first building to be completely covered in glass was constructed in Toledo in 1936 for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, which is still headquartered in the city and is now a multi-billion-dollar corporation.

A healthy line had already formed when we arrived at Fifth Third Field, home of the Toledo Mud Hens, the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The ballpark opened in 2002 for $39.2 million, replacing the rapidly aging Ned Skelton Stadium — a converted racetrack at the Fort Miami Fairgrounds in Maumee, Ohio. Among the boosters for the new ballpark was lifelong fan Jamie Farr, who starred on the hit TV show M*A*S*H as Corporal Maxwell Klinger, a character who frequently sported Mud Hens hats and jerseys while pining for his native Toledo.

Toledo baseball clubs have gone by the Blue Stockings, Swamp Angels, Maumees, and Iron Men, but a Mud Hens team has played in Toledo for most seasons since 1896, including a 50-year history as a member of the American Association. The Mud Hens name references American coots that inhabited the marshland near the team’s field in Bay View Park in 1896.

The Mud Hens were in Class-A by 1901, Double-A by 1912, and Triple-A beginning in 1946. But in 1952, the franchise relocated to Charleston, West Virginia. They were quickly replaced by the Toledo Sox, who played from 1953-1955 before moving to Wichita, Kansas. The current franchise moved into newly constructed Ned Skelton Stadium in 1965 and has been the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers since 1987.

Toledo has won just three International League titles in 60 years: in 1968, 2005, and 2006. The team averaged about 6,150 fans per game in 2024, eighth-best in the 20-team International league. Famous Mud Hens alumni include Hack Wilson, Casey Stengel, Joe Niekro, Lance Parrish, Kirby Puckett, Frank Viola, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Curtis Granderson.

Toledo was a highly anticipated stop on our road trip. I was a huge M*A*S*H nerd growing up, memorizing lines from the show and doing bits — often during class — with my equally nerdy friend Adam. I had never even heard of Minor League Baseball until I watched Klinger wax on about his beloved Toledo Mud Hens. I assumed they were fictitious — a metaphoric idyll conjured to cope with the unending tragedies of war.

The Mud Hens have appropriately devoted plenty of floor space to their merchandise, with the smallish Hen Hut near home plate and the much larger Swamp Shop down the right-field line.

The Mud Hens embrace their already strong brand and don’t create many alternate identities. They do appear as the Toledo Mud Hounds on nights when dogs are welcome to the ballpark, but even then, the sound of the name and the yellow-faced mascot adheres closely to the original.

I had long ago settled on buying the team’s home hat featuring Mortimer, a mascot first introduced in 1949.

I bumped into current mascots Muddy and Muddonna on the concourse. Muddy has been with the Mud Hens since they called Ned Skelton Stadium home. Muddonna was introduced in 2002 and is described by the team as "the original 'Material Bird.'"

The Mud Hens had finished 35-39 in the first half of the 2024 season. Their opponent for the afternoon was the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, who posted a 38-36 record in the first half — good for second place but still 11 1/2 games behind the red-hot Omaha Storm Chasers.

But we would not see a single Bats player take the field. A relatively pleasant afternoon turned stormy and wet in a hurry, and the game was put into a rain delay.

The Mud Hens grounds crew — plus any other available staff members — quickly jogged out to grab the tarp to cover the field. But by the time enough hands were on deck, the tarp had become weighed down with standing water, or was stuck in some other way, but it would not budge. The rain stiffened.

The crew rolled the tarp back up and tried again, running toward the infield, hoping to get enough momentum to get the heavy tarp unraveled. More helpers appeared. Inch by inch they tugged, until it seemed hopeless. The crew abandoned the effort before the tarp had reached the pitcher’s mound.

Everyone in attendance moved up to the concourse for shelter. Clusters of kids on day trips sat in the hallway, munching their lunches.

Muddy and Muddonna perched at a table signing that day’s big giveaway, a branded pickleball paddle featuring the classic Mortimer logo. The team had blocked off St. Clair Street for pickleball matches before the ballgame, but those plans dissolved in the rain.

The bad news came soon enough. There was much more rain to come. The game was postponed and would be made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. Dad and I shuffled out of the ballpark and considered our next move.

A native of Toledo’s east side, Tony Packo opened his first sandwich and ice cream shop with his wife Rose in 1932. Packo’s signature sandwich was a huge Hungarian sausage called Kolbász that needed to be cut in half to fit on a slab of rye bread. Packo topped it with spicy chili and dubbed his creation the Hungarian Dog.

It was an instant hit. Three years later, Packo purchased a wedge-shaped building on the corner of Front and Consaul streets and expanded it over time as his fame grew. There are now five Tony Packo’s locations in western Ohio, but we needed to visit the original.

The restaurant is a busy place that enjoys its celebrity status. Hot dog buns signed by famous figures line most of the walls, many of them grouped by theme: comedians like Steve Allen, Steve Martin, and George Carlin; and performers like Elton John, Franz Zappa, and Pat Benatar. Even President Gerald Ford signed a bun.

Tony Packo’s serves a range of Hungarian specialties, including pierogies, chicken paprikas, and stuffed cabbage. But we had to get the Hungarian Dog. In fact, we both doubled down and got Double Dogs — the full length of sausage, cut in half across two buns, with mustard, onions, chili sauce, sweet pickles, and peppers. It was incredible.

The restaurant has a gift shop in the back with memorabilia, jars of pickles and peppers, cans of chili sauce, and more.

We were particularly impressed by the Cloister Gallery, first unveiled in 1933. It showcases art from the Middle Ages amidst a beautiful cloister encircled by medieval arcades from three different monasteries in southern France.

We moved through the Asian collection, which is relatively small but includes some impressive statuary.

As we continued through the beautiful, eclectic, and well-presented galleries, I couldn’t help but think that all of this was free. Due to donations, endowments, grants, and corporate partnerships, the citizens of Toledo can come here anytime and enjoy this excellent collection of art.

One of the temporary exhibitions on display was ReGift, a sculptural installation by Beth Lipman created specifically for the Toledo Museum of Art. It features a three-quarter-sized recreation of museum founder Edward Libbey’s parlor at the house he shared with his wife Florence. Lipman bathed the space in white and filled it with objects she fabricated in transparent and opaque white glass that mimic items she saw in a photo of the parlor. The space inside felt dreamlike, and much larger than its container.

After a quick tour of the extensive museum gift shop, I came across an attractive gallery of contemporary African art.

I finished with a collection of Ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Roman art, all wonderfully displayed. I could tell Dad had walked enough, so I made a zippy pass through this last room, trying to take it all in with contemplation of each piece’s cultural and historic context but feeling a bit worn out for the task. It was time to hit the road for Fort Wayne.

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