Barry Lyons to assemble baseball retrospective at Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art

Former Major League baseball player Barry Lyons, who was very instrumental in bringing Minor League Baseball to Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, has been named guest curator of "Our Love Affair with Baseball," an exciting new baseball exhibit scheduled to open this summer at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art.

Lyons, who was a member of the 1986 World Series Champion New York Mets team, is assembling a six-month retrospective that will feature weekly lunchtime guest speakers, including a host of well-known Major Leaguers and local distinguished baseball players, coaches, journalists and executives. The speaker series will be in addition to a huge showcase of multi-media exhibits that will focus on the Gulf Coast's Major League stars; the days when Biloxi and Gulfport served as spring training sites for Major League clubs, the early 1900s Minor League teams; the Biloxi Dodgers, a semi-pro Negro League team; a display of locally owned World Series rings; and, of course, an in-depth look back on the inaugural season of the Biloxi Shuckers.

"Our Love Affair With Baseball," a follow-up to the Ohr's hugely successful "Katrina +10" retrospective, will open on May 10 and run through Nov. 4th, coinciding with the conclusion of the MLB World Series.

"Barry Lyons is very passionate about baseball and his hometown community and plans to use his connections, knowledge and experience to help us assemble an excellent entertaining and educational program," said Vincent Creel, president of the board at the Ohr-O'Keefe. "This is our 'next big thing' at the Ohr."

Like "Katrina +10," the baseball retrospective will take over all galleries at the Ohr and the museum's café will feature well-known speakers each Friday at lunchtime.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Barry Lyons to assemble baseball retrospective at Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art ."