In a circular room called "Glory Days," five of the "Great Eight" starting lineup of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s stood among life-size bronze statues of themselves, as banquet guests snapped photos.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos from Monday's gala

Down the hall, Reds Hall of Famer Jim Maloney, the hard-throwing right-hander who tossed three no-hitters for the Reds in the 1960s, tossed baseballs at the "Strike Zone." It's an interactive exhibit where visitors can clock their throws on a radar gun. Maloney laughed when he topped out at 49 mph, about half the speed of his 1963 fastball.

In the "Reds are on the Radio" corner, Joe Nuxhall posed for pictures in front a booth where museum visitors can do their own radio play-by-plays.

"A lot of baseball history has been made in this town," said a man who made a fair share of it himself, former manager Sparky Anderson, whose own uniform number 10 will be retired by the Reds next May. "And there's a whole lot of it in this building tonight."

The Reds Museum and Hall of Fame is in the out-building Reds fans watched take shape over the past year on the west side of Great American Ball Park. It opens to the public Saturday morning.

But Monday night's gala was for the 15 former players whose Reds Hall of Fame plaques hang in the hall.

It was also for the current Reds players, clad in suits and ties, who mingled with the Reds of the past and dozens of fans and friends of the club who bought tables for the event.

Museum director Greg Rhodes and his tuxedoed staff greeted the players and guests as they streamed into the foyer, where they munched on snacks. They wandered through the hallways and exhibit rooms, admiring the 525 Reds artifacts and the 6,256 square feet of murals.

Those who took the stairs up to the third floor exhibits walked alongside a striking tribute to the one Reds legend who was not there Monday night - Pete Rose, who could not even be invited because of his suspension from major league baseball. But running alongside the stairway is a tribute - a solid three-story wall of 4,256 baseballs, one for every hit Rose had in his career.

The Museum and Hall of Fame, said Reds president John Allen, "is the jewel in the crown of Great American Ball Park."

"It took a while to pull this off, but I've believed from day one that this city deserves a first-class baseball museum. I think we've done itj," Allen said.

Everywhere one looked at Monday's gala, there were reminders that, even though the Reds have struggled in recent years, it is a franchise with a glorious past and an unbroken tradition.

There was Anderson, his hand reaching up to current Red Wily Mo Pena's shoulder, chattering away about George Foster's home run swing; Dave Concepcion rushing across a crowded room to hug Ken Griffey Jr., whose father was Concepcion's Big Red Machine teammate.

Jim O'Toole, the Reds' left-handed starter of the '60s, huddled with manager Dave Miley; Johnny Bench chatted with Adam Dunn.

When Bench, Concepcion, Foster, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez posed for pictures in front of the bronze statues of themselves, they called to Ken Griffey Jr. to join them; they all knew Junior as a little kid running around the Big Red Machine's clubhouse.

"I'll come over," Junior said, laughing and dropping to his knees. "But I should be about this big in this picture."

If you go

The Cincinnati Reds Museum and Hall of Fame opens Saturday after a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It will have off-season hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The same hours will be in effect on non-game days during the baseball season.

For Monday through Saturday day games, the hours will be 11:15 a.m. to 7 p.m. For Sunday day games, 11:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only fans with game tickets will be allowed to enter on game days.

For Monday through Saturday night games, the hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 5:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Only fans with game tickets can enter after 5:45 p.m.

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