Mention the word dolls to an adult and the first word most individuals will think of is girls.

But dolls aren’t just for girls any more than baseball is just for boys, said Velma Mills, treasurer of the Society of Memories. The society operates the Doll Museum in a 19th century building that used to be a Baptist church. This year the museum’s volunteer staff added an interesting baseball exhibit.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is the nine baseball dolls created by the Hartland Plastics Company between 1958 and 1960, Mrs. Mills said.

The Wisconsin-based company manufactured a variety of products for different businesses. The company’s work tended to be seasonal and it was searching for a new product line to take up slack during the winter months. Frank Fulop, a company supervisor and avid baseball fan, suggested the company create baseball figures. Mr. Fulop was an artist, and he spent a summer at the Milwaukee County Stadium and Chicago’s old Comiskey Park sketching players. The company produced five action figures that first year. They were Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. Thirteen additional figures were added two years later. These were Ernie Banks, Luis Aparicio, Nellie Fox, Duke Snider, Don Drysdale, Yogi Berra, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Roger Maris, Harmon Killebrew, Rocky Colavito and Dick Groat. Today, all 18 dolls are collectors’ items.

At the Doll Museum, visitors will see nine of the action figures along with baseball cards for each of the nine. The display includes a book by baseball great Joe Garagiola, a George Brett baseball, a signed 1927 picture of Babe Ruth hitting his 60th home run and other memorabilia associated with baseball legends such as Lou Gehrig, Christy Mathewson and Ty Cobb.

The Doll Museum is open on Fridays and Saturdays and is located at 1115 S. 12th St. in St. Joseph. The museum will close at the end of October, except for arranged tours, until next spring.

Tours can always be arranged by calling 233-1420.

Property of the Past is written by Marshall White, who can be reached at marshall@npgco.com. Each week, Mr. White features an item from one of St. Joseph’s many museums, a public building or another property and explains its history.