Keeping up with a great tradition

When Richard Johnson got his hands on the Boston Braves' home plate, dug up from Braves Field by neighborhood scamps on the eve of the team's 1953 flight to Milwaukee, the Sports Museum curator reacted just as any New England sports fan would, with wonder and respect. The Worcester native was immediately bombarded with memories of the history that had been made on the very base he held in his hands, and of the legendary athletes who had come in contact with the scrap of wood and canvas that he clutched.

"When I was handed the base, I thought, 'Willie Mays slid into this; Jackie Robinson tapped his cleats on this,' and on and on," said Johnson.

New England is the home of many of the greatest stories in sports, and the people of New England consider themselves owners of the teams and athletes who authored those stories. Sometimes they act more like parents, watching their teams with unqualified love, while criticizing every move.

"It's hard not to live in Boston and not have a sense of history," said Johnson.

Johnson has been the curator of the Sports Museum since 1982, supervising the collection and display of memorabilia, artwork, and interactive exhibits that tell the story of New England's consuming love for sports. Each year, the Sports Museum honors a new group of New England sports legends; on Monday, The Tradition will honor the 1967 Red Sox, Ray Bourque, Cedric Maxwell, Stanley Morgan, and the late Harry Agganis. The museum, now on the fifth and sixth floors of TD Banknorth Garden, features large sculptures of Bobby Orr and Larry Bird, a penalty box and a piece of the parquet from Boston Garden, lockers from Manny Ramírez and Carl Yastrzemski, and an array of photographs and histories of the best teams, and the best athletes, who have played in New England.

But Johnson said his favorite artifact came unexpectedly one day in 1988, under the arm of Allston townie Arthur Haley. "Like the best artifacts, there's not a price tag attached to it," Johnson said. "A gentleman from Allston just came in and handed it to me."

Well, Haley was not exactly just a gentleman from Allston. When the Braves, Boston's onetime National League team, moved to Milwaukee, the Allston-Brighton neighborhood surrounding Braves Field was bewildered and betrayed. The Braves, second fiddle to the Red Sox, were the kind of team that let kids in free, and they had loyal fans. Haley and his pack of neighborhood scamps sneaked onto the field and dug up home plate, pilfering a piece of their team.

But, said Johnson, the teenagers weren't bold enough to face their parents with their stolen prize and it was tossed into a basement, where it caught dust for 35 years. The Braves' home plate is safely nestled in the New England Sports Museum because Haley read a 1988 Globe story about a Braves' team reunion organized by the Sports Museum, and remembered the souvenir. He was there to present it to the museum at the reunion.

"We are not in the market to buy anything," said Johnson. "In this eBay world of ours, it's getting harder to get things. But most people give [items] because they know the museum is nonprofit.

"The first act of unsolicited generosity was from a workman. After doing a job [at the museum], he came back the next day with a framed picture of the Bruins' banquet from the 1938-39 team. It included Casey Stengel sitting at one table and, of course, Bruins like Frankie Brimsek and Eddie Shore, Milt Schmidt."

The Sports Museum concentrates much of its efforts on education and hosting school tours.

"Sports can get people into the subject of history in general," said Johnson. "You learn about the racial history of this country, you learn about the economic history of this country as sports and business as well as pastime; you learn about certain social history. In my lifetime, the two biggest changes have been television and Title IX. Both have created enormous opportunities and made sports even more of a spectacle."

Johnson has run the museum for 25 years and it's a job he loves so much he would do it for free.

Actually, he did do it for free.

Johnson first worked at the museum as a volunteer. When organizers realized they needed a full-time leader, they offered the job to Johnson, with the caveat he would have to wait for a paycheck until the museum had a bank account. It took three years. But like New England sports fans, Johnson had invested so much time and energy, he was not going to give up on these teams, these athletes.

The museum had temporary homes before the Garden made space available in 1987. And though its location inside TD Banknorth Garden leaves the Sports Museum without its own building or a recognizable facade that might attract customers, the site has its advantages. There aren't many museums where a kid wandering around might walk past Johnny Bucyk, almost as if he had stepped out of the Bruins' exhibit.

"The Garden is a real asset for us," said Johnson. "When kids come in during the school year, especially when the Bruins or Celtics are playing, a kid might end up 50 feet from LeBron James taking a jumper [during the shootaround], or Sidney Crosby doing a skating drill.

"That's part of the magic of being in the Garden; you're where the action is."

Barbara Matson can be reached at matson@globe.com.