Barry Bonds may or may not make the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility -- opinions vary based on whom you talk to in the baseball world -- but an important piece of Bonds history is already firmly entrenched in the Hall of Fame's Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

At 8:45 ET on Friday morning, the Hall of Fame's curatorial staff put the finishing touches on an exhibit honoring Bonds' efforts in tying and breaking Hank Aaron's all-time home run record.

The exhibit features the batting helmets that Bonds wore in hitting his 755th home run against the San Diego Padres and his 756th home run against the Washington Nationals. Each helmet is signed by Bonds in gold pen and features the date and the number of each historic home run.

The exhibit, which is located on the second floor of the museum in an area known as "Today's Game," also includes the scorecard that Giants television broadcaster Duane Kuiper kept during Tuesday night's game, in which Bonds broke Aaron's career home run record. (In an ironic twist, Kuiper, a former Major League infielder with the Giants and Indians, hit only one home run during a lengthy 12-year career.)

Other items on display include the ball-and-strike indicator used by home plate umpire John Hirschbeck on Tuesday night, tickets from both of the historic games, reproductions of newspaper clippings from the San Diego Union-Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle, and a large blow-up photograph of Bonds.

The Hall of Fame acquired the two Bonds helmets, each a size 7 3/8, through the efforts of the Hall's vice president of communications, Jeff Idelson. Ten days ago, Idelson began tracking Bonds and the Giants in Los Angeles and then followed the team to San Diego, before witnessing baseball history on Tuesday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

"The atmosphere was electric," Idelson said. "I know how meaningful it was to Barry to break the record at home."

For Idelson, the opportunity to watch Bonds hit No. 756 against Washington left-hander Mike Bacsik stirred memories of Aaron's 715th home run in 1974.

"I had flashbacks to sitting with my father in our living room witnessing history 33 years ago. Now, 33 years later, I had a chance to witness history at the ballpark.

"It was akin to being at a postseason game. The fans were anticipating the home run throughout, especially with the wind blowing out, and that really set the stage for Barry."

After Bonds hit the record-setting blast, Giants manager Bruce Bochy removed his star left fielder from the game in the top of the sixth inning. That allowed Idelson to meet with Bonds in the Giants' clubhouse during the eighth inning of the game. Idelson and Bonds talked in the office of Giants clubhouse manager Miguel Murphy, who has worked with the team ever since the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958.

"Barry gave me the helmet in Miguel Murphy's office," said Idelson, noting Murphy's extraordinary length of service with the Giants franchise.

While the donated helmets are already on display for visitors to see at the Hall of Fame, Idelson said some other artifacts will be added later on Friday.

"We'll be receiving three game-used baseballs from Tuesday night," Idelson said. "One is signed by the four umpires. Another is signed by the Nationals' starting nine, along with manager Manny Acta. And the third is signed by the Giants' starting nine, along with Bruce Bochy."

The Bonds exhibit, which is featured under a headline that says "This Year in Baseball," will remain on display in its current location for the rest of 2007. Idelson says that the Bonds artifacts will then be moved to a new exhibit, the "Hank Aaron Gallery of Records," which is scheduled to open at the museum in 2008.