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The Newsletter of the Halsey Hall Chapter
Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)

 

April 2002

Authors, Authors!
Going to Boston for SABR 32?
Upcoming Events
Halsey Hall Chapter E-List/Message Board
Cow Chips
New Members
Directory Update
Quicksteps Gear Up for 2002
Calendar
Board of Directors

Authors, Authors!
Joel Rippel just received news that Minnesota Historical Society Press will be publishing his book on 75 significant Minnesota sports events. The book, which will be released in the fall of 2003, contains articles written by Joel on such baseball events as the first game played in Minnesota (in August 1857), the 1929 brawl between the Millers and Saints, Joe Hauser’s 60th home run, the move of the Twins to Minnesota, Dick Siebert’s last game as coach of the Gophers, the end of Met Stadium, and the Twins’ World Series championships.

Dan Levitt and fellow SABR member Mark Armour will have their book, Paths to Glory, published by Brassey’s of Dulles, Virginia, in the spring of 2003. “Every baseball team consists of players assembled by making numerous decisions,” Dan explains. “Sometimes these decisions occur within the framework of a larger plan; often times they are simply made on an ad-hoc basis.” Paths of Glory delves into the choiches, logic, and results of the team-building strategies and decisions of a number of successful teams, including the Minnesota Twins of the 1960s.

Going to Boston for SABR 32?
If you’re attending the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) convention in Boston this summer and attending the June 28 Red Sox-Braves game with the group, you can take part in “The Fenway Project,” an attempt to present the most comprehensive view of a baseball game ever produced.

“Each member of SABR is encouraged to attend the game—scorecard, notebook, and perhaps cassette recorder at the ready,” explains Bill Nowlin, who will serve as editor for the final report. “Enjoy the game, yes, but share with us your thoughts and observations on the game.”

For more information on The Fenway Project, contact Bill at billn@rounder.com. The project is also described under “SABR News” at the SABR web site at http://www.sabr.org.

Also at “SABR News” is information on John Zajc being named Acting Executive Director following the resignation of George Case and the appearance by SABR President Claudia Perry on the Million-Dollar Jeopardy Tournament.

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Upcoming Events
The next Hot Stove Saturday Morning will be April 6 at 9:30 at the Baker’s Square on Xerxes Avenue in Richfield.

The Halsey Hall Chapter Spring Meeting will be on Saturday, May 11 in Room 203 of the Fairview Community Center, 1910 W. County Road B in Roseville, with the group attending the Twins-Yankees game at 6 p.m. To order tickets, at $11 each, send money by April 15 (checks made out to Stew Thornley) to S. Thornley, 1082 Lovell Avenue, Roseville, Minnesota 55113-4419 . If you are interested in making a research presentation, contact Ray Luurs at 763-422-9699 or at luurscjg@aol.com. The cost of the meeting is $7.50.

Halsey Hall Chapter E-List/Message Board
The Halsey Hall Chapter has initiated an e-list/message board on Yahoo Groups that is accessible through the SABR web site. Chapter members can post and receive information about upcoming events, research requests, and most anything else.

To subscribe, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/halseyhall. (You can also go to the SABR site at http://www.sabr.org and then click on “Regional Chapters” in the left-hand column. On the Regional Chapter page, scroll down to Halsey Hall. Click on “E-list” in the right-hand column.)

Next, click on “Join This Group!” (if you haven’t done so in the past, you will have to create an account with Yahoo by picking a user name and password) and select your message delivery preference. Many subscribers prefer the final option, “No e-mail,” which allows them to post and read messages on the group web site without being bothered by an e-mail each time a new message is posted by someone else. Click on “Join” at the bottom of the page.

Once your subscription request is approved, you’re all set.

Cow Chips
Seth C. “Dr. Fan” Hawkins is, in his words, inflicting himself on relatives and former colleagues during a two-week trip to New York and Connecticut. He is also back on the speaking circuit, serving on a panel to analyze Clarence Darrow’s courtroom techniques and addressing the Slovenian Women’s Union in Joliet, Illinois. . . . Mark Johnson recently visited the Mall of America for the 598th time (he keeps track). . . . Charlie Rekela (son of George and a senior at Osseo High School) is an all-conference musician (playing the viola) and a National Merit Scholarship finalist. . . . Deano Thilgen is making a presentation on early Minnesota baseball at the Vintage Base Ball Association convention in London, Ontario.

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New Members
Tom Dolen grew up going to St. Paul Saints games with his dad at Lexington Park and got his first autograph from Johnny “The Whistler” Bucha. He coached four years of high school baseball and played fast- and slow-pitch softball in from the 1950s to the 1970s.

A former high school history teacher, Tom is now retired and lives in Shoreview with his wife, Sandy. They have two children who are both college students. Tom enjoys reading books on baseball, especially oral histories. He has been of member of the Twin City Sports Collectors Club since 1975 and was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 1999. He collects pocket schedules, stadium post cards, and autographs. He is also interested in statistical analysis that can be used for fantasy game comparisons across eras.

Tom shares his March 9 birthday with Arky Vaughan, Campy Campaneris, Jim Landis, Jackie Jensen, Benito Santiago, Billy Southworth, Aaron Boone, Myril Hoag, and Bobby Fischer.

Orville Redding went to his first baseball game in St. Paul in the early 1940s. His dad took Orville and his brother to see a game involving service teams.

Orville has a wife, Lorna, and two daughters, Dana and Terri. He shares his June 9 birthday with Dave Parker, Bill Virdon, Irish Meusel, Frank McCormick, Scarborough Green, and Dick Vitale.

Directory Update
Tom Dolen
4053 Virginia Avenue
Shoreview, Minnesota 55126
651-483-8617

Orville J. Redding
139 4th Avenue South
South St. Paul, Minnesota 55075-2327
651-455-6512

Erin Moore (missmets@skypoint.com), Lee Temanson (lateman@attbi.com), Bob Evans (feldgrau1418@visi.com), and Jim Sexton (hjwagner@attbi.com) have new e-mail addresses.

Note: Because of changes and additions, the Chapter Directory issued last fall already has some outdated information. Directory updates are noted in The Holy Cow! If you need to check on updated information to the directory, you may access past issues of The Holy Cow! at http://halseyhall.org/pubs/holy.html.

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Quicksteps Gear Up for 2002
The Quicksteps—the vintage base ball nine of the Halsey Hall Chapter—already have five matches confirmed for their 2002 season, according to manager Bob “Mr.” Tholkes. The matches are:
    Sunday, May 19 at Dakota Village, Farmington.
    Saturday, July 13 at the History Grounds, Rochester.
    Saturday, July 27 at Lumberjack Days in Stillwater.
    Sunday, July 28 at Minnesota Pioneer Park in Annandale.
    Sunday, September 15 at the J. R. Cummins Homestead in Eden Prairie.

Calendar
    April 6—Hot Stove Saturday Mid-Morning, 9:30 a.m., Baker’s Square, Sixty-Sixth and Xerxes, Richfield
    May 11—Spring Chapter Meeting, Fairview Community Center, Roseville

Halsey Hall Chapter
Board of Directors 2001-02
President—Cary Smith
Vice President—Ray Luurs
Secretary—Rich Arpi
Treasurer—Kevin Hennessy
Fred Buckland
Dan Cagley
Dan Levitt

Webmaster—Deano Thilgen
The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
Holy Cow Extra Editor—Bob Tholkes  

Please direct news about chapter events, about yourself or about other chapter members to:
S. Thornley
1082 Lovell Avenue
Roseville, Minnesota 55113-4419
E-mail Stew Thornley

http://halsey hall.org

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