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

August 2011

Editor:
Stew Thornley

• Images of SABR 41
  
• Cow Chips
  
• Calendar
  
• Board of Directors

Images of SABR 41
SABR 41, the annual convention of the Society for American Baseball Research, was held in Long Beach, California, July 6-10. Chapter members who attended include Dan Levitt, Brenda Himrich, Connie Hill, John Gregory, Joe O’Connell, Aaron Gleeman, Rich Arpi, Jim Wyman, Tom Tuttle, Bob Tholkes, Barry Bengtsson, and your trusty crusty editor.

The activities on Friday, July 8 included a panel discussion—featuring Wes Parker, John Thorn, Roland Hemond, Dennis Gilbert, and John Dewan—on the evolution of baseball since 1971, when SABR was founded, and a Dodgers-Padres game at Dodger Stadium.
Left: Your crusty editor flanked by John Gregory and Bob Tholkes. Right: The crusty editor’s autographed body brace, which by this time included the signature of Vin Scully, obtained at Dodger Stadium the night before. (Photo on left taken by Brenda Himrich; photo on right taken by John Gregory.)
A highlight of the convention was a tour of ballpark sites in the Los Angeles area. The photo on the left shows the former site of Wrigley Field. On the right is the Los Angeles Coliseum, which has a pair of headless naked statues (rumored to be Jamie and Frank McCourt) to greet visitors.

SABR 42 will be held in Minneapolis next summer. The dates won’t be known until the 2012 Twins schedule is out, but the plan is to have the convention on the weekend before or the weekend after the Fourth of July. Events being planned for the convention include a Twins game, a Saints game, an author event, a reception at the home and Victorian museum of Seth C. “Dr. Fan” Hawkins, a tour of former ballpark sites, a trolley ride between Lakes Harriet and Calhoun followed by a tour of baseball graves in Lakewood Cemetery, a tour of the Minneapolis Central Library, and panels of executives, players, official scorers, and women in baseball.

Other upcoming events:
The next Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will be at 9:00 on July 16 at Bakers Square in Richfield (66th Street to the east of Xerxes Avenue).

The Halsey Hall chapter book club’s next selection is Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero by Tom Clavin and Danny Peary. The book club will meet on Saturday, June 6 at 9:30 a.m. at the Barnes and Noble cafe in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. Har Mar Mall is located on Snelling Avenue about a mile and a half north of the state fairgrounds. For more information, contact Art Mugalian at 612-721-2825. Art notes that the book was published as a hardcover in 2010 and is now available in paperback.

The Fall Chapter meeting has tentatively been scheduled for Saturday, October 15.

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Cow Chips

Dan Levitt, shown above making at research presentation at the SABR convention in Long Beach, had an article in the recently released SABR Baseball Research Journal, a profile of Chadwick Award recipient Sean Forman.

Chapter namesake Halsey Hall was a sports official in the Twin Cities and officiated games in the National Football League at Nicollet Park when Minneapolis had a team in the league in the 1920s and early 1930s. He was an umpire and referee for other sports.

SABR member David Vincent came across this item (below) as he went through the minor league umpire cards from The Sporting News. It seems unlikely that Halsey ventured south for a summer to umpire in the Alabama-Florida State League. Although the name is a distinct one, it’s possible that there was a Halsey Hall North and a Halsey Hall South, both of whom were sports officials.

According to Bill Arnold in Beyond the Box Score, Chaska, Minnesota, native Brad Hand “joined Rudy May (1965 Angels), Roger Pavlik (1992 Rangers), and Mike Thompson (1971 Senators) as the only starting pitchers since 1919 to post a loss or a no-decision in their major-league debut despite giving up one hit or less in at least six innings of work.”

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Calendar
    July 16—Hot Stove Saturday Morning, Bakers Square, 66th and Xerxes, Richfield, 9:00 a.m. For more information, contact Mark Johnson, 952-831-1153.

    July 31—Research and Convention Committee. For more information, contact Bob Tholkes, 763-781-6161.

    August 6—Book Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero by Tom Clavin and Danny Peary. For more information, contact Art Mugalian, 612-721-2825.

    August 7—Halsey Hall Chapter Board Meeting, 6 p.m. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791.

    October 15—Fall Chapter Meeting

    Summer 2012—SABR Convention, Minneapolis  

Board of Directors 2011-2012
President—Brenda Himrich
Vice President—Fred Buckland
Secretary—Art Mugalian
Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
Gary DeSmith
Cary Smith
Bob Tholkes

The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
Webmaster—John Gregory 

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