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


December 2020

Editor:
Stew Thornley

Index to past stories in The Holy Cow!

  • Halsey Hall Fall Chapter Meeting Held November 7
  • First-Time SABR Authors/Presenters
  • New Members
  • Cow Pies
  • Calendar
  • Board of Directors
  • Resources

    Halsey Hall Fall Chapter Meeting Held November 7
    Thirty-three members—Dave Lande, Stew Thornley, Armand Peterson, Dirk Lammers, Cary Smith, Rich Arpi, Gene Gomes, Ed Wehling, Frank Collins, Dan Levitt, Bob Komoroski, Tom Merrick, Jim Cox, Howard Luloff, Brenda Himrich, Corky Gaskell, Frank Kadwell, Steve Bratkovich, Jerry Janzen, John Swol, Marjorie Adams, Art Mugalian, Sarah Johnson, Terry Bohn, Michael Haupert, Mike Frank, Anders Koskinen, Steve Ginader, Daniel Dorff, Hans Van Slooten, Fred Buckland, Doug Skipper, John Gregory—virtually attended the Halsey Hall Chapter fall meeting November 7 and watched presentations by Stew Thornley )Andy Oyler’s Two-foot Home Run: Is It Okay to Destroy a Legend?), Corky Gaskell (Doc Adams: His Life and Accomplishments), and Dirk Lammers (None-and-Done: The Moonlight Grahams of No-hit Debuts).

    An amendment to the by-laws, noted in the previous newsletter, was passed.

    Updated By-laws

    A list of all regional and chapter meetings, with other interesting history about the oldest and more active chapter in SABR, is also on-line:

    Officers and Chapter History

    Other Events
    The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club will meet virtually Saturday, December 12 at 9:30 a.m. The book selection is 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid by Willie Mays and John Shea.

    Brent Heutmaker has organized a list of all the book selections since the book club started in August 2002: Halsey Hall Book Club Selections

    The Halsey Hall Chapter is invited to join the Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter for its book club on Wednesday, December 9 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss The Big Fella by Jane Leavy, who will be present in the Zoom room. A link to the event will be sent to chapter members about a half-hour before the event starts. Also, check out Keltner’s Hot Corner, the newsletter of the Ken Keltner Badger State SABR Chapter.

    The Research Committee will meet on Zoom December 14 and January 11 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. At the December 14 meeting, all members are invited to report on their research projects, seek tips, and/or make suggestions. Anyone wanting to participate may contact co-chairs Brenda Himrich or Stew Thornley, 651-415-0791.

    The Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will be on hold for a while, either until it is safe to gather indoors again or nice enough to meet outdoors.

    Keep up to date with chapter activities on social media:

    SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Facebook page

    Halsey Hall Chapter Twitter page

    Please visit both pages, and, if you haven’t yet, “Like” the Facebook page and “Follow” the Twitter page and set your notifications to be alerted to new posts.

    Also:

    Regular Events

    Video Archives of Past Events

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    First-Time SABR Authors/Presenters
    Jim Cox has compiled a list of first-time authors and presenters from our chapter in 2020.

    First-time authors for SABR publications:
    Gene Gomes, January 2020, Abner Powell for the SABR BioProject. Anders Koskinen for Milwaukee Brewers Blowouts and Gallardo’s K’s Overshadowed as Brewers Pummel Cubs, 18-1 and Brent Heutmaker for Twins Opponents Should Pray When Playing on May 20 and Lineup Changes Result in a 20-Run Explosion, September 2020, in Baseball’s Biggest Blowout Games.

    First-time presenter at chapter meeting:
    Dirk Lammers, November 2020, None-and-Done: The Moonlight Grahams of No-hit Debuts

    Jim is looking for ways (and accepting suggestions) for how to best recognize first-time authors and presenters within the chapter. Gene Gomes will be working with him on this. First-timers and those with ideas are asked to contact Jim at jcox321@hotmail.com or Gene gggomes1@me.com .

    Gene, who wrote about his ancestor Abner Powell, received an 1883 photo from John Thorn of Powell with his battery-mate, Chris Fulmer.

    Abner Powell and Chris Fulmer

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    New Members
    Ed Wehling is a teaching scientist at Anoka-Ramsey Community College who was born in Wichita and moved to Minnesota when he was in third grade. He has also lived in Georgia, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Wyoming.

    Wichita had no minor-league team when he lived there so the family listened to Harry Caray on Cardinals broadcasts. His dad, also a big fan, took Ed and his brother to see a game at Lawrence Stadium in Wichita when Mickey Mantle was there. “I was so excited to see Mickey Mantle! He had flown in from Kansas City for the day before a night game in K.C. I remember him accepting some award, and then he took batting practice. One ball left the park and landed on the roof of a church far past the center field fence.”

    In Minnesota the family went to a couple of games a year at Met Stadium. “ One of the first MLB games I saw was Dave Boswell's 1-hitter in 1966. I also remember my Dad swearing up a storm at our little portable TV when Zoilo Versalles let a ball go through his legs to lose a game against the Yankees.

    “Since then I have been to many Twins games and listened to thousands more. I really like baseball on the radio.”

    Ed attended the SABR 19th century symposium in Minneapolis last November, plans to do some research with SABR, and is glad to be part of the Halsey Hall Chapter.

    Ed shares his October 30 birthday with Leon Day, John “Buck” Freeman, Marco Scutaro, Bill Terry, Bobby Bragan, Houston Jimenez, Joe Panik, Ed Delahanty, Jason Bartlett, Mickey Rivers, Roe Skidmore, Danny Tartabull, Frederick Fass, Jim Perry, Gerald Perry, Jim Ray Hart, Joe Adcock, Roscoe Conkling, Fred Friendly, Harry R. Truman, John Adams, Bull Halsey, Ruth Gordon, Dick Gautier, Kevin Pollak, Henry Winkler, and Ivanka Trump.

    Tyler Oehman (pronounced Oh-man) works in baseball, including now as part of the Minnesota Twins grounds crew since moving to the Twin Cities from Clinton, Iowa, last March 13 as the pandemic was beginning. He had been the director of operations for the Class A Clinton LumberKings, which were an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins during Tyler’s six years there.

    Tyler grew up in St. Louis during a good time to be a Cardinals fan. He was seven when Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs, and Tyler was there to see the 61st home run. Between the McGwire and Albert Pujols years, Tyler says he “was hopeless in escaping baseball. Other things I’ve witnessed was a minor-league perfect game pitched by former Arizona prospect Connor Grey. And my love for obscure baseball things forces me to mention that I was in attendance for an MLB game played under protest when the Blue Jays came to St. Louis for their first ever series matchup in 2003.”

    Tyler attended Clarke University in Dubuque (20 minutes from the Field of Dreams movie site and played on the volleyball team there. Despite moving up the Mississippi River a few times, he still loves all things St. Louis, especially St. Louis style pizza. And he has a fiancée, Katie.

    Ty shares his December 18 birthday with his namesake, Ty Cobb, as well as Ronald Acuna, Byron Buxton, Joe Randa, Moose Skowron, Zoilo Versalles, Lance Richbourg, Brendan McKay, Eric Cooper, Gino Cimoli, Coaker Triplett, Jim Clancy, Bill Clymer, Ray Meyer, Joe Stalin, Steven Spielberg, the guy who played Billy Beane in Moneyball, the guy who played Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, Willy Brandt, John Stout Snook, DMX, Betty Grable, Rex Wimpy, Keith Richards, Stone Cold Steve Austing, Roscoe “Sputnik Monroe” Brumbaugh, and Emily Swallow.

    Free student memberships available: SABR, at its 2019 End of Year Campaign, pledged to donate 10 percent of all member gifts back to the Chapters the donors are affiliated with in the form of free student memberships. Halsey Hall Chapter members donated more than $2,800 during the campaign, resulting in 11 free student SABR memberships. The chapter has committed to pay for four additional student memberships if that many are interested.

    Know a potential member? Here are resources for getting that person happily involved in SABR:

    Membership application

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    Cow Pies
    Terry Bohn, who finds 19th-century baseball players more interesting than 21st-century politicians, spent his pre-election weeks working on a biography of Ralph Bell, which will be his 50th biography for the SABR BioProject.

    Calendar
        December 9—Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter Book Club, 7:00 p.m., The Big Fella by Jane Leavy. For more information, contact Dennis Degenhardt

       December 12Book Club via Zoom, 9:30 a.m., 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid by Willie Mays and John Shea.

        December 14—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791. All members are welcome for research sharing at this meeting.

        January 11—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791.

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    Board of Directors 2020-2021
    President—Dave Lande
    Vice President—Hans Van Slooten
    Secretary—Anders Koskinen
    Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
    Jim Cox
    Gene Gomes
    Frank Kadwell

    Events Committee Chair—Howard Luloff
    Research Committee Co-Chairs and Co-Chair-in-waiting—Brenda Himrich, Stew Thornley, Gene Gomes
    Membership Committee Chair—Frank Kadwell

    The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
    Webmaster—John Gregory 
    Ass. Webmasters—Frank Kadwell, Hans Van Slooten, and Stew Thornley
    Social Media Directors—Tom Flynn, Twitter; Bob Komoroski, Facebook

    Halsey Hall Chapter Web Page

    Past issues of The Holy Cow! are available on-line.

    Chapter History

    Chapter Procedures and By-Laws

    Society for American Baseball Research

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    Resources

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