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

February 2007

Baseball Events at Minnesota History Center
E-Lists Serving Halsey Hall Chapter Members and Sports Fans
Spring Chapter Meeting, Hot Stove Saturday Morning, and Other Happenings
New Member: Anne Aronson
Phil Lowry Seeks Information
Rich Arpi Uncovers Poem about Rube Waddell
Calendar
Board of Directors
 
 

Howard Luloff auditioned for a chance to sing The Star Spangled Banner prior to a Twins game this season at Twinsfest on January 28. The Halsey Hall Chapter had a table, once again ably organized by Rich Arpi, at Twinsfest.

Baseball Events at Minnesota History Center
The Baseball as America exhibit at the Minnesota History Center will end March 4. The History Center has been having other events in conjunction with the exhibit, including one by chapter member David Wee called “Baseball Goes to the Movies,” which will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 3. On Saturday, February 24, the final event in the series will take place; “Baseball’s Great Partnership: Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey” will feature Greg Kenney and Chuck Chalberg. The program is $10 for the general public and $8 for Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) members, although Danielle Dart of MHS says she will extend the member discount to all SABR members.

Meanwhile, “Rookie Rally Family Day” at the History Center on February 11 will include a demonstration by the Quicksteps vintage base ball team. This event is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and college students, $4 for children from 6 to 17, and free for children under 6 and for MHS members.

Click here for more information on the baseball exhibits at the Minnesota History Center.

E-Lists Serving Halsey Hall Chapter Members and Sports Fans
Three e-lists are available for Minnesota sports fans. One is sponsored by the Halsey Hall Chapter. Although it was set up as a forum to discuss chapter business, it is also used for general baseball information. Another is devoted to basketball and a third for sports besides baseball and basketball.

Click on the link to sign up for the Halsey Hall Chapter e-list, basketball, and general sports. Participants will have to register for an account with Yahoo! to participate in these lists.

Spring Chapter Meeting, Hot Stove Saturday Morning, and Other Happenings
The Halsey Hall Chapter Spring meeting will be Saturday, May 5 at the Grace University Lutheran Church, 324 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, 612-331-0125. Parking is in lot AA, across Harvard Street from the church. Parking info is also available by clicking here.

Registration is $8, which includes lunch. There is also a meeting-only price of $5. Those wanting lunch must RSVP to Events Chair Howard Luloff at 952-922-5036, hfan77@webtv.net, by April 30.

The group will attend the Twins-Red Sox game that night. Tickets are $23 each. To attend the game, send a check payable to Halsey Hall SABR by April 14 to Howard Luloff, 2509 Princeton Court, St. Louis Park 55416. (The tickets will be discounted if at least 25 people attend; if this happens, each person will receive a partial discount on the ticket.)

Members are invited to submit a proposal to make a research presentation at the chapter meeting. Proposals must be made in writing (e-mail is fine) to Research Committee Chair Dan Levitt, 2205 Newton Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405-2431, danrl@attglobal.net, and should include a title and brief outline of what the presentation will consist of with emphasis on the research that will be included. Standard presentations are 20 minutes (with an additional eight minutes for questions) although the duration may be longer or shorter depending on the needs of the presenter and of the schedule. Generally, up to five presentations may be accommodated, and these will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The Research Committee (which also consists of Cary Smith, Tom Swift, Deano Thilgen, Anne Aronson, and Stew Thornley) will finalize the schedule of research presentations by April 21, two weeks before the meeting, so proposals must be submitted by then.

Hot Stove Saturday Morning Update from Mark Johnson:
A record 16 diners attended the January 13 Hot Stove Saturday Morning at the Southdale-area Bakers Square. The 12-seat table was filled, and we added a booth for the four later arrivals. Guests were Richard Zajicek and Tod Teeple, invitees of Jack Stanton, as well as author/entrepreneur John Rosengren. Others attending were new Halsey Hall member Jim Johnson, Jim Sexton, Stew Thornley, Rich Arpi, Paul Rittenhouse, Fred Souba, Jerry Janzen, Howard Luloff, Art Mugalian, Bob Tholkes, Gary Hackenmueller, and Mark Johnson. The next meeting is scheduled for 9:00 on Saturday, March 10 at the same location.

Other events:
Saturday, February 3 will bring evening and afternoon events. The winter Hot Stove Meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at Kevin Hennessy’s house in St. Paul. Anyone who has trouble walking may use the parking spot behind his house. Contact Kevin at 651-227-5183. In the afternoon, at 3 p.m., the Minnesota Gophers play their Pro-Alumni game at the Metrodome. Howard Luloff is organizing a group to attend the game. Those interested in sitting with the group may meet Howard under the b. f. sign at 6th Street and Chicago Avenue at 2 p.m. Howard has coupons for free admission to the game for anyone who needs them. (Howard also has coupons for free tickets to the Gophers March 3 game against Ole Miss during the D. Q. Classic. The March 3 game is at 6:35 p.m. Meet Howard under the sign at 5:30.)

The next selection for the book club, which will meet on February 17 at 9:30 a.m. at Barnes & Noble in Edina, will be Stengel: His Life and Times by Robert W. Creamer.

The next Research Roundtable will be Sunday, March 4, at 6:00 p.m. at Perkins Restaurant, 4917 Eden Avenue, in Edina.

The SABR convention will be in St. Louis July 26-29. Adam’s Mark Hotel has a special SABR rate of $95 for a single or double room. Call 800-444-2326 and identify yourself as a SABR member to receive the special rate.

New Member: Anne Aronson
Anne Aronson is from New York City and was a member of the “Lady Mets Club” when she was 10.

Anne is a professor of writing and communication at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. One of her students at Metro State was Cary Smith. She is on sabbatical from teaching this semester and is doing research on women’s baseball in the United States, Australia, and Canada. She will soon be going to Australia and then San Francisco for her research. Anne also attended a women’s baseball tournament—which included girls’ and women’s teams from Canada, Australia, Florida, and Chicago—in Orlando last October.

Anne has a partner and two children, ages 15 and 21. The 15-year old plays first base for South High School in Minneapolis.

She shares her May 1 birthday with Charlie O’Brien, Roy Lee Jackson, Jack Paar, Jose Lind, Rudy Meoli, Von Joshua, Johnny Berardino (Beradino when he played Dr. Steve Hardy on General Hospital), Kate Smith, Sonny James, Junius Booth, Judy Collins, Louis Nye, Jack Paar, Rita Coolidge, and Calamity Jane.

Other new members:
Glen Herness, David Greisen, Mike Dorsher.

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Phil Lowry Seeks Information
Marathon Man Phil Lowry is continuing to track down games lasting 20 or more innings, including details of a 21-inning game between Owatonna and Mankato that took place during the World War. Recently, Phil uncovered that this game took place in Owatonna on July 25, 1915 and ended in 1-1 tie when it was stopped because of a 6 p.m. curfew. Armand Peterson was able to provide additional details:

The game was played at Rock Island Park in Owatonna. A practice game began at 12:30 p.m. and lasted an unspecified time and number of innings. Then Mankato and the Owatonna Gray Sox played to a 21-inning 1-1 tie, starting at 2:00, and ending when it was called due to curfew at 5:57. Armand researched the game in the Owatonna People’s Press, Owatonna Journal-Chronicle, and Mankato Daily Press.

Phil would still like to find out the following information:

• How many innings did the practice-game opener at 12:30 p.m. last?
• What was the final score and time of game for the practice-game opener?
• What was the attendance for the day?
• What was the nickname of the Mankato team?

Phil has also learned of a high-school quadrupleheader involving Lakeville (Minnesota) High School, which played four games in a tournament in nearby Northfield on May 20, 1949. Lakeville defeated Hanley Falls, 1-0, in five innings in its first game, then played two 5-inning games against unidentified opponents, then beat Kenyon, 4-3, in seven innings in the championship game. Phil would like to know the name of the field where the games were played, the times of the four games, the opponents and final scores of the second and third games, and the team nicknames of that era.

Anyone with information may contact Phil at 612-281-2713 or at plowry1176@aol.com.

Rich Arpi Uncovers Poem about Rube Waddell
While doing research on Rube Waddell, who finished his professional career with Virginia (Minnesota) in the Northern League in 1913, Rich Arpi came across a poem about Waddell. It appeared in the Daily Virginian on Tuesday, April 7, 1914, a few days after Waddell died.

They tell me Rube Waddell is dead—
Well—he was a game old scout—
The kind that fights till the last ball’s pitched
And the umpire says: "You’re out!"
The man on the first wire says the news
Just came in from San Antone—
Well—the game has lost a big league star,
And as good as league could own.

You see, I followed the Rube for years
And gloried in his skill
The way a fellow who just falls short
Of athletic prowess will;
I watched the box scores day by day
And looked for the bottom line—
The names of the sluggers topped each list,
But I picked the Rube’s for mine,
And I counted the number of times at bat
And the number of strikeouts there
I wasn’t afraid to reckon up,
For I knew that the Rube was there.
I followed the Rube in his palmy days,
When he mowed them down like wheat,
And I clung to those memories when the ways
Of the swift pace had him beat;
And when the big leagues turned him loose,
And now that he’s answered the final call,
I never could think, and I can’t think now
Of Rube Waddell in minor ball.

So do me a favor, you men who write
Of the stars who rule this age;
When who write the story of Rube Waddell,
Let charity turn the page
Which tells of the times when the Rube went bad
And lost to John Barleycorn.

For if ever man’s life was a written book
Many pages of each would be torn;
Just recall the days when he stood out there
And battled a howling mob—
Just tell of the days when the Rube was right
And you’ll say he was on the job;
The Rube was a man in his build and strength,
But at heart he was only a child,
And the best of the children of men are weak
And the best may grow reckless and wild.

Well—the man on the first wire says the news
Just came that the Rube was out;
Let it go as it lays, for the game is fair. . .
But. . . the Rube was a game old Scout!

Calendar
    February 3—Hot Stove Meeting at the home of Kevin Hennessy, 608 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, 651-227-5183.

    February 17—Book Club Meeting, Barnes & Noble, Edina, 9:30 a.m., Stengel: His Life and Times by Robert W. Creamer. For more information, contact Tom Dolen, 651-483-8617.

    March 4—Research Roundtable, Perkins Restaurant, 4917 Eden Avenue, Edina, 6:00 p.m. For more information, contact Dan Levitt, 612-377-5154, danrl@attglobal.net.

    March 10—Hot Stove Saturday Morning, Bakers Square, 66th and Xerxes, Richfield, 9:00 a.m. For more information, contact Mark Johnson, 612-822-9638, mtjohnson10@mn.rr.com.

    May 5—Spring Chapter Meeting, Grace University Lutheran Church, Minneapolis. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036, hfan77@webtv.net.

   

Halsey Hall Chapter
Board of Directors 2006-007
President—Bob Tholkes
Vice President—Howard Luloff
Secretary—Armand Peterson
Treasurer—Kevin Hennessy
Jodi Elowitz
Dan Levitt
Art Mugalian

The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
Webmaster—Deano Thilgen 

Halsey Hall Chapter Web Page: http://halseyhall.org

Halsey Hall Chapter E-list/Message Board: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/halseyhall

Past issues of The Holy Cow! are available at http://halseyhall.org/pubs/holy.html

Chapter History: http://halseyhall.org/officers_history.html

Chapter Procedures and By-Laws: http://halseyhall.org/bylaws.html

Society for American Baseball Research: http://sabr.org

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