July  2004

Chapter Odds and Ends

        Most of this month’s newsletter concerns routine chapter business and coming events which may not be too thrilling to new members (and to some veteran members quite possibly). Time restraints on the editor early this month and the necessity of getting this month’s newsletter printed before too long and before the national SABR convention later in the month, means that this newsletter may look a little sparse.

Procedures listed

        Stew Thornley has posted draft  procedures on the chapter e-list (halseyhall@yahoogroups.com) concerning the duties of the president’s office, running of the business meeting and elections, and the duties of the events committee. While these drafts (and a few others on duties of the secretary, treasurer, web-master, newsletter editors etc.) will be discussed by the board of directors at their upcoming meeting on August 8th, any chapter member may view these drafts and send comments to the list or to any board member.

        Please contact Stew Thornley, who moderates the chapter e-list, if you have internet access and are not already a member of the e-list. Thirty members are on the e-list, but several comments by some members in recent weeks, leads me to believe there are more than a few chapter members who would benefit from belonging to the e-list. The e-list is a fine way to keep aware of breaking news that sometimes announces an event that will happen before the next newsletter comes out.

Book Club

will meet on Saturday, July 31st, at the Barnes and Noble Book Store at the Edina Gallerina (just south of Southdale Mall on France Avenue) at 9:30 a.m. The featured book is the recent biography by Jane Leavy on Sandy Koufax entitled, “Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy.” At least one new member has expressed an interest in attending the meeting and of course all veteran members are welcome. While it helps to have read the book (published in 2002, so it should be readily available), a roll call of those present has never been taken to see who  has read the book. As a result, after discussing the book for awhile, talk often merges into other baseball topics which has engaged members for an hour or so.

Breakfast, Board Meeting, etc.

        The semi-monthly chapter breakfast will take place at the normal place of the Baker’s Square at 66th and Xerxes in Richfield on Saturday, July 10th at 9:30 and also on Saturday, August 7th at 9:00 a.m. It is hoped to get the book club back on an even month schedule (this time ...July 31...almost an even month) with the next meeting in October and the breakfast meeting on an odd month schedule. Hopefully this notice will reach most members in time for the July breakfast.

        The next meeting of the Board of Directors will take place on Sunday August 8th at the home of Bob Tholkes’ in Columbia Heights. It will start one hour after the end of the Twins game that day or 5:00 p.m. whichever is later.

Paper Subscribers take note -

        Members wishing to receive this newsletter in paper format for the 2004-2005 season should remit $ 12.00 to Rich Arpi (payable to the Halsey Hall Chapter of SABR) at the address noted on the back. Thank you to the 10 or so of you that have already done so. It is assumed that members wanting electronic notification will still want that notification and those folks do not have to do anything at this point. Past paper subscribers, who wish to switch over to the electronic notification should let me know as soon as possible.

The Quicksteps, the chapter’s vintage baseball team,  spent the Fourth of July weekend entertaining baseball hungry crowds in Milan and Prinsburg, Minnesota.

Web Gems

        Readers might want to check out Kyle McNary’s lastest newsletter about black baseball at

http://www.pitchblackbaseball.com/newsletter6.html.

        Kyle was a guest at the chapter’s meeting in the autumn of 2003 and has two books published on black baseball (one actually on Double Duty Radcliffe and one general work on black baseball). It is a fine newsletter and five back issues (back to Dec. 2002) are also available.

        See also Peter Schilling’s  www.mudvillemagazine.com and Tom Swift’s essays on www.nickelcurves.com, which Tom labels as slapdash essays from a guy with a baseball problem.

Road Show Bob

                Some of you are aware of and may even be fans of the PBS television show, Antique Road Show. Recently the Show came to St. Pauls X-Cel Center to film episodes for their upcoming season. Both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press had articles about the hundreds of people who brought their treasures in for appraisal. Some eagle eyed readers noticed that “Bob” from St. Paul was mentioned as bringing  in a Willie Mays 1951 Minneapolis Miller jersey in for appraisal. This editor, for one, didn’t have to scratch his head too long to realize that this could only be long time Halsey Hall Chapter member and former president, Bob Evans. Neither article gave a clue as to the exact date the St. Paul episodes would air but if notice can be given in this newsletter it will be. I will only add that Bob was probably the most pleased person at the St.Paul appraisal tapings.

Editor’s apology

        The editor of the Holy Cow apologizes to Roger Godin for mixing up the title of his presentation at the spring chapter meeting. The  recap reported in the May issue had it wrong and it is reprinted correctly as follows for the record. Roger gave a presentation on the 1945 St. Louis City Series between the Browns and Cardinals. Despite having it recorded correctly in his notes, the editor somehow reported it as a presentation on the 1944 spring training games between the Browns and Cardinals. Notes aren’t of much value, if you don’t refer to them, I guess.

        Bob Tholkes has an article in the newest issue of The National Pastime (# 24 - 2004) on the “vintage base ball” recreation games that took place in 1936 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the National League.

The Holy Cow

Halsey Hall Chapter of SABR

Rich Arpi, editor

2445 Londin Lane, # 410

Maplewood, Minnesota 55119

“It took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.”

          Henry Aaron