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June 2006

New Officers Elected, New Board to Take Over July 1
Recap of Spring Chapter Meeting
Other Events
Subscription Renewals Due July 1
In Other News . . .
Annual Report Submitted to SABR
Calendar
Board of Directors
 

New Officers Elected, New Board to Take Over July 1
Bob Tholkes was re-elected president, Howard Luloff was elected vice president, Kevin Hennessy was elected treasurer, and Armand Peterson was elected secretary for one-year terms beginning July 1. The other board members who will begin their terms as director on that date are Jodi Elowitz, Dan Levitt, and Art Mugalian.

As vice president, Howard re-appointed himself as chair of the Events Committee and re-appointed Stew Thornley as chair of the Membership Committee. At the recommendation of the Research Committee, Howard appointed Dan Levitt as chair of that group.

Recap of Spring Chapter Meeting
More than 25 members attended the Halsey Hall Chapter Meeting on May 13. Bob Tholkes made a research presentation about Jim Banning, Joe Visner, and Joe Werrick, the first Minnesota players in the major leagues, and Pete Gorton made a presentation about John Donaldson, focusing on the year’s 1911 to 1917, which Pete called, “The Making of ‘The World’s Greatest Negro Pitcher.’” Tom Swift moderated a research panel consisting of Stew Thornley (on accuracy and factchecking), Cary Smith (on on-line data bases), and Dan Levitt (on common research pitfalls).

Mike Kingery and Dana Kiecker, Minnesota natives who played together as early as American Legion baseball and had different paths in pro ball, were the featured guests at the spring chapter meeting.

Other Events
Brushing Back Jim Crow: The Integration of Minor League Baseball by Bruce Adelson is the book selection for the next meeting of the chapter book club, Saturday, June 10, at 9:30 a.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Edina.

The next Hot Stove Saturday Morning breakfast will be held July 8 at 9:00 a.m. at Bakers Square, 66th and Xerxes, Richfield.

The next Research Roundtable will be held Sunday, June 16 at 6 p.m. at Perkins Restaurant, 4917 Eden Avenue (W. 50th Street and Hwy. 100) in Edina.

Subscription Renewals Due July 1
Subscriptions to receive a printed copy of The Holy Cow! in the mail each month will expire at the end of June. Due to a snafu in the mailing the last few months, those who want to continue receiving a printed copy for the next year may do so for the reduced price of $8 (the regular price is $15). Send a check for $8, made out to Halsey Hall SABR, by July 1 to Kevin Hennessy, 608 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55102-2610 .

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In Other News . . .
Ned Ribback successfully lobbied the Baseball Hall of Fame to alter the biographical sketch of Joe Sewell in its yearbook to remove a reference to Sewell leading the Cleveland Indians to the pennant following the August 1920 death of Ray Chapman. Ned pointed out that Sewell was not called up to succeed Chapman, as often has been reported, but that he was summoned in September to replace utility infielder Harry Lunte when Lunte was injured. “I do not challenge Sewell’s Hall of Fame credentials,” Ned wrote to Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey. “I do challenge his 1920 leadership role, and the opinion of many, who believe he was Chapman’s replacement.”

Ned received a letter back from Petroskey, which said, “Your comments about Joe Sewell’s yearbook biography make sense, and well make sure that his 2006 entry reflects that he could not have ‘lead’ [sic] the Indians to the pennant.”

Meanwhile, the chapter wishes Ned well on his upcoming knee-replacement surgery.

The St. Croix and Quicksteps vintage teams played at the Metrodome prior to a Twins game in May.

Annual Report Submitted to SABR
The chapter submitted a report of its activities over the last year to SABR vice president Bill Nowlin, head of SABR’s Chapter Development Committee. The report was compiled by committee chairs and those who head other functions within the chapter. Here is the report:

    Book Club (Tom Swift)
The Halsey Hall Chapter book club meets bi-monthly, usually on the second weekend of even-numbered months. The book club was started in August 2002 and has drawn anywhere from six to 12 members at any event. The club meets either in a coffee shop or at the home of a book club regular. During the past year the club has read books such as Cool of the Evening and Only the Ball was White and is currently reading Brushing Back Jim Crow.

The book club is open to all chapter members, whether or not they have read the book (there are no quizzes). Future book selection suggestions are always welcome.

For more information about the book club, contact moderator Tom Dolen via phone, information found in the online SABR directory at http://www.sabr.org.

    Research Committee (Stew Thornley)
The Halsey Hall Chapter began a research committee this year to facilitate research among members. Procedures for this committee are on the chapter’s web page at http://halseyhall.org/procedures_researchcommittee.html.

The committee has held bi-monthly research roundtables that have drawn 8-10 people. The committee is also in charge of soliciting proposals for research presentations for the semi-annual chapter meetings. The committee requires that a written proposal (including e-mail correspondence) be submitted and include a brief outline of what the presentation will consist of with emphasis on the research that will be included in the presentation.

    Membership Committee (Stew Thornley)
The committee attempts to promote membership within SABR and the Halsey Hall Chapter. When the chapter receives a notice of new SABR members from the SABR office, it will contact members within the chapter’s geographic region to welcome them to the chapter and invite them to submit information so the new member can be introduced in the chapter’s newsletter.

    Newsletter (Stew Thornley)
The chapter continues to publish a monthly newsletter in an on-line format. When the newsletter is posted to the chapter’s web site each month, a notice is sent to all chapter members with e-mail addresses through the SABR site. Hard copies will be mailed to anyone willing to pay an annual subscription fee. The newsletter address is http://halseyhall.org/pubs/holy.html.

    Nominating Committee (Stew Thornley)
For the second year, the chapter had a past-president serve as chair of the nominating committee to solicit candidates for the board of directors. A slate of declared candidates is submitted to the membership at the election that takes place during the business meeting at the spring chapter meeting. Additional nominations can be taken at the business meeting.

    Quicksteps Vintage Base Ball Club (Bob Tholkes)
The Quicksteps, Minnesota’s premier vintage base ball team (or “nine” in 1860 parlance), first took the field in 1994. Based in the Twin Cities, they were organized to provide an outlet for the energies and enthusiasm of members of the Halsey Hall Chapter (Minnesota) of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Clad in 1860-style uniforms and using authentic reproductions of equipment from that era, the Quicksteps have played 90 matches over eleven seasons in five states, taking on “picked nines” organized for various occasions, “real” baseball teams, Civil War re-enactor groups, and historic teams from Colorado, Iowa, and Ohio. The Quicksteps aim to entertain and to familiarize spectators with base ball as it was played in the milestone year of 1860, when a uniform code of rules and practices was first in use.

The Quicksteps have always endeavored to provide variety to its members, but 2005 was definitely unsurpassed in the nine’s annals. We hosted an event for the first time, at Columbia Heights, and a nine from another state to boot; played on the manufactured grass of the Metrodome and the naturally-grown weeds of Mantorville and Brooklyn Park Historic Farm; and before perhaps 10,000 at the Metrodome and for 10 or so at Northfield and Columbia Heights.

The impact of the nine’s first-year participants was also unprecedented. The addition of three more enthusiastic, regular players was an indispensable ingredient, and capped a three-year period when new players have literally changed the face of the team.

In the end, results on the field were about the same. Seven nine-inning events were held, with victories at Columbia Heights, Fridley, Mantorville, and Brooklyn Park, losses at Richfield and Prinsburg, and a tie (also unprecedented) at Northfield. Two timed matches were lost at Stillwater, and a demonstration match at Chaska. Scores were not kept for the largely intra-team event at Fort Ridgely and the Metrodome demonstration.

Excluding the Metrodome, combined attendance at our events was estimated at 1,200.

    Regional meetings (Howard Luloff, Events Committee Chair)
Two meetings were held: In October at Community United Methodist Church in Columbia Heights; in May at Davanni’s Restaurant in Golden Valley. Both drew an attendance of about 30. Both featured special guests (Twins announcer Herb Carneal in October and former players Dana Kiecker and Mike Kingery in May), research presentations, and a trivia contest.

    Breakfast Meetings (Mark Johnson)
During 2005-2006 we had Hot Stove Saturday Mornings in July, August, November, January, March, and May. These 6 meetings totaled 56 members in attendance.

    Web Site (Dean Thilgen, Webmaster)
The chapter web site in 2005 took over as carrier of the chapter newsletter, The Holy Cow! The web site carries information about the chapter’s history, activities, and members, and includes a calendar and a link to the national SABR website.

    E-list (Stew Thornley, moderator)
The Halsey Hall Chapter began an e-list in March of 2002 on Yahoo Groups, similar to the e-lists that other chapters and research committees have. The original intent was for this list to be used to discuss chapter business, similar to brsp regarding SABR business. Beyond announcements of upcoming chapter events, however, there has appeared to be little interest in discussing business on this forum. Instead, the majority of messages deal with general baseball discussion. Over the past year (May 2005 to April 2006), there has been an average of nearly 130 messages per month posted on the forum.

    TwinsFest (Rich Arpi, coordinator)
The Halsey Hall Chapter of SABR participated in Twins Fest 2006, the fan festival sponsored by the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome, during the weekend of January 27-29. The Twins have graciously given the Halsey Hall Chapter a free table for the last ten years or so and the chapter has taken advantage of the opportunity to display SABR newsletters and publications such as the National Pastime and Baseball Research Journal, convention publications, and other special publications. We have handed out numerous membership brochures and talked to fans who might be interested in joining SABR but never knew such an organization existed. We have talked up the activities of the local Halsey Hall Chapter, particularly our vintage base ball team, and the advantages of being a national member. While it is difficult to know the exact impact, we have recruited several very active members through Twins Fest, and it is the best opportunity of the year to gain wide exposure to baseball fans and to our most likely base for new memberships without a great deal of cost or effort. Members helping out this year included Jim Wyman, Cary Smith, Joe O’Connell, Armand Peterson, Pete Gorton, Howard Luloff, Gregg Omoth, Stew Thornley, and Rich Arpi.

Calendar
    June 10—Book Club Meeting, Barnes & Noble, Edina, 9:30 a.m., Brushing Back Jim Crow: The Integration of Minor League Baseball by Bruce Adelson. For more information, contact Tom Dolen, 651-483-8617.

    July 8—Hot Stove Saturday Morning, Bakers Square, 66th and Xerxes, Richfield, 9:00 a.m. For more information, contact Mark Johnson, 612-822-9638, mjohn@mr.net.

    May 7—Research Roundtable, Perkins Restaurant, 4917 Eden Avenue, Edina, 6:00 p.m.
 

Halsey Hall Chapter
Board of Directors 2005-06
President—Bob Tholkes
Vice President—Gregg Omoth
Secretary-Treasurer—Rich Arpi
Chuck Blomquist
Howard Luloff
Gregg Nelson
Cary Smith