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


February 2017

Editor:
Stew Thornley

 

Spring Chapter Meeting Set for April 29
Big Dick StigmanThe Spring Chapter Meeting of the Halsey Hall Chapter will be Saturday, April 29 at Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd Street in south Minneapolis. We’re hoping former Twins pitcher Dick Stigman (pictured at the 2017 Twins Fantasy Camp, a shot captured by participant Lloyd Kepple) will be able to join us as the featured guest.

Registration for the meeting is at 8:30 with research presentations beginning at 9:00. A business meeting will be held during lunch with the featured guest to follow. The cost for the meeting and lunch is $10. The meeting only is $5. Those wanting lunch must RSVP to Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

Members are invited to submit a proposal to make a research presentation at the meeting (with the understanding they might not know if they’re available until the meeting date is set. Proposals must be sent to Research Committee co-chairs Brenda Himrich or Sarah Johnson and 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. The Research Committee (which also consists of Dan Levitt, Stew Thornley, Rich Arpi, and Bob Tholkes) will finalize the schedule of research presentations two weeks before the meeting, so proposals must be submitted by then.

Elections for the board of directors will be held during the business meeting. Four members will be elected to the board of directors to succeed outgoing directors Frank Kadwell, Tom Flynn, Lloyd Kepple, and Doug Skipper. Anyone interested in running for a two-year term may contact Stew Thornley, 651-492-5410.

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Who Lived Here?
Who lived in the blue house on the left, 3616 4th Avenue South in Minneapolis, just to the south of Hosmer Library, shown at the right?

3616 4th Avenue South

Bonus: Who Lived Here?

Avery Salvage Yard

Answer below

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Upcoming Events
Hot Stove Happy Hour at Grumpy’s: Special Inauguration Day Hangover Event
Join the Grumpy’s Gang for a Special Inauguration Day Hangover event Friday, January 20 at Grumpy’s, 2200 4th Street NE, Minneapolis 55418, starting at 5:00 p.m. and going to whenever. Baseball will be the main topic, but other discussion points are welcome. Grumpy’s is a sanctuary bar.

Twinsfest
The Halsey Hall Chapter has a table at Twinsfest at Target Field from Friday, January 27 to Sunday, January 29. Visit it and to see if any volunteer opportunities are still available, contact Doug Skipper, 612-876-1408.

Serie del Caribe

Caribbean Series

Tom Flynn has organized a gathering to watch the Caribbean Series Saturday, February 4 at Adelita’s Mexican Restaurant, 2405 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis 55418. Arrive at 4:45 p.m. to be on time to see the first pitch between Cuba and Venezuela (or arrive late if you don’t mind missing the first pitch). Tom may also organize a group to be watching the World Baseball Classic.

Research Committee
The Research Committee will meet Monday, February 27 at 7 p.m. at the Hennepin County Southdale Library, 7001 York Avenue South, Edina 55435. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich or Sarah Johnson.

Book Club
The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club will meet Saturday, February 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the usual spot, Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. The book selection is Big Data Baseball: Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak by Travis Sawchik. The group will also discuss the telecast of the seventh game of the 1982 World Series. The game is available for viewing on YouTube: 1982 World Series, Game 7: Brewers @ Cardinals

Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning
The next Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will be at 9:00 on Saturday, March 4 at Curran’s, 4201 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

Dairy Queen Classic Baseball Tournament
The DQ Classic is back. Howard Luloff is organizing a chapter outing to see the Minnesota Gophers play the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at U. S. Bank Stadium on Saturday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. If interested, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

More Baseball
The chapter will organize trips to a townball game and a Northwoods League game this season. The schedules aren’t out yet, but details will be posted in the newsletter and on our Facebook page when they are known. The Northwoods League trip may be to see a Willmar Stingers game.

To keep abreast of other chapter events or gatherings of chapter members, be sure and like and follow our social media pages:

SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Facebook page

Halsey Hall Chapter Twitter page

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New Members
New members include Jack Werner and Shane Carlson, who are doing their dangdest to put a dent in SABR’s median age.

Jack is from Golden Valley and has a mom, two sisters, and a dad—not necessarily in that order. By day, Jack is a marketing analyst at Bluestem Brands. He works on baseball statistics research projects in his free time.

He played baseball in summer leagues through high school. Jack attended his first game in 2002. The best game he ever saw was the Twins vs. Tigers in Game 163 in 2009, and Jack was present when Frank Thomas hit his 500th home run at the Metrodome in 2007.

Born in 1994, Jack shares his October 11 birthday with Orlando Hernandez, Will White, Gregg Olson, Joe Ginsberg, Eddie Dyer, Ty Wigginton, Mike Fiore, Buttercup Dickerson, Mike Guerra, George Preston Marshall, one of the Napoleon Bonapartes (not the famous one), Ron Leibman, Luke Perry, Elmore Leonard, Jane Krakowski, Daryl Hall, the recently-dead LaVell Edwards, Eleanor Roosevelt, Luis Firpo, and Jean Vander Pyl, the voice of Wilma.

Shane is from Roseville, where he has a dad (Mike), mom (Kelly), brother (Joey), and sister (Georgia). He ran cross country at Winona State University, from where he graduated from with a degree in journalism, which he hopes to use in the field in motorsports, and probably also learned not to write sentences as long this one. As he looks for a writing position, Shane is working at the Goldy’s Locker Room after a previous stint at the Twins Pro Shop in Roseville.

Shane saw his first game, at the Metrodome, sometime in the early 2000s. His favorite baseball memory is from the past spring break when he and a couple buddies took a road trip to Arizona and saw four spring-training games. The group plans to go back. Topping that, perhaps, he watched the Cubs win the World Series on television last November. “I’d say that’s a pretty significant triumph.

“I’m a die-hard Pat Neshek fan. I love sidearm pitchers, and I was a sidearm slinger myself in high school. When he came up with the Twins, that’s when I really started to pay close attention to the game. I’ve followed his career in and out of the majors, whether with the Twins or not.

“My middle school social studies teacher invited me to play simulation baseball (similar to fantasy baseball) and I’m in the league to this day. We have a great time with it and it’s kept us in contact.”

Born in 1993, Shane shares his June 30 birthday with Trea Turner, Al Newman, Garret Anderson, Chan Ho Park, Mitch Maier, Bud Black, Davy Jones, Tony Fernandez, Ron Swoboda, Mark Grudzielanek, Bud Black, Jerry Kenney, Pat Venditte, Yo Yo Davalillo, Michael Phelps, Mike Tyson, Cole Swindell, Lena Horne, Dan Reeves, Fred Schaus, Lizzy Caplan, Adolf Furtwangler, Chief Henry Caruthers Roman Nose, and my mom.

Also new to the Halsey Hall Chapter: Eric McKinley

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Member and Other News

Dan Levitt speaking at the Minneanalytics Sports Analytics Conference

SABR members Dan Levitt (pictured above), Vince Gennaro, and Ed Edmonds were among the presenters at the Minneanalytics Sports Analytics Conference at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis in January.

Anthony Bush had a story in the Ely Echo on December 30, 2016, The Story of Burt Keeley, Ely’s Century-old and Largely Unknown Link to the Major Leagues.

Former Willmar water superintendent Bart Murphy recently purchased a fine book about the St. Paul Saints to learn more about the 1901-1903 period when his great uncle, William Porter “Spike Shannon,” played for the Saints. Below is Spike with his wife, Sarah “Sadie” Murphy, the oldest sister of Bart’s paternal grandfather, Edward Murphy.

Spike and Sadie

Spike was later a player-manager with the Virginia Orediggers in the Northern League and became an umpire in the Federal League. Chapter member Rich Arpi, a native of Virginia, is considering doing a biographical sketch on Shannon for the SABR BioProject.

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Whaddya Think?
The Cooperstown Debating Society is a Facebook group for those who like to argue about the deserving and less deserving for the Hall of Fame. Though active, it’s usually civil (I’m aware of only one “s*** my d***” comment to spoil the conviviality).

In December, prior to the election, Mike Warwick posted his list, by uniform number, of the best eligible players for the Hall of Fame:

0: Al Oliver
1: Lou Whitaker
2: Brett Butler
3: Alan Trammell
4: Bobby Grich
5: Jeff Bagwell, then Cecil Travis after Bagwell gets in this year
6: Sal Bando
7: Ivan Rodriguez, then Kenny Lofton after Rodriguez gets in (this year?)
8: Albert Belle
9: Graig Nettles (originally picked Minnie Minoso)
10: Gary Sheffield
11: Edgar Martinez
12: Wes Ferrell
13: Billy Wagner
14: Ken Boyer
15: Dick Allen
16: Dwight Gooden
17: Keith Hernandez
18: Bret Saberhagen
19: Billy Pierce
20: Jorge Posada
21: Roger Clemens
22: Will Clark
23: Ted Simmons
24: Dwight Evans
25: Barry Bonds
26: Boog Powell
27: Vladimir Guerrero, then Kevin Brown after Guerrero gets in (this year?)
28: Cesar Cedeno
29: Fred McGriff
30: Tim Raines, then Willie Randolph after Raines gets in this year
31: Chuck Finley
32: Elston Howard
33: Larry Walker
34: Chet Lemon
35: Mike Mussina
36: David Wells
37: Dave Stieb
38: Curt Schilling
39: Dave Parker
40: Frank Tanana
41: Darrell Evans
42: Mo Vaughn
43: Jeff Nelson
44: David Cone
45: Steve Rogers
46: Lee Smith
47: Jack Morris
48: Rick Reuschel
49: Ron Guidry
50: Sid Fernandez
51: Bernie Williams
55: Orel Hershiser
99: Manny Ramirez

Have a different opinion about any, such as the deservedness of 77 for Tony Batista or 69 (nice) for Eric Fryer? Sign up and argue, but please refrain from fellatiative remarks.

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Answer to Where Lived Here?
Willie Mays lived at 3616 4th Avenue South in May of 1951 before being called up by the New York Giants. Across the street were Minneapolis Millers teammates Ray Dandridge and Dave Barnhill, according to Andy Sturdevant on October 12, 2016 in Minnpost: Willie Mays’ South Minneapolis Neighborhood—for Just Two Months in 1951. (It was probably closer to three weeks than two months).

Bonus question: The Averys, Dasseys, and others live on the Avery Salvage Yard in Manitowoc County in Wisconsin, the setting for Making a Murderer. In case you were wondering, it has nothing to do with baseball.

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Calendar
   January 20—Hot Stove Happy Hour at Grumpy’s: Special Inauguration Day Hangover Event, 5:00 p.m., Grumpy’s, 2200 4th Street NE, Minneapolis, 5:00 p.m.

    January 27-29—Twinsfest, Target Field. For more information, contact Doug Skipper, 612-876-1408.

    February 4—Serie del Caribe Viewing Party, Cuba vs. Venezuela, 4:45 p.m., Adelita’s, 2405 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, 4:45 p.m.

   February 11Book Club and Vintage Game Video Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., Big Data Baseball: Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak by Travis Sawchik and Game Seven of the 1982 World Series.

    February 27—Research Committee meeting, 7:00 p.m, Hennepin County Southdale Library, 7001 York Avenue South, Edina. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich or Sarah Johnson.

    March 4—Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, Curran’s, 42nd and Nicollet, 9:00 a.m.

    March 4—Minnesota Gophers vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, 6:30 p.m, U. S. Bank Stadium. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

    April 29—Spring Chapter Meeting, 9:00 a.m, Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

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Board of Directors 2016-2017
President—Frank Kadwell
Vice President—Tom Flynn
Secretary—Brent Heutmaker
Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
Gene Gomes
Lloyd Kepple
Doug Skipper

The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
Webmaster—John Gregory 
Ass. Webmasters—Stew Thornley and Frank Kadwell
Social Media Director—Tom Flynn

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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