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


May 2013

Editor:
Stew Thornley


Jim Rantz Leads off with a Hit

Jim Rantz

Jim Rantz, recently retired after more than 50 years in the Twins/Senators organization, was the featured speaker at the Halsey Hall Chapter spring meeting on April 20. Jim told some Halsey Hall stories, talked of discovering Kirby Puckett, and recapped the Twins’ minor league system this year with inside looks at Oswaldo Arcia, Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Byron Buxton.

Twenty-eight members—Roger Raina, Roger Godin, Lee Temanson, John Swol, Howard Luloff, Steve Smith, Jed Levitt, Steve Ginader, Gene Zavadil, Tom Flynn, Frank Kadwell, John Gallo, Gene Gomes, Fred Buckland, Bob Komoroski, Rich Arpi, Doug Skipper, Dan Levitt, Dave Jensen, Brenda Himrich, Art Mugalian, Gary DeSmith, Jerry Janzen, Stew Thornley, Scott Cummings, Sarah Johnson, Lloyd Kepple, and George Rekela—attended the meeting, which featured three research presentations:

  • Tom Flynn talked about the major league debut of his great-great uncle, Tom Sheehan, who later pitched for the Minneapolis and St. Paul minor league teams.
  • Stew Thornley presented Dancing Statistics: Numerical Moving Targets on statistics and records that have changed because of errors discovered in their compilation.
  • Rich Arpi, with Minnesota Baseball History: Compiling a More Complete Record - A Project for the Halsey Hall Chapter, reviewed existing sources of information and opportunities to fill in gaps and perform groundbreaking research on teams and leagues that have been overlooked or barely looked over.

Doug Skipper, Leanne Rohrbach, Scott Cummings, and Gary DeSmith were elected to two-year terms on the chapter’s board of directors. They will join the board July 1, succeeding Art Mugalian, Fred Buckland, Gary DeSmith, and Brenda Himrich. The board of directors will meet June 2 and elect, from among the new and holdover members, officers for 2013-2014.

The meeting concluded with the ever-popular quiz by Howard Luloff, in which Team Levitt came from behind to kick the crap out of Team Thornley, and later the group attended the movie 42 and then went to Davanni’s for drinking and general debauchery.

Upcoming events:
The next Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning will be May 4 at Bakers Square at 66th and Xerxes in Richfield at 9:00. Gary Hackenmueller missed the March breakfast as he recovered from mitral valve heart surgery in Rochester, but he hopes to be back and see others on May 4.

The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club will meet Saturday, June 15 at 9:30 a.m. at Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville to discuss Francona: The Red Sox Years by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy. A new feature for the meeting will be discussion of complete-game telecasts of baseball games. Members are invited to purchase the telecast for Game 7 of the 1965 World Series, available on iTunes for $1.99, and discuss the game and the telecast. If members are interested in continuing watching vintage games, the group will decide on other games to watch and meet in conjunction with the book club or at a separate time. Gary DeSmith will oversee the video group.

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Road Trips

Several Halsey Hall Chapter members will be attending the A Celebration of Baseball conference Friday and Saturday, June 7-8 at the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse. The event begins with a Mississippi River baseball cruise on Friday night. Saturday will consist of baseball research presentations and discussion panels during the day and a Northwoods League game at Copeland Park at night. The group has reserved the Homerun Haven in right field for attendees to have a buffet dinner and watch the game between the defending league champion LaCrosse Loggers and Green Bay Bullfrogs.

The riverboat dinner cruise on Friday night (6:00 to 8:00) is $40. The research and discussion panels from 8:00 to 5:00 on Saturday are $31 (which includes, parking, breakfast, lunch, and snacks), and the ticket for dinner and the baseball game Saturday night is $35. To register, send a check made out to University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse to Mike Haupert, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, 1725 State Street, LaCrosse, Wisconsin 54601. Be sure and include the names of all people attending and for which events, along with your address, phone number, and e-mail address.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Best Western in La Crosse at a special Celebration of Baseball rate of $89.99. Call the Best Western at 888-253-1628 and mention the Celebration of Baseball to get the conference rate. This special rate will only be in effect until May 7 (and the hotel is sold out beyond this block of rooms).

For more information on the conference, contact Mike Haupert.

Some members are also planning to go to Duluth for a Northwoods League game between Duluth and Alexandria at Wade Stadium on Saturday night, July 7. The group will gather between 4:00 and 4:30 for a pre-game meal at Gannucci’s Italian Market, 301 N. Central Avenue, Duluth 55807, 218-624-2286. Carpools will be arranged. Those interested in the Duluth trip may contact Stew Thornley at 651-415-0791.

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Research and Member News

Anthony Bush has written an article on the first pro baseball team in Superior, Wisconsin: Superior’s first pro baseball team.

Joel Rippel points out that Minneapolis city directories from 1859 to 1917 are available on-line through the Hennepin County Library website. Ted Hathaway of the library says that they hope to digitize the directories from 1918 to 1922 later this year.

Of other interest:
A chapter member is editing an anthology on the Polo Grounds that will include essays. Anyone with memories of the Polo Grounds who would like to submit them for the book may contact Stew Thornley.

Sarah Johnson will chair a committee to explore ways for the chapter to be involved in the 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota. Anyone interested in getting involved may contact Sarah.

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Calendar

    May 4—Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, Bakers Square, 66th and Xerxes, Richfield, 9:00 a.m. For more information, contact Mark Johnson, 952-831-1153.

    June 15—Book Club and Vintage-Game Video Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., Francona: The Red Sox Years by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy and Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. For more information, contact Art Mugalian, 612-721-2825, and Gary DeSmith, 320-286-5127.

    June 2—Halsey Hall Chapter Board Meeting, 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Art Mugalian, 612-721-2825.

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Board of Directors 2012-2013
President—Art Mugalian
Vice President—Howard Luloff
Secretary—Fred Buckland
Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
Gary DeSmith
Brenda Himrich
Dave Jensen

The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
Webmaster—John Gregory 
Ass. Webmaster—Stew Thornley

Halsey Hall Chapter Web Page

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

  

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