August 2003


The Travels of Dr. Hawkins

       With apolgies to Dr. Hawkins for the oversight of not getting this report in the Holy Cow in a more timely manner, here is his report verbatim.

 

        Hello Rich: I am reliably informed by Stew Thornley that you now have the task of assembling the dreadfully-named [anything that brings to mind the notorious incompetents, Harry Caray and Phil Rizzuto, should be retitled ]newsletter: here is a recent item. To circumvent the regrettable by-law provision that forbids the editor from using analysis, or, perish forbid, wit, I have provided you with a genuine Dr. Fan quotation [remember that “quote” is not a noun!] to lessen the dreariness that you are nominally forced to provide.

        Acting on intuition, Dr. Seith C. Hawkins (“Dr.Fan”), removed a small slice from his vast hoard of frequent flyer miles to reach the Friday, April 4 game at Cincinnati’s new Great American Ballpark. He was due there anyway in 2003 to extend his “consecutive pallbarks” record to 67 (having seen at least one regular-season game in every park used for MLB since 1950). Dr. Fan’s intuition was rewarded with the hoped-for milestone of Sammy Sosa’s 500th career home run.

        When asked if he regretted missing the Minnesota Twins’ 2003 home opener, Dr. Hawkins, a second-row season-ticket holder, replied with typical balance: “I was grateful to miss the saccharine overdose of undeserved self-congratulation by fans and management for arguably the most cheaply-won division title ever. However, it always saddens me to miss a Twins loss.”

        Bonus Quiz: Name the 5 teams that, without moving the franchise (in the commonly understood sense of the term), and without using novelty home sites (such as Tokyo, or White Sox in Milwaukee) have enabled Dr. Fan to see each team use three home parks so far.         (answers below)

Bonus Bonus...Yours to figure out: if we count novelty sites and franchise shifts, which teams are tied for the most home parks since 1950?

                                SCH

 

editor’s note:  Halsey Hall used the term “holy cow” in radio broadcasts long before either Harry Caray’s or Phil Rizzuto’s career began; hence the name of our newsletter.

 

Chapter Breakfast       

        The date for the next breakfast is Saturday September 6th at an earlier time of 8:30. A Twins  game is  scheduled for 11:00 a.m that morning so members might elect to have breakfast and then head to the Dome for the game. Breakfast is at the normal location;  the Baker’s Square at 66th and Xerxes in Richfield. 

 

       

East-West CD Offer


        Have you ever wished you could go back in time and see the great Negro League baseball players of the past play? How fast was Cool Papa Bell? How hard was Satchel Paige’s fastball? How far could Josh Gibson hit the ball? You can answer these questions in your imagination by listening to re-creations of the greatest Negro League games ever played, as if they were original radio broadcasts.

        Negro League historian Kyle McNary is the author of Negro League great Double Duty Radcliffe’s biography, as well as “Black Baseball” (published this summer in London, England), “Maceo Breedlove: Big Fish in a Small Pond” for the Minnesota Historical Society, and was technical advisor for a recent PBS documentary on Radcliffe upon turning 100 years old (he turned 101 on July 7, 2003).

        McNary researched several Negro League games and along with veteran actor Tony Pappenfus, re-created them, batter for batter on CD, enlightened with crowd noise and sound effects. The result is a “radio broadcast” that will take you on a trip back in time to the heyday of the Negro Leagues. The first game being offered is the 1935 East-West All-Star game at Comiskey Park. The game featured Hall of Famers Martin Dihigo, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, Turkey Stearnes, Buck Leonard, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Willie Wells and Cool Papa Bell, as well as Luis Tiant Sr., Mule Suttles, Biz Mackey and Jud Wilson. The game is one of the greatest ever played and you won’t believe the ending!

        CDs can be ordered via McNary at  http://www.pitchblackbaseball.com or at 612-650-2952.

 




Book Club

        The chapter book club met on August 2nd and discussed the book Paths to Glory: How Great Basball Teams Got That Way with one of the co-authors, long-time Halsey Hall chapter member, Dan Levitt. The next meeting will be October 4th at 10:00 a.m. at the Edina Galleria Barnes and Noble. The featured book is Moneyball by Michael Lewis.

 

        New Officers Elected...

 

President: Jim Wyman

Vice-president: Bob Tholkes (tenative)

Secretary-Treasurer: Rich Arpi

Other Board members: Chuck Blomquist, Rex Hamman,  Tom Swif, and Dean Thilgen.

 

Fall Regional will be October 25th at the United Methodist Church in Columbia Heights. Details later. ...

                       

 

Thank You

        The following members have sent in a donation (in excess of their subscription fee) to the Halsey Hall Chapter of SABR.  Some of these folks sent in $ 12.00 or more but said they want the electronic copy of the newsletter.

 

        Kevin Hennessy

        David Trombley

        Ron Replogle

        Ray Luurs

        Julian Loscalzo

 

New member

        is Armand G. Peterson who is a retired engineer/manager from Honeywell/Alliant Techsystems. Armand is working on a book, with a friend, on amateur baseball in Minnesota from World II to 1961. Welcome Armand!

 

       

 


RED DOT ALERT


        Thank you to those of you that sent in your renewal since the last issue. However we still have near fifty (50) members on our current mailing list that have not renewed as of this date.         If you see a red dot below you are one of the fifty members who have not renewed. This year there is an option to receive an electronic copy for a reduced price of $ 6.00 (as opposed to $ 12.00 for a paper copy). Please send your payment, made out to The Halsey Hall Chapter, to Rich Arpi at the address listed below. If you want an electronic copy, remember to list the e-mail address where you want the newsletter sent.



 


The Holy Cow


Halsey Hall Chapter - SABR

Rich Arpi, editor

2445 Londin Lane East, # 410

Maplewood, Minnesota 55119-5593

 


     Answers to Quiz provided by Dr. Hawkins  (above)

1..  Angels....Wrigley + Chavez Ravine + Edison

2.  Pirates.....Forbes + 3 Rivers + PNC

3.  Houston....Colt + Astrodome + Minute Maid

4.  Reds.......Crosley + Riverfront + Great American

5.  Giants.....Seals + Candlestick + Pac Bell