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


August 2019

Editor:
Stew Thornley

  • Book Project of Memorable Games at Metropolitan Stadium
  • Tink Larson to Speak at Fall Chapter Meeting November 2
  • Britton’s Baseball Quiz
  • Upcoming Events
  • Minnesota 19th Century Base Ball Interdisciplinary Symposium November 16
  • New Members
  • Cow Pies
  • Answer to Britton’s Baseball Quiz
  • Calendar
  • Board of Directors
  • Resources

    Book Project of Memorable Games at Metropolitan Stadium
    As part of the SABR Baseball Games Project, the Halsey Hall Chapter is organizing a project to write additional stories about memorable games played at Metropolitan Stadium. It will be similar to the Milwaukee County Stadium Greatest Games book, and members can check out the articles in there to get an idea of their format.

    So far approximately 69 nice games have been identified to be included in the book. Some have already been written or assigned to SABR members, but many are still in need of authors.

    I would like authors to adhere to SABR style guidelines as well as the guidelines for the Games Project and to read the SABR BioProject Guidelines, with particular attention to an excellent section by Fred Ivor-Campbell on plagiarism:

    SABR Style Guide

    SABR Games Project: Authors’ Guidelines

    SABR BioProject Authors’ Guidelines—Plagiarism

    Note: “I would like,” is really just a nice way of saying I’m going to be a real hardass on compliance with these guidelines. Authors will have to follow the SABR style standards, will have to provide endnotes, and will have to add hyperlinks to players names’ in the article.

    Before deciding to take part, please read through these links and understand you will be held to the requirements. Don’t be freaked out by them (or me); they are doable, and we are there to advise, if needed. Game stories are fun and less intensive than biographies, which many of you have already done.

    To get a list of available games, contact me, stew@stewthornley.net.

    The stories should be between 1,000 and 1,569 words and will be due in mid-2020.

    In 2007, the Halsey Hall Chapter completed a successful book project on Minnesota Natives in Minnesotans in Baseball, and this is another opportunity for a productive chapter activity.

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    Tink Larson to Speak at Fall Chapter Meeting November 2
    Tink Larson will be the featured speaker at the Halsey Hall Chapter fall meeting Saturday, November 2 at Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd Street in south Minneapolis.

    A longtime coach at many levels in Waseca, Tink is a legend in Minnesota amateur baseball. He may be joined by another Waseca native, Gene Glynn, who was a coach for several teams, including the Twins.

    Registration for the meeting is at 8:30 with research presentations beginning at 9:00. A business meeting will be held during lunch with a featured guest and Howard Luloff’s always-a-hit trivia contest 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 (oral or poster) presentation at the meeting. 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 oral 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, Jim Cox, Doug Skipper, Stew Thornley, Rich Arpi, Dave Lande, Anders Koskinen, Gene Gomes, and Bob Tholkes) will finalize the schedule of research presentations by October 19, two weeks before the meeting, so proposals must be submitted by then.

    Three presentations have already been approved (so hurry):

    • Rich Arpi: 1890s Millers and Saints
    • David Karpinski: This Lineup “Owned” Nolan Ryan
    • Corky Gaskell: Making a 19th Century Base Ball

    Brenda Himrich and Kenny Jackelen were the door-prize winners among the veteran and new members at the spring chapter meeting, and the board authorized the prizes to continue in future meetings.

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    Britton’s Baseball Quiz
    In his introduction in the July 2019 The Holy Cow!, Stan Britton mentioned that he and his family are involved in an on-going activity that he would like to share with members. This month he is sharing the picture below, asking for the date of the game. Using Google or Retrosheet is allowed.

    Yankee Stadium scoreboard

    Answer below

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    Upcoming Events
    Emma Charlesworth-Seiler Umpiring in Cedar Rapids July 27
    The chapter will see the Clinton LumberKings play the Cedar Rapids Kernels at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, and Emma Charlesworth-Seiler will be umpiring. Members may make their own carpool and rooming arrangements with one another. A suggested hotel for Saturday night is the Super 8, off Interstate 80 and 33rd Avenue, 400 33rd Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids 52404. The hotel is about three miles from the ballpark, and rooms are $55 to $60 plus tax. Call the Super 8 at 319-432-7282 to reserve a room.

    We will meet Emma for lunch at 1:00 p.m. at the Village Meat Market and Cafe (motto: “If It’s Legal . . . We Smoke It!”), 92 16th Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids 52404, 319-265-MEAT. Contact me (Stew Thornley, 651-415-0791) if you plan to come to lunch.

    Howard Luloff has lined up a meeting with Kernels Hall of Fame/History Coordinator Marcia Moran at the ballpark at 2:30, and Howard will present a trivia quiz.

    Book Club
    The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club will meet Saturday, August 10 at 9:30 a.m. at the usual spot, Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. The book selection is Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink by Kevin Cook.

    Brent Heutmaker has organized a list of all the book selections since the book club started in August 2002: Halsey Hall Book Club Selections

    Research Committee Meetings August 12 and September 9
    The Halsey Hall Chapter Research Committee will meet Monday, August 12 and Monday, September 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Brookdale Library, 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center 55430. All members are welcome to attend.

    A number of members have been researching the first games played in each of the Minnesota counties, and the committee would like to have information for each of the counties (about 23 are still unaccounted for). Two webpages have information on the spread of baseball, Pre-pro Baseball and Pre-pro Clubs and Games in Minnesota. In addition, a Google Docs spreadsheet is online, Minnesota Spread of Baseball Project, 1857-1923.

    Anyone wanting to get involved may contact committee co-chairs Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791, and Sarah Johnson.

    Research page updated:
    The Research Committee page has been updated and includes a list of research projects by members. If you would like research added, contact me, (Stew Thornley, 651-415-0791).

    As always, check out the chapter’s Baseball Research Primer as a source for any research you are doing.

    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, September 7 at Bunny’s Northeast.

    Even More Baseball
    Several members are already planning to attend the 2019 Black Sox Scandal Symposium at the Chicago History Museum to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the scandal September 27-29. The weekend will include a trip to a White Sox game, and several chapter members are now working on an article on the predecessor to the White Sox, Charles Comiskey’s St. Paul Saints, which played in the Western League from 1895 to 1899.

    There was a big turnout July 13 to see The Spy Behind Home Plate, a documentary about Moe Berg, at the Edina Theater with dinner after the movie at Cocina Del Barrio. Many thanks to Jim Cox for organizing this.

    Keep up to date with chapter activities on social media:

    SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Facebook page

    Halsey Hall Chapter Twitter page

    Regular Events

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    Minnesota 19th Century Base Ball Interdisciplinary Symposium November 16
    Details are set for the Minnesota 19th Century Base Ball Interdisciplinary Symposium, which our chapter will host in Minneapolis on Saturday, November 16. Bob Tholkes is the primary organizer and is working with the chapter Research Committee on the program. The symposium is a joint project of the SABR 19th Century Committee, the Halsey Hall Chapter of SABR, and Hennepin County Library.

    Confirmed presenters:

    • John Thorn, Historian for Major League Baseball
    • Larry Millett, popular Twin Cities author and local historian
    • Stew Thornley, SABR award-winning author and leading Minnesota baseball historian
    • Frank White, historian and author on black baseball
    • Dan Levitt, SABR award-winning author
    • Mike Haupert, SABR Doug Pappas Award winner in 2014 for best convention presentation
    • Kristin Anderson, award-winning teacher at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, and expert on Twin Cities sports architecture

    The committee is tentatively planning a pre-symposium reception the evening of Friday November 15 at Stub & Herb’s. A separate room is reserved for the group from 5 to 9 p.m. There is no charge for the room, and attendees will purchase their own food and drinks. However, Stub & Herb’s will expect a certain number of people (40 or so) to be there to make it worth their while. Whether you are planning to go to the symposium on Saturday or not, you and guests are welcome at the Friday night event. If you think you might be going, please notify Stew Thornley and let him know of your plans (definite, maybe, depends on what’s on television that night or you end up with a hot date, etc.). Your response is not binding, but we need to get some idea if enough people—including out-of-towners—plan to go to this. If enough don’t respond, we will cancel the space we have reserved with Stub & Herb’s.

    It’s possible that the reception will be at a different place if not at Stub & Herb’s, so keep watching for more information. If the event is held, there will be a special Alan Holst Memorial Dead or Alive quiz.

    Registration: Minnesota 19th Century Base Ball Interdisciplinary Symposium

    To get on a list to receive updates about the symposium, write to sabrMN19c@gmail.com.

    Minneapolis Central Library Parking Information

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    New Members
    A Southsider (in Minneapolis) since 2012, Daniel Dorff grew up in several suburbs before moving to North Minneapolis in 2007. He has parents, who live in St. Francis; an older brother, who lives in North Dakota; a younger sister, who lives with her family in Wisconsin; two nephews and one niece.

    Daniel is a special education assistant with Minneapolis Public Schools and also works at a group home for adults with developmental disabilities. He enjoys biking, playing board games, camping, watching Doctor Who (including doing cosplay at the local Doctor Who convention), watching baseball, and reading books related to baseball history. He is also active in neighborhood organizations.

    Daniel grew up playing baseball starting at tee-ball and up through middle school before switching to church softball leagues in high school. Items of note, in his words:

    • I was a very poor hitter. According to my mom, the years after tee-ball the league still allowed me to use the tee-ball bat because I couldn’t get the regulation bat around. In the early years (early elementary), when the other kids would be capped at a certain amount of pitches, my coach would talk to the other coach before the games, and they would allow me to have as many pitches as I needed to put a ball in play.
    • I remember my last year in middle school I made contact with the ball twice. Once was a foul tip and the other I actually hit a fly ball to center field. I just put my head down and ran and made it to second for a double! While I couldn’t hit at all, I did have a good eye and as a result lead my teams in walks (and, of course, strikeouts).
    • I also had a strong arm and in middle school was one of only two kids on our team that could throw the ball across the diamond. As the other one was our third baseman, I was forced to become our catcher (the catcher we had couldn’t throw the ball to second, so everyone just stole second when they reached base). There was also one year in middle school when I became a pitcher on our team. I always dreamt of becoming a pitcher. I could locate well and when I threw the ball in naturally sank. As a result, I got lots of ground balls.

    His earliest memory of watching baseball was the 1991 World Series when he was eight. “The World Series was so evenly matched, and I remember thinking the best of all-time, that I felt neither team deserved to lose. When the Braves lost, I felt bad for them and felt they should win in ‘92. Of course, the Braves made it back to the World Series in ‘92. As a result, I watched the Series rooting for them, and unfortunately they lost again. From that point on I became a Braves fan as I was emotionally invested with their team. Growing up with TBS, I was able to watch Braves game throughout the ‘90s, which helped make the team accessible. In high school and college my dad and I would drive out and camp outside of Milwaukee and watch the Braves play.

    “Growing up I had always wanted to go to Fenway Park, and I got the opportunity in 2013! It had also been a goal of mine to see all the MLB stadiums. After starting with the school district and getting summers off, I felt it was a great opportunity to start working on that goal. I have now been to 28 of the 30 major-league cities to see games with only Miami and St. Petersburg to go.

    “I remember in elementary school we were supposed to go to the Twins game on April 27, 1994. However, my sister got sick or something and we couldn’t go. That was the day Scott Erickson threw his no-hitter.

    Daniel’s favorite periods of baseball history to study and learn about are the 1900s to the mid-1930s. He collects baseball cards and other memorabilia from those periods.

    Born in 1983, Daniel shares his July 1 birthday with fellow chapter member Brenda Himrich as well as John Picus Quinn, Bob Prince, Nelson Cruz, Roger Connor, John Clarkson, Bill Rohr, Charlie Blackmon, Boots Poffenberger, Foghorn Bradley, Bill Stern, Jamie Farr, Farley Granger, Dan Aykroyd, Carl Lewis, Olivia de Havilland, Princess Diana, and Ignaz Semmelweis.

    A native of Kearney, Nebraska, Peter Knapp is part of a family fantasy baseball league with his wife and four adult sons, all devoted fans. He teaches law school although this year is part of administration.

    Peter saw Lou Brock steal a base at Candlestick Park in the first major-league game he saw, in 1976. He has been to almost all of the Twins’ postseason games at home since 1987, including all eight World Series games. Last year he was at Joe Mauer’s final game.

    The Knapps follow the Twins closely and make a point of seeing minor-league teams whenever they are on the road.

    Born in 1958, Peter shares his June 6 birthday with Brooks Kieschnick, Bill Davis, Bud Harrelson, Bill Dickey, Anthony Rendon, Matt Belisle, Tony Graffanino, Mark Ellis, Dave Bergman, Bob Randall, Bud Harrelson, Merv Rettenmund, Dario Lodigiani, Jim Devlin, Fresco Thompson, Dan Daniel, Nathan Hale, Bjorn Borg, Paul Giamatti, Larry “Moondog Spot“ Booker, and acclaimed accordionist Carl Jularbo.

    Matt Brummer was born in Wells, Minnesota, and grew up on a family farm near Alden as the youngest of four children (three brothers, one deceased, and one sister). He graduated from Alden-Conger High School in 1973.

    Matt is now retired and lives on seven-and-a-half acres near Roberts, Wisconsin, five miles east of Hudson. He tends to a big yard and a long, jointly shared, private road with his two 1953 farm tractors. He still makes sure he gets to a baseball game at least once a week and also attends football games as well as hockey, some Wild, some at his alma mater of Mankato State, and Gophers women’s games.

    Matt worked 10 years for Pillsbury and Archer Daniels Midland in flour milling and then was a manager of barge, truck, rail, and processing at a terminal in South St. Paul.

    He attended his first big-league game at Metropolitan Stadium in June 1966, seeing the Twins lose to Cleveland. He lists among his highlights a baseball trip to the East Coast that included a visit to Cooperstown, plus games at old Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Fenway Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. At the Metrodome, Matt was at Eric Milton’s no-hitter in September 1999 and the second game of the 1991 World Series, which Scott Leius won for the Twins with an eighth-inning, tie-breaking home run off Tom Glavine. He enjoys townball with the Miesville Mudhens and Red Wing Aces being his favorite teams. He also has a mini-season ticket for the Eau Claire Express of the Northwoods League.

    Matt played baseball through his sophomore year in high school before switching to the Alden-Conger golf team. His brother Brian, who died last September, was the top golfer in the family and made six holes-in one.

    “My uncle Mike Schultz was the closest thing we had to a major league baseball player, advancing as far as AAA in the NY Yankees organization in the 1950s before being released. He was a pitcher but developed arm trouble. He later contracted polio and passed away at the age of 47 in 1974.”

    Matt has been married for 42 years to Karen, a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a retired registered dietitian. They have two daughters—Katrina, an attorney, and Connie, an investment analyst—and two grandchildren. Katrina and Connie both graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

    Born in 1955, Matt shares his January 22 birthday with fellow chapter member Kristin Anderson as well as Ubaldo Jimenez, Amos Strunk, Chone Figgins, Jeff Treadway, Mike Caldwell, Wayne Kirby, Linda Blair, Bill Bixby, D. W. Griffith, Birch Bayh, Sam Cooke, Harriet Lake (Ann Sothern), U Thant, and Wrong Way Corrigan.

    Know a potential member? Here are resources for getting that person happily involved in SABR:

    Membership application

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    Cow Pies
    Terry Bohn has a picture of a postcard from 1908 of the Milan, Minnesota, baseball team. If anyone knows anything about the team, including the names of the players, contact Terry, bohn_terry@yahoo.com.

    Milan, Minnesota, baseball team

    Milan, Minnesota, baseball team

    Articles by and about chapter members:
    Minnesota Twins Team Ownership History by Gary M. Olson

    A chapter member was the July 2019 Corpse of the Month in American Cemetery & Cremation magazine.

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    Answer to Britton’s Baseball Quiz

    Yankee Stadium scoreboard

    July 20, 1969

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    Calendar
       July 27—Clinton LumberKings at Cedar Rapids Kernels. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

       August 10Book Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink by Kevin Cook.

        August 12—Research Committee meeting, 7:00 p.m., Brookdale Library. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791, or Sarah Johnson.

        September 7—Fred Souba Hot Stove League Saturday Morning, Bunny’s, Minneapolis, 9:00 a.m.

        September 9—Research Committee meeting, 7:00 p.m., Brookdale Library. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791, or Sarah Johnson.

        November 2—Fall Chapter Meeting, 9:00 a.m, Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

        November 16, 2019—Minnesota 19th Century Base Ball Interdisciplinary Symposium, Minneapolis Central Library. For more information, contact Bob Tholkes, 952-922-5036.

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    Board of Directors 2019-2020
    President—Dave Lande
    Vice President—Hans Van Slooten
    Secretary—Anders Koskinen
    Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
    Jim Cox
    Gene Gomes
    Frank Kadwell

    Membership Committee Chair—Jim Cox
    Events Committee Chair—Howard Luloff
    Research Committee Chairs—Brenda Himrich and Sarah Johnson

    The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
    Webmaster—John Gregory 
    Ass. Webmasters—Frank Kadwell and Stew Thornley
    Social Media Directors—Tom Flynn, Twitter; Bob Komoroski, Facebook

    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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