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


September 2021

Editor:
Stew Thornley

Index to past stories in The Holy Cow!

  • Fall Chapter Meeting Set for November 13 with Featured Guest Tom Ryther
  • New Gravestone Placed for Phil Reid
  • New Members
  • Cow Chips
  • Calendar
  • Board of Directors
  • Resources

    Fall Chapter Meeting Set for November 13 with Featured Guest Tom Ryther
    The Fall Chapter Meeting will be at Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd Street in south Minneapolis on Saturday, November 13. Tom Ryther, former sportscaster in the Twin Cities, will be 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 Ryther 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.

    The meeting will include up to five oral research presentations. Four have been approved so far:

    • Anthony Bush on Llewellen Legg
    • Carl Rogan on Bullet Rogan
    • Sam Sundermeyer on Bud Fowler with Stillwater in the Northwestern League and the implications it had on the origin of the color barrier in organized baseball
    • Dave Lande and Gene Gomes with a tutorial on doing a game story for the SABR Games Project

    One presentation slot is always reserved for a first-time presenter until four weeks before the chapter meeting. Since the other slots are filled, only proposals from first-time presenters will be accepted until October 16. If a slot remains at that time, any member can submit a proposal until October 30, two weeks before the meeting, when the Research Committee will finalize the schedule of presentations. 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.

    In addition, members are invited to submit a proposal for a poster presentation. Proposals must be sent to Research Committee co-chairs Dave Lande or Gene Gomes and include a title and brief outline of what the presentation will consist of with emphasis on the research that will be included.

    Research Committee members are Brenda Himrich, Sarah Johnson, Dan Levitt, Doug Skipper, Stew Thornley, Rich Arpi, Dave Lande, Anders Koskinen, Hans Van Slooten, Gene Gomes, Mike Haupert, and Bob Tholkes.

    Other Events
    The Research Committee will meet September 20 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and at the same time on October 18. Anyone wanting to participate may contact co-chairs Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.

    The Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will at Bunny’s Northeast, 34 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis 55413 (behind the keg warehouse of the old Grain Belt Brewery), 612-545-5659 on Saturday, September 18 at 9:00 a.m.

    The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club will meet Saturday, October 2 at 9:30 a.m. at Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. The book selection is Breaking into Baseball: Women in the National Pastime by Jean Hastings Ardell.

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

    Keep up to date with chapter activities on social media:

    SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Facebook page

    Halsey Hall Chapter Twitter page

    Please visit both pages, and, if you haven’t yet, “Like” the Facebook page and “Follow” the Twitter page and set your notifications to be alerted to new posts.

    Also:

    Regular Events

    Video Archives of Past Events

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    New Gravestone Placed for Phil Reid
    Todd Peterson, author of Early Black Baseball in Minnesota, came up from Kansas City to join others July 27 for the unveiling of a new headstone for Phil Reid, owner of the St. Paul Colored Gophers, at Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul. Frank White of the Twins worked with the St. Paul Saints on getting a the grave marker as well as on a giveaway of t-shirts with the logo of the Colored Gophers at the Saints’ game that night. A family headstone has the names of Reid’s first wife and his brother but does not include Phil.

    Frank White, Derek Sharrer, and Todd Peterson at Phil Reid's grave

    Frank White, Derek Sharrer of St. Paul Saints, and Todd Peterson at the new headstone for Phil Reid with the existing family marker behind them.

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    New Members
    Andrew Bradjan was born in Alabama, grew up in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, and moved to Arizona when he was 11. Now he is in Minnesota (Alexandria) although he is also at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, where he is a rising senior with a dual major of government and economics and a minor in computer science. He has a dad (Attila), mom (Shawna), twin brother (Alex), sisters (Victoria and Elizabeth), one dog, and two cats.

    He played Pee Wee baseball in Illinois and has been a baseball fan ever since, even though he changed sports as a participant from baseball to swimming. Andrew went to minor-league games in Illinois and got to his first major-league game in Arizona (Diamondbacks versus Cubs). “Since my first game, I have gone to as many as possible and have attended more than a few parks—including recently going to Target Field for the first time. I haven’t attended any necessarily special moments in baseball, but my favorite moment as a fan has been watching the Cubs win the World Series in 2016.”

    Andrew loves all sports, including baseball, soccer, American football, and basketball. “ If I can go to a field and watch a game with fans, count me in. I am also an avid moviegoer, so I love to talk about movies.”

    Born in 1999, Andrew shares his October 27 birthday with late chapter member Chuck Blomquist as well as Buck Ewing, Ralph Kiner, Lee Stange, Brad Radke, Bip Roberts, Egyptian Healy, Bill Swift, Jon Niese, Martin Prado, U. L. Washington, Spec Richardson, Patsy Dougherty, Pumpsie Green, Jason Johnson, Dylan Thomas, Jayne Kennedy, Ruby Dee, Nanette Fabray, Teresa Wright (played Eleanor Gehrig in Pride of the Yankees), Ted Roosevelt, Floyd Cramer, Emily Post, H. R. Haldeman, John Gotti, Marla Maples, and Dick Trickle.

    Al Strauss is from Bloomington, where he now lives in retirement after a career in training and development with the Minnesota Department of Health. He previously worked as a computer programmer and as a Zamboni driver. Al is also a Balls Outs Strike Spotter (BOSS) at Minnesota Twins home games in addition to serving as a field-timing coordinator.

    He has written a book, The Newman Adjustment, on how business and technology people can work better together.

    Al went to his first major-league game in 1968, seeing the Astros and the Cubs at Wrigley Field. “I still recall seeing how high pop fly balls were hit as well as seeing my first home run, by Randy Hundley, and it went out of the stadium.” He has seen three inside-the-park home runs and is looking forward to seeing a triple play and a no-hitter.

    “One of my oddest baseball moments was when I went to a Nationals game in the old RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. I was seated next to two Englishmen who were in the US on business and went to a game to have an American experience. I ended up explaining baseball to them and the highlight was seeing them react with confusion over the 7th inning stretch.”

    Besides baseball, Al is a music fan and a big fan of Booker T and the MGs. “One of my biggest thrills was asking Steve Cropper what I thought was a yes/no question and instead getting a long, detailed answer from him even though he could see many people were waiting to greet him. (He is one of the MGs and was also in The Blues Brothers movie. He has a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement and is a member of the Rock & Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame.)

    “I also like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. (Southside Johnny has been friends with Bruce Springsteen before anyone heard of the Boss. If you like Springsteen’s music, you'll like Southside Johnny.)”

    Al shares his June 23 birthday with fellow chapter member Steve Smith as well as Dave Goltz, George Weiss, Karl Spooner, Tom Haller, Aaron Robinson, Barbara Jordan (softball Olympic gold medalist and a member of the Cal State, Northridge Matadors Hall of Fame), Tim Anderson, Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens, Marty Barrett, Selma Blair, June Carter Cash, Edward VIII, Alan Turing, Larry Blyden, Derek Boogaard, Thomas Tongue, Wilma Rudolph, and Clarence Thomas.

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

    Membership application

    Get more out of your membership experience by checking out SABR Member Benefit Spotlight Series.

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    Cow Chips
    A noted chapter member was highlighted by Christina Long in the August 19, 2021 Star Tribune: Twin Cities Historian Keeps Little-Known Baseball Star John Donaldson’s Legacy Alive: Pete Gorton’s Research Shed a Light on One of the Top Black Pitchers of the 20th Century

    Phil Lowry, longtime SABR member and the author of Green Cathedrals, is back home after a lengthy hospital stay and would love to go to some baseball games with fellow SABR members. If your planning to go to a game and would like a SABR companion, please call Phil at 612-886-2826.

    Dan Levitt is the editor of the book reviews for The Inside Game, the newsletter of the SABR Deadball Era Committee. In the August 2021 edition, two chapter members reviewed books, including Bob Komoroski, who reviewed a book by an author who is obsessed with restrooms and the number 69. The newsletter can be downloaded at August 2021 The Inside Game.

    Two members had stories published in the SABR Games Project: Gene Gomes with June 22, 1985: Yankees’ Ron Guidry Stifles Detroit on National TV for Final Career Shutout and Tom Merrick with September 23, 1921: Athletics’ Fred Heimach Shuts Out White Sox for His First Career Win.

    Joel Rippel has written about Enrique “Hank” Izquierdo for the SABR SABR BioProject.

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    Calendar
        September 18—Fred Souba Hot Stove League Saturday Morning, 9:00 a.m., Bunny’s Northeast.

        September 20—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.

       October 2Book Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., Breaking into Baseball: Women in the National Pastime by Jean Hastings Ardell.

        October 18—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.

        October 24—Halsey Hall Chapter Board of Directors meeting, 6:00 p.m. For more information on attending, contact Gene Gomes.

        November 13—Fall 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 2021-2022
    President—Gene Gomes
    Vice President—Stew Thornley
    Secretary—Sarah Johnson
    Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
    Daniel Dorff
    Dave Lande
    John Swol

    Events Committee Chair—Howard Luloff
    Research Committee Co-Chairs—Dave Lande, Gene Gomes
    Membership Committee Chair—Stew Thornley

    The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
    Webmaster—John Gregory 
    Ass. Webmasters—Frank Kadwell, Hans Van Slooten, 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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