Resources
Good Time in Beloit
Members from the Halsey Hall and Keltner Badger State SABR chapters went to Beloit August 13 to see the Beloit Sky Crap (with the mascot, a non-migrating goose named Poopsie) beat the West Michigan Whitecaps 8-2. Howard Luloff lined up pre-game activities, which included talks from West Michigan announcer Dan Hasty and Beloit announcer Larry Larson as well as a tour of the ballpark. A special feature of the game was the appearance of guest organist Nancy Faust. Tom Flynn (pictured below with Nancy—Tom is the one on the left) arranged a meet-up with Nancy after the game. Tom also corraled a foul ball during the game and was rebuked by the Chapter Curmudgeon when he gave it to a little kid.
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Fall Chapter Meeting Set for November 5
The Fall Chapter Meeting will be at Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd Street in south Minneapolis on Saturday, November 5.
Registration for the meeting is at 8:30 with introductions and research presentations beginning at 8:45. A business meeting will be held during lunch with a featured guest and Howard Luloff’s always-a-hit trivia contest to follow.
The business meeting will include a vote on a proposed amendment to the by-laws from the board of directors:
Under Article V: Appropriations, Section 1-Approval Process, change “Appropriations of chapter funds exceeding $100.00 must be subject to approval by the board of directors” to “Members of the board of directors are authorized to spend up to $100.00 for items such as stamps and supplies that are routine for the functioning of the chapter. Appropriations of chapter funds that are not routine for the functioning of the chapter or in excess of $100 must be approved in advance by the board of directors.”
The cost for the meeting and lunch is $10. The meeting only is $5. Those wanting lunch are asked to RSVP to Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036. People can pay by cash (with correct change appreciated) or check at the door.
The meeting will include up to five oral research presentations. Three have been approved so far:
Sam Sundermeyer, Dawn of the Long Night: The Origin of Baseball’s Color Barrier, which Sam presented at the SABR convention in Baltimore. Here is the abstract submitted for the convention: “The tangled origin of the color barrier in Organized Baseball has been resistant to historical study since the publication of the foundational text in our subject, Baseball: The Early Years, by Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour. There exist the arguments of the ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ and individual players willing the barrier into existence; the historiography of the subject is fractured and incomplete. Sundermeyer examines the origin of the color barrier in Organized Baseball. He argues that the barrier originated from, and carried direct ties to, business and cultural precedent from Reconstruction-era America, and will show how the color barrier was born of far more precedent and intention than has previously been acknowledged. He studies the careers of pioneering African-American players of the era, who played on organized teams for years before the barrier emerged, through this lens of intention and precedent in the barrier’s origin.”
Ed Edmonds, Baseball’s Misunderstood Antitrust Trilogy. Abstract: “This year marks the centennial anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Federal Baseball Club v. National League. The general understanding of Justice Holmes’ opinion misses a major legal point, and many scholars acknowledge that the decision matched the general understanding of antitrust law in 1922. The case was followed by Toolson v. New York Yankees in 1953, and Earl Toolson’s life and court challenge are also subject to fundamental misunderstandings. Finally, this year is also the fiftieth anniversary of Flood v. Kuhn, a case where Minnesota’s Justice Harry Blackmun’s first sentence is marked by a significant error that serves as an introduction to a lengthy historical paean to baseball.”
Bob Tholkes, What’s Wrong with Base Ball?, a survey of print media (the only medium of the time) criticisms of baseball in 1867, drawn from contemporary sources.
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 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. 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 will finalize the schedule of research presentations by October 22, two weeks before the meeting, so proposals must be submitted by then.
One presentation slot is always reserved for a first-time presenter until four weeks before the chapter meeting, which is October 8. If a slot remains after that, any member can submit a proposal until October 22, two weeks before the meeting, when the Research Committee will wrap up the schedule of presentations.
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Upcoming Events
The Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will at Bunny’s, 5916 Excelsior Blvd, St Louis Park 55416, 952-922-9515 on Saturday, September 17 at 8:45 a.m. (Note the different location: Bunny’s Northeast has closed, so we are now going to Bunny’s in St. Louis Park, which is on the north side of Excelsior Boulevard just west of Highway 100.) The time has been moved up to 8:45 a.m. to make it easier to get a large table.
The next Research Committee meeting, via Zoom, will be Monday, September 19. Contact co-chairs Dave Lande or Gene Gomes if you would like to attend. Other Research Committee members are Brenda Himrich, Sarah Johnson, Dan Levitt, Doug Skipper, Stew Thornley, Rich Arpi, Anders Koskinen, Hans Van Slooten, Mike Haupert, Bob Tholkes, Daniel Dorff, Darryl Sannes, Tom Swift, David Karpinski, and Bob Komoroski.
The 9 Online virtual conference will be held September 29-30.
The book club will meet at Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 8 and discuss Intentional Balk: Baseball’s Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating by Dan Levitt and Mark Armour. Brent Heutmaker has organized a list of all the book selections since the book club started in August 2002: Halsey Hall Book Club Selections
Dan will also be making a presentation about the book on Thursday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m. Central Time for the New York Giants Preservation Society, which has been having mostly weekly Zoom events every Thursday. Armand Peterson will present on Wes Westrum November 17. To get notifications of these meetings, contact Gary Mintz, giantsguru@gmail.com. On August 4, Tom Flynn presented on his great-great uncle, Tom Sheehan, a longtime member of the Giants as a scout and manager. A recording of Tom’s presentation is available:
Tom Flynn presentation on Tom Sheeham to New York Giants Preservation Society, August 4, 2022
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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 Members
Glenn Renick was born in Wilmington, Delaware, but he has lived all over, thanks to his dad’s job transfers, which took the family to Chattanooga, Tennessee; Tamaqua, Pennsylvania; Giant (Richmond), California; and Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where Glenn graduated from high school, running track with Andre Thornton. He got his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg University and his master’s in education from the University of Minnesota in 1975, which brought him to the state where he has lived ever since.
Glenn and his wife of 46 years have two daughters, both married and living in the Twin Cities, and five grandkids.
Now retired, Glenn owned an artifact and art framing business for 14 years in Lakeville, specializing in preservation and creative display. Before that he was director of global training resources, managing training centers across the United States and England for Wave Technologies/Thomson Reuters. Prior to that, he taught professional education courses and coordinated the Coaching Certification Program at the University of Minnesota, where he also coached the men’s volleyball team to two Northern Intercollegiate Volleyball Conference championships. “Among my students at the U of M was a young man named Paul Molitor.”
Regarding his life in baseball, Glenn says, “ I suspect that I will not be the most engaging guy for most SABR members to talk with. My interest in baseball does not revolve around the current professional game, or even the period within the memory of the living. I’d much rather talk about Germany Schaefer or Rube Waddell than Rod Carew’s statistics. I go to town ball games, mostly at Jack Ruhr Field in Miesville, and I’ll watch college or high school games. But, what I am fascinated with is the significance and impact of baseball on American society, especially through advertising and business promotion. I am particularly interested in the strategies and use of trade and trading cards, particularly baseball related cards, between the time of the American Civil War and World War II.
“I have a fairly extensive type collection of pre-war baseball cards. I got so tired of people mockingly asking if I have ‘a Honus Wagner card’ that I now have 239 different Honus Wagner cards dating from 1903 to 2021.
“My current research project focuses on the origin and distribution of 1907-1909 A.C. Dietsche baseball cards. I haven’t started writing yet because I'm still digging, but it's a really interesting story.”
Glenn shares his September 24 birthday with Rafael Palmeiro, Scott Leius, Hubie Brooks, Miguel Gonzalez, Kevin Millar, Bernard Gilkey, Curt Motton, Dick Nen, Dixie Walker, Cyclone Miller, Eric Soderholm, John Mackey, Franklin Mars, Jim Henson, Adam Wagnalls (Funk’s partner), Phil Hartman, Aulus Vitellius, Arthur Guinness, John Marshall, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jim McKay, Ayatollah Khomeini, Linda McCartney, and Richard Bong.
Also new to the Halsey Hall Chapter and SABR: Daniel Spewak and Jacob Samp
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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Chicago Quiz
The August Research Committee meeting included a quiz submitted by Bob Komoroski:
- Name the four Chicago White Sox managers who each served two separate terms as manager.
- Who was the winningest manager in White Sox history, despite having a losing record?
- This Hall of Famer managed both the Cubs and White Sox. Who is he?
- These two players were starters on Leo Durocher’s Cubs of the 1960s who also played for the White Sox.
- Six players have won a total of seven batting titles with the Cubs. Who are they?
- Name the Hall of Famer who hit a grand slam in a high-school game at Wrigley Field in 1920.
- Who was the first White Sox player to win a batting title?
- This journalist wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Herald Examiner. In 1947, he became the first African-American member of the Base Ball Writers Association of America. Who was he?
- This White Sox pitcher was a mainstay of the White Sox rotation in the dead ball era. He was a master of the knuckleball, and “shine ball.” Following baseball, he worked for Henry Ford’s infamous “secret service” security and was present at the Battle of the Viaduct at River Rouge. Who is he?
- This Chicagoland-born pitcher gave up Mickey Mantle’s 535th home run to pass Jimmy Fox which placed Mantle third on the all-time HR list at the time. Who is this pitcher?
- This long-time sports editor is credited with the idea of the All-Star Game. He is also the creator of two other long standing sporting events. Who is he? What were the two other events
- This White Sox wonder kid batted .291 over his first four seasons, hitting over .300 in his first three seasons before his injury plagued 1932 season. He was let go by the Sox after his insubordination, brawling, and drunkenness became a constant problem to the team.
Bonus question
Who is the only White Sox Hall of Fame pitcher to have more walks than strikeouts? What was unusual about this player?
Quiz Answers below
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Cow Chips
Anthony Bush tossed five scoreless innings for the Mellen Expos old-timers team in Grand View, Wisconsin. “We won, 9-0, but I was one of four ringers from the Twin Ports. I got to pitch to my college teammate catcher for the first time in 15 years. I think the whole town of Grand View was there. Great atmosphere. Second time that I’ve seen a big crowd at an adult game this summer. The other one was the Upper 13 League all-star game in Ashland a month ago. It really makes it more fun when there’s a lot of people watching. Doesn't happen often at our games in Superior, and Duluth hasn’t had an amateur team since 2017. It's so weird that it’s dead here considering how big town ball is around both states.”
The 2022 The National Pastime contains articles by chapter members:
Terry Bohn has written about Bob Black and Bill Traffley for the SABR BioProject.
The SABR Games Project has a new entry: March 13, 2017: Venezuela Rallies in 9th to Advance to World Baseball Classic Second Round by Stew Thornley
Bob Komoroski was among the many chapter members attending the SABR convention in Baltimore. Bob stayed busy posting images and updates on the chapter’s Facebook page, although he did take a break long enough to pose with Charlie Vascellaro at the site of home plate of Memorial Stadium.
Sam Sundermeyer, Dan Levitt, and Mike Haupert made research presentations at the meeting. Other chapter members who attended include Hans Van Slooten, Steve Bratkovich, John Gregory, Rich Arpi, Cary Smith, Barry Bengtsson, Scott Bush, and R. J. Lesch.
The 2023 SABR convention will be at the Harry Palmer House in Chicago.
Some chapter members found other activities while staying at home during the convention. Brenda Himrich attended a wine-and-painting event at Target Field August 18. Rain kept them inside instead of on the field. Brenda says she would otherwise have painted a baseball scene rather than a tree, but she added, “I have the best seat in the house,” where she was close to the instructor, had good lighting, a means of monitoring the line at the bar, and best of all, close to the bathroom.
Eric Gray is following up his first book, Bases to Bleachers, with Backyards to Ballparks, and he will be doing a reading at Magers & Quinn Booksellers (3038 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis 55408, 612-822-4611) on Monday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m. Attend if you can and/or join Eric and Howard Luloff for a pre-presentation meal at 5:00 at 3001 Hennepin Avenue (across Hennepin from Magers & Quinn).
Chicago Quiz Answers
- Tony LaRussa, Al Lopez, Nixey Callahan, Paul Richards
- Jimmy Dykes
- Johnny Evers
- Ron Santo, Don Kessinger
- Heinie Zimmerman, Phil Cavaretta, Billy Williams, Bill Madlock (two), Bill Buckner, Derrek Lee. (Also for Chicago National League teams not named the Cubs: Ross Barnes, George Gore, Capt. Adrian Anson, Mike Kelly)
- Lou Gehrig
- Luke Appling
- Wendell Smith
- Ed Cicotte
- Dennis McLain
- Arch Ward, who also created Golden Gloves boxing and the college football all-star game
- Art “Whattaman” Shires
Bonus question!
Ted Lyons, who pitched only on Sundays later in his career
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Calendar
September 17—Fred Souba Hot Stove League Saturday Morning, 8:45 a.m., Bunny’s, St. Louis Park.
September 19—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.
October 8—Book Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., Intentional Balk: Baseball’s Thin Line between Innovation and Cheating by Dan Levitt and Mark Armour.
October 16—Halsey Hall Chapter Board of Directors meeting, Manning’s, 22nd Avenue and Como Avenue SE, Minneapolis, 6:00 p.m. For more information on attending, contact Gene Gomes.
November 5—Fall Chapter Meeting, 8:45 a.m., Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.
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Board of Directors 2022-2023
President—Gene Gomes
Vice President—David Karpinski
Secretary—Sarah Johnson
Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
Daniel Dorff
John Swol
Bob Tholkes
Events Committee Chair—Howard Luloff
Research Committee Co-Chairs—Dave Lande, Gene Gomes
Membership Committee Chair—Stew Thornley
The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
Ass. Editors—Jerry Janzen and Brenda Himrich
Webmaster—John Gregory
Ass. Webmasters—Frank Kadwell, Hans Van Slooten, and Stew Thornley
Social Media Directors—Bob Komoroski, Facebook; Hans Van Slooten and Tom Flynn, Twitter
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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