November 2001

Fall Chapter Meeting Features Lots of Hits, No Errors More than 20 members and guests came to United Business Methodist Church in Columbia Heights on October 13 At the business meeting, the membership voted to for the Fall Chapter Meeting. amend Article III, Section 4 of the by-laws to include the webmaster, along with the newsletter editors, to be Featured Guests appointed to a one-year term (which is renewable) by the Julio Becquer talked about playing on the board of directors. Sections 1 and 2 of Article II, sandlots of Havana and eventually being signed to a regarding participation in the chapter, were also amended professional contract by Joe Cambria. “We loved the to note that any Society for American Baseball Research guy,” Becquer said of Cambria. “Joe was like horse (SABR) member may participate in the Halsey Hall manure. He was all over the place.” Chapter and that the dues paid by participants are for a Dave Thies recalled growing up in north subscription to chapter publications. The updated and learning to pitch when he was in fourth grade. He by-laws are listed on page 3; the complete set of by-laws traced his athletic career through high school, college, is in the 2001-2002 chapter directory. the army, and the professional ranks, starting with Ray Luurs brought up the possibility of resurrecting Albany in the Eastern League in 1959 and eventually the chapter television show. Ray will develop a reaching the majors with the Kansas City Athletics in 1963. questionnaire to get more information on how much Both guests commented on the audience, pointing out interest there is among chapter participants. the pros and cons of having such a knowledgeable group. (In other board business, the directors, at their Thies thought it was nice that he didn’t have to explain October 7 meeting, adopted a resolution that calls for all who people like Steve Boros or Bobby Hofman were. activities and events either sanctioned by the Halsey Hall On the other hand, Becquer said it was tougher to lie Chapter or publicized in a chapter publication to be about his accomplishments. “I usually don’t have to worry accessible to all members.) about people being able to look up my statistics,” he said. “Most of them don’t even know how to spell my name.” New Chapter Site Is on the Web Research Presentations Halsey Hall Chapter webmaster Deano Thilgen has S. Thornley made a presentation on Major League finished revamping the chapter web site, which is now No-Hitters of the 20th Century; Jim Karn, wearing a St. available for perusing at: Cloud Rox uniform, talked about the history of baseball http://halseyhall.org in St. Cloud, going back to the 1960s with the city’s first The features include a section on research projects, a team, the Arctics, in 1867; Kevin Hennessy gave an place for research requests as well as a spot to post overview of the career of Dave Thies, including a research or links to members’ baseball-related web sites. game-by-game listing of his nine pitching apperances, as a prelude to Thies’s appearance before the group. Season Wrapups Seth C. “Dr. Fan” Hawkins had another full season of Other Activities baseball, attending more than 90 games and getting to his Dan Levitt led a trivia contest, which was won by the 65th and 66th stadiums (Miller Park and PNC Park) while team of Cary Smith (who had the highest individual score also seeing several milestones achieved by Rickey in the preliminary round) and Fred Buckland, who Henderson, including his 3,000th on the final day of defeated Jim Wyman and Thornley in the final round. the season. Mark Johnson attended 79 of the 81 Twins home games From Dan Levitt’s Trivia Quiz this year. Your scribe made it to 91 major league games (including three games in New York) in 11 Name the 12 managers who won back-to- different stadiums. Fred Buckland attended major league back pennants in the expansion era. games in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Seattle and minor league games in Peoria, Indianapolis, Akron, Answer on page 3 Clinton (Iowa), and Tacoma. New Members Welcome to new members Rex Hamann, Lou Michaels, Jeff Brubaker, Dean Urdahl, Ron Henry, Geoff Luurs, Julio Becquer, and Dave Thies. Rex Hamann is a SABR member who recently moved A native of Litchfield, Minnesota, and a graduate of St. from Mogadore, Ohio, to Andover, Minnesota, when his Cloud State University, Dean Urdahl now lives in Grove wife, Keitha, became an instructor at the University of City and is in his 31st year of teaching American History Minnesota’s Choral Music Education Department. at New London-Spicer High School, where he coaches A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Rex attended his first cross-country. Under Dean, the girls squad won the 2001 game in August 1965 at County Stadium in Milwaukee state champion. Dean also writes on baseball and other and got a foul ball. He saw his first Cubs game at Wrigley topics and has two books published, Touching Bases with Field a year later. Our Memories (on the ) and Lives Lived Rex was present to see ’s 300th win and Large. Dean attended his first games on July 4, 1961, ’s 3,000th hit, both at County Stadium, as when Julio Becquer won the first game of a doubleheader well as Yount hitting for the cycle at Comiskey Park in for the Twins with a two-out grand slam in the last of the Chicago. He also saw an Eastern League game in which ninth and had an inside-the-park home Zach Sorenson of the Akron Aeros completed his cycle in the second game. Dean still plays league by hitting a game-ending grand slam. basketball and softball and is on the board of directors of Rex has been a collector for as long as he can the Litchfield Blues amateur baseball team. Dean has a remember. He interviewed Walter Mondale during wife, Karen, and sons Chad (a sportswriter for the Mondale’s campaign for vice president and has also met Owatonna Peoples Press), Brent, and Troy. , Andy Pafko, , and Glenn Dean shares his August 18 birthday with Roberto Beckert. Clemente, , Bobby Higginson, Buck His primary baseball interests are the pre-1970 Weaver, Joe Azcue, , Elayne Boosler, and and the pre-1955 minor leagues, especially Rafer Johnson. the American Association and . He Ron Henry is a software developer from Paris, also tracks down the grave sites of former Brewers from Illinois, who now lives in Minneapolis. The first game he the American Association and was featured in an article ever attended was during the . He in an Ohio newspaper after he located the unmarked began compiling data in 1949 and embarked on a life- grave of Nick Cullop in Mifflin Township. Rex creates long project to develop a statistical register on every player markers commemorating the baseball career of the player in the history of organized baseball. Ron wrote his first whose grave he finds (and sometimes doesn’t find) and computer program in 1953 and compiled statistics on will soon expand the project to include people who wish University of Minnesota baseball for the Minneapolis Star to commemorate a loved one or pet. and Tribune in 1955 and 1956. Ron says he has been the Lou Michaels, aka The Round Mound of Sports world’s oldest living programmer since 1965. SoundTM, is the sports director for WLKX-FM and also Geoffrey Dayne Luurs is from Champlin and is an has a Saturday sports show on WQPM in Princeton in honor student at Fred Moore High School, where he also addition to doing sports commentary and play-by-play plays football and baseball. He has been playing via audio streaming on www.minnesotasportsupdate.com. organized baseball since third grade and has been going to A native of Detroit, Lou and his wife, Baseball Mary, games “since I was born.” Geoff saw Cal Ripken get his live in Mendota Heights. Lou is a member of several last hit in the Metrodome. Geoff is the son of Ray and organizations, including the Masons, Moose, Odd Kris Luurs, one of whom is also a Halsey Hall Chapter Fellows, and Knights Pytians. member. Jeff Brubaker is a SABR member from Milwaukee Geoff shares his September 22 birthday with Bob who is now attending the University of St. Thomas, where Lemon, Tom Lasorda, Larry Dierker, Vince Coleman, he is planning on a major in sociology and Wally Backman, Jeffrey Leonard, Ken Aspromonte, Doc psychology with a minor in justice and peace. Jeff worked Powers, Tai Babilonia, Debby Boone, Ingemar Johansson, as an usher at County Stadium and Miller Park and was Dot Richardson, and the voice of Mr. Ed, Rocky Lane. present for the final game of the former and the first Julio Becquer and Dave Thies were awarded game of the latter. He has been a fan of the Toronto Blue complimentary memberships in SABR and the Halsey Jays since he was 4. Jeff played in Little/Senior League Hall Chapter for their appearances at our October 13 chap- for six years and was an All-Star four times. Last ter meeting. Julio is a member of the Cuban Baseball summer, he played in the Milwaukee County League and Hall of Fame, and Dave is a member of the St. Mary’s had a batting average of .429, 11th best in the league. College Athletic Hall of Fame in Winona, Minnesota. Jeff shares his February 2 birthday with , Julio’s birthday will be noted in next month’s , , Don Buford, Max Alvis, newsletter. Dave shares his March 21 birthday with Wes Ferrell, George Halas, Orval Overall, Willie Kamm, , Manny Sanguillen, Shanty Hogan, Johann Farrah Fawcett, Dexter Manley, and Tom Smothers. Bach, Howard Cosell, and Shawon Dunston. Hot Stove Saturday Mid-Morning Research News December 1 Breakfast Not Just for Earlybirds While in Columbus for the Ohio Cup vintage base ball To accommodate those who aren’t real chipper at 8:30 festival in September, Bob Tholkes did some research on in the morning, the starting time of the December 1 Hot Martin Duke, who was born Martin Duck (the family Stove Saturday Morning has been moved back an hour. switched the name to Duke in the 1880s) in Ohio in 1867 It will start at 9:30 and be held at the usual location, and pitched for the Minneapolis Millers in 1889, 1890, the back room of Baker’s Square at 66th and Xerxes in and 1895. Although it’s reported that Duke died in Richfield. Minneapolis in 1898, Bob learned that he actually lived much longer, returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, Cow Chips and died in a Cincinnati suburb on May 29, 1935. Pete Hepokoski was at the first game at Yankee Dan Levitt has written biographies on , Stadium after the terrorist attacks on New York and saw , and Noodles Hahn for an upcoming SABR lose his second game of the season. Pete publication on the dead-ball era. was also in Cleveland on September 28 to see the Twins Dan Cagley is researching and writing a chapter on shut out the Indians. . . . For his 50th birthday, Jim Wyman Bud Fowler and the 1884 Stillwater team for a book on received a baseball from his dad that was autographed by black baseball in Minnesota to be published by the Joe Bauman, who held the professional record for home Minnesota Historical Society. runs in a season until it was broken recently by Barry Rich Arpi and Deano Thilgen are researching Bonds. . . . Jim Karn and Bob Karn jointly coached St. 19th-century baseball in Minnesota. Cloud Cathedral High School to the state Class AA baseball championship last spring. . . . Cary Smith On Research interviewed Negro League Max Manning for a “The researcher should not only detail what’s school project. . . . Rich Arpi, Deano Thilgen, Jim Karn, and Dan Cagley attended the Northern Great Plains he’s done, but, in fact, he should list every History Conference in Grand Forks. . . . Roger Godin reason he can think of for why his conclusion presented a paper at the full meeting of the International could be wrong. Yes, when we present our work, Hockey Association in Port Colbourne, Ontario. we do so because we believe we’ve come to a conclusion that’s good. But to make that Answer to Dan Levitt’s Quiz conclusion, we have to think of all the other ways The 12 managers who won back-to-back pennants in the expansion era are , , Tony we could have done it and reject them as LaRussa, Red Schoendienst, , Sparky inferior; and, our audience has to have the Anderson, Tom Lasorda, , , Joe information to do the same.” Torre, Cito Gaston, and . —Physicist Dick Feynman Amended By-Laws All-Initial Team Here are the by-laws, as amended, that were revised by the membership at the OF—J. T. Bruett, J. J. Warner, D. J. Dozier, October 13 chapter meeting: R. J. Reynolds, Willie “E. T.” McGee ARTICLE II PARTICIPATION Section 1—Participation SS—U. L. Washington, J. C. Hartman 2B—F. P. Santangelo Any member of SABR may participate in the Halsey Hall Chapter. 1B—J. R. Phillips, 3B—B. J. Surhoff Section 2—Subcription Dues J. T. Snow, R. C. Stevens Annual subscription dues will entitle a SABR member to all Halsey Hall publications P—J. R. Richard, B. J. Ryan, A. J. Sager, and a listing in the annual chapter directory. A. J. Burnett, C. J. Nitkowski, C. V. Matterson, J. C. Romero, C. C. Sabathia, T. R. Bryden, Dues shall be determined by the board of T. J. Mathews, P. J. Horan, J. J. Thobe directors.

PH—C. B. Burns ARTICLE III OFFICERS Section 4—Publication Editors/ C—J. C. Martin, A. J. Hinch, Webmaster A. J. Pierzynski, B. J. Waszgis, J. W. Porter The editor(s) of chapter publications and the webmaster shall be appointed by the board Writer— SABR Members—J. D.Parsley, of directors to a term of one year. The term J. G. Taylor Spink R. J. Lesch, F. X. Flinn shall start January 1. The term is renewable. November Birthdays Halsey Hall Chapter 26—Ron Henry (also , , Bob Board of Directors 2001-02 Elliott, , , Jorge Orta and Tina Turner) President—Cary Smith Treasurer—Kevin Hennessy 27—Lou Michaels (also Jimmy Rollins, Bullet Joe Bush, Vice President—Ray Luurs Secretary—Rich Arpi Ted Husing, Dave Giusti, Jose Tartabull, Johnny Blood, Fred Buckland Dan Cagley Dan Levitt Jimi Hendrix, Caroline Kennedy, and Buffalo Bob Smith) 30—Rodger Coauette (also Ivan Rodriguez, Bo Webmaster—Deano Thilgen Jackson, Ray Durham, , , The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley Juan Berenguer, Steve Hamilton, Firpo Marberry, Abbie Holy Cow Extra Editor—Bob Tholkes Hoffman, G. Gordon Liddy, Des’ree, Winston Churchill, and Mark Twain) Please direct news about chapter events, about yourself, or about other chapter members to Calendar S. Thornley, 1082 Lovell Avenue, Roseville, December 1 Minnesota 55113-4419 or via e-mail at Hot Stove Saturday Mid-Morning, [email protected]. 9:30 a.m., Baker’s Square, http://halseyhall.org Sixty-Sixth and Xerxes, Richfield

Halsey Hall Chapter—SABR The Holy Cow! Stew Thornley, Editor 1082 Lovell Avenue Roseville, Minnesota 55113-4419