Official Publication of Retrosheet, Inc. Volume 5, Number 3 September 15, 1998

1. Bad News and Good News, a Cautionary Tale Game Account 2.Electronic Newsletters One of the great things about Retrosheet is the way Acquisitions gives us connections to the rest of the world, sometimes in unexpected ways. My example this time by Dave Smith is the reliance on the computer and the potential disasters that are lurking there. By now you have The last several installments under this title have probably guessed the bad news: my second hard drive related some remarkable successes as our collection crashed about two weeks continues to grow. I am happy to say that this tradition ago, taking with it all the View from continues, thanks to a number of Retro Volunteers. Retrosheet data files. The Here are the details of the last three months. good news is that all the files the Vault were backed up. Each week I have finished copying all the accounts in the 1932 I receive files from 10-15 David Smith, New York World-Telegram, as well as those from volunteers with a total of 150 President 1933. Perhaps more exciting, since it was so or so games. At the end of unexpected, was the discovery of regular accounts in each week, I pack up the new the 1921 Evening Bulletin. This city had files and send copies to Retrosheet Secretary David very erratic coverage in different papers over the years Vincent. We are currently in the process of restoring and it was a delight to discover that through August of the files so I can resume business as usual. The 1921 the Bulletin coverage was comparable to New cautionary tale is to remind everyone to take the York, , and St. Louis. That is, all games possibility of data losses seriously. I remember a line except Sundays and holidays are covered at least from a computer magazine over 10 years ago which partially. For September the situation was not so rosy, said something like: "There are only two kinds of since the two sources I have both had different (earlier) airplane pilots, those who have made a wheels-up editions of the paper on the microfilm with almost no landing and those who will. Similarly, there are two play by play accounts. I have requested the film from kinds of computer users, those who have lost data and other libraries and hope we will find what we need, those who will". One consequence of all of this is a although I am not too confident. It remains to be seen delay in the completion of this issue of The Retro Sheet how other seasons were covered by the Bulletin. Final by about two weeks. For that, I apologize. note on 1921: one of the games I found in the Bulletin was a contest between the Athletics and the Indians, On a more cheerful note I would like to follow up on a and was one of two Cleveland games we still needed suggestion I got from Greg Spira recently. Greg noted for that year. Ron Fisher, who previously finished the that almost all Retrosheetians are computer-literate to 1921 Pirates, immediately entered the game and is a degree and have Internet access. Since we post all now chafing to get the last one for the Tribe, which was of the newsletters on our web page, some people might against Washington on June 13. be happy to read it there and the organization some money on the costs of production and mailing. Mike Grahek finished copying the 1912 New York To accomplish this most efficiently, all we would need to do is send an e-mail announcement when each new Evening Telegram in its "partial entirety", his charming edition is posted so people would be alerted to look for way to remind us that many game accounts from the it. So, if anyone is interested in switching from the early part of the century were incomplete. Mike has printed version to the electronic alert mode, let me also received and copied accounts from the Chi