We are saddened to announce that SABR founding member and Bob Davids Chapter member Bob McConnell has passed away at age 87. His obituary notice may be read athttp://www.legacy.com/obituaries/delawareonline/obituary.aspx?n=robert-churchill-mcconnell&pid=156584004&fhid=7881, but more thorough is his SABR bio which can be read at http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/5e8e335e.

The Bob Davids Chapter of SABR held its 38th annual meeting in Rosslyn, VA on Saturday, January 28th, the third time the chapter's annual event coincided with SABR day. More than 130 members and guests attended.

After re-electing the chapter's Board members, the group decided to form a chapter trivia team to challenge other chapters at SABR 42 in Minneapolis. The rest of the day was dominated by a series of engaging presentations:

• David Vincent, Bob Davids Chapter Board member, Chapter Historian and Emcee for the proceedings, kicked things off with a great presentation on pitchers who hit home runs.  This set the appropriate tone and we were off and running. (see his presentation)
• Bob Savitt, former Bob Davids Chapter President, having recently published his book, The Blue Ridge League (Images of Baseball) gave a succinct synopsis of his in‑depth research of a league that overlapped with the boundaries of our chapter, geographically if not chronologically.
• Jim Hannan, former Washington Senators pitcher regaled us with stories from his career, but even more impressive is the work he has done and is doing on behalf of other retired players, particularly through the Alumni Association.
• Dave Smith, Retrosheet icon, recounted some of the questions posed to him during the 2011 baseball season by the media and the research they prompted him to do.  Those results are always interesting and we are indeed fortunate to have Dave as a regular contributor at our meetings.
• Steve Sclafani, is the founder and CEO of the Baseball Factory, a recognized leader in player development and college placement.  Baseball Factory alumni include Roy Halladay, Josh Hamilton, Ryan Zimmerman and more than 250 other major leaguers.  Steve told us how his organization scouts and develops young players, helping them (and their parents) plan appropriately for a possible future in baseball.
• Andy Bradley, alumni player and now head coach of the very successful baseball program at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C., told us of his coaching philosophy.  Andy’s dad, Tom, pitched in the majors for seven seasons and was the head baseball coach at the University of Maryland.  Great job by the conference’s youngest coach, a title he has held for the past eight years.
• Tom Hanrahan, chapter member, presented a well-devised formula for comparing the relative values of the game’s best pitchers and batters. (see his presentation)

Finally, the always popular chapter raffle, bolstered this year with items donated from the Bob Davids estate, raised over $600 for the chapter coffers.

Members, check your email for your copy of the chapter e-newsletter. This month's articles include:

1. Annual Bob Davids Chapter Meeting:  Plan to Attend on Jan. 28, by D. Bruce Brown
2. Talkin’ Baseball:  Upcoming Talks Scheduled, by Dave Paulson
3. Central Pennsylvania Update:  Atlantic League Honors Lupton, by Barry Sparks
4. Meet Buck Showalter:  Orioles Manager to Speak Jan. 19
5. Breaking Through:  The End of the Color Barrier in D.C., by Karen and Kevin Flynn
6. Torre Provides an Inside View:  Former Manager Joins Panel in D.C. Feb. 15

The deadline for material for the next newsletter is April 10, 2012. Submissions can be sent to Squibber editor Walt Cherniak at wcherniakjr@aol.com.  Keep sending us those squibs, and those ideas for squibs!