Chapter Info Newsletter The Squibber: Summer 2002
| The Squibber: Summer 2002 |
| Written by Bob Davids Chapter |
| Wednesday, 01 May 2002 01:00 |
|
The Squibber DAVIDS CHAPTER E-NEWSLETTER -- ISSUE #7
May-June 2002 This newsletter is produced by the Bob Davids Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, which serves SABR members in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Visit the Chapter's website at: http://www.sabrdc.org/The bimonthly newsletter is distributed electronically to members. It has been designed mainly to survive emailing; a less clunky version is likely available on our chapter website site [look on the "Links" page] and is posted on The Squibber's own website at: http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/NewNL.htm. The deadline for material for the next newsletter is June 25. Keep sending those squibs, and those ideas for squibs!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) In Memorium: Bob Davids 1926-2002 -- Founder and Friend2) New Feature: Theme Teams, with Bruce Brown3) The Capital and the Bigs: What Does Bud Want?, with Phil Wood4) New Feature: Report from SABR-L, with Mike Shapiro5) Chapter News: Our First Essay Contest Results, A Note from Don Pollins6) New Feature: Casey at the Byte, with Our Own Jim Casey, RHP7) Local Heroes: Charlie Keller of Nearby Yankeeland, Etc.8) From the Sultan's Shelf: Speed and Power, with David Vincent9) Baseball Datebook: May, June, and Beyond10) Local Baseball News: Hatching those IronBirds, Etc.11) Crossing the Plate (Member Milestones): Al's New Book, Fred's New Book12) On Deck: What Some Members Are Up To: Baseball Survivor, Etc.13) Around the Horn: Frank's Tour of Research Resources14) Bedsheet Banners: Gil Hodges for the HOF?, Etc.15) Your Letters: Appreciating Howie Bedell, Appreciating Phil Wood16) Dave's Stumpers . . .(and Lesser Oddments)17) Editorial StuffSpecial Addendum -- The Many Facets of Bob Davids ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) REMEMBERING THE REMARKABLE BOB DAVIDS We lost our founder and friend Bob Davids on February 10. Bob had gotten SABR organized in 1971, served three separate times as its President, and was long the guiding spirit of our chapter, which was, appropriately, later named in his honor. While we had steeled ourselves against the pain of a day that we knew would eventually come, it was only with Bob's passing that we were able to fully gauge his broad effect on our organization, and even more, his profound effect on us as friends and acquaintances. As one of several parallel tributes to a great man, many of us were moved to write very short (40-60 words) remembrances of particular traits -- or particular moments -- that represented what we found so special in Bob. Those brief summaries are shown below in a special addendum. As a self-described "statistorian," Bob might have some sympathy for the idea of plumbing broad truths by means of poring over a collection of narrow and plain facts. That's something that you can do in his memory, even now; take a look at these particulars, and see what image of the man emerges in your mind. And think about other men who have created large and successful organizations like ours; do they have the thoughtfulness, the wisdom, the kindness, or the subtle wit of Bob Davids? [Note: An expanded set of these brief remembrances will be displayed at the Boston SABR32 Convention in June. Those who would like to submit succinct recollections for inclusion should send them by June 15 to mccrayL@bellatlantic.net. For a brief sketch of the Bob's life, go to http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/Profiles.htm#davids]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2) NEW FEATURE -- Theme Teams, by Bruce Brown One activity that baseball fans can't seem to resist is assembling imaginary teams. I find it not only fun, but thought-provoking. For the past six months, I've assembled rosters of players -- active, retired, and/or deceased -- based on certain themes. These teams have been distributed via e-mail to anyone interested. I put together these lists purely for personal reasons--pleasantry over pedantry. Many of the readers receiving these have suggested themes or even submitted whole rosters. The most worthy get posted. Some past themes have included:
Just for fun, I'll prepare a similar theme team for each issue of The Squibber. In honor of Washingtonian Bob Davids, here is the list for this issue. The All-Time Team of Washington, DC Natives 1B - Lu Blue 2B - Joe Gerhardt 3B - Art Devlin SS - Maury Wills C - Pop Snyder LF - Milt Thompson CF - Paul Hines RF - Algie McBride DH - Don Money RH - Johnny Klippstein LH - Doc Keefe RP - Frank Funk PH - Denny Sothern Mgr - Holly Hollingshead Lineup 1 Wills 2 Gerhardt 3 Devlin 4 Money 5 Blue 6 McBride 7 Hines 8 Snyder 9 Thompson Honorable Mention Billy Taylor Sonny Jackson Bump Wills Sadie Houck Earl Clark Comments? Ideas? Try bbrown8870@aol.com~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3) THE CAPITAL AND THE BIGS -- By Phil Wood Phil Wood [Glyndon MD] ponders MLB in the District, past and future. You can reach Phil at filwud@aol.com.Looking Ahead --MLB in DC? What Are the Odds?Several baseball insiders suspect the recent game of musical owners in MLB provided a way to turn the Montreal Expos into an expansion team. With Marlins owner John Henry taking over the Red Sox, and Expos owner Jeff Loria buying the Marlins, MLB assumed ownership of the Expos and is operating them in 2002. MLB then can re-sell the Expos as if they were an expansion team. That way, every owner will benefit from the sale, and no single owner would be able to benefit from relocation. The last expansion fee was $130 million for Arizona and Tampa Bay; it's a good bet MLB will tack another $100 million onto that number for the privilege of operating the Expos in the DC area. I've readjusted the odds on baseball returning to Washington in 2003 downward, from "more than 50%" to less than 10%. I base this on the conclusion that Bud Selig is among the worst human beings on the planet, and that he will do or say just about anything. Let's face it, the guy at heart is just another car salesman, whose perceptions of reality and fairness are skewed to say the least. I'm beginning to think that, while I still doubt they can contract teams, they'll operate in Montreal beyond 2002 in an illogical attempt to really gouge whoever they're finally able get to buy the team. The emergence of Dan Snyder as a potential bidder turned Bud and his pals into Pavlov's dogs. Looking back --Those Graying HeroesLongtime fan favorite and perennial all-star first baseman Mickey Vernon celebrated his 84th birthday on April 22. A former first baseman in the Senators' farm system, Joe Klein is chief executive of the Atlantic League, one of the more successful independent circuits. Joining the Atlantic League under the ownership of former Bowie-Frederick-Delmarva owner Peter Kirk are franchises in Lancaster and York, PA. The York White Roses of the Eastern League were a launching pad for several future Nats in the 1960's, including Dick Bosman, Del Unser, and Casey Cox, to name a few...Dick Such went 0-16, 2.81 with the '67 York squad. 1968 unassisted-triple-play Nats shortstop Ron Hansen is back at work as a major league scout for the Yankees following a mild heart attack in January. 1949-51 Nats shortstop Sam Dente died in April in his native New Jersey just days short of his 80th birthday. Though most wire service obituaries labeled him a Cleveland Indian -- he was a utility man with the 1954 AL champion Tribe -- Dente spent his only seasons as a regular with Washington. When the 1949 club won 9 straight on the road and arrived home to a ticker tape parade, one of the signs along the parade route read "We'll Win Plenty with Sam Dente." For his career, which included stops with the Red Sox, Browns and White Sox as well as the Nats and Indians, Dente batted .252 and played every infield position. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4) NEW FEATURE -- "From Behind Home Plate," by Mike Shapiro This column will be a relatively regular look at the recent threads and posts, on the SABR-L listserv, which may be of interest to members of the Bob Davids chapter of SABR. I'll try and pick up on comments from members of our chapter, but will absolutely miss some. -- Mike S. Three areas seem to be piquing interest on SABR-L this past couple of months. [1] The first notable subject is the recent death of Bob Davids and the tributes from members both inside and outside our area. The comments that were received are certainly an indication of the respect that the SABR community felt for Mr. Davids. [2] The second area of interest to locals was the question of whether Babe Ruth (he of the Baltimore Ruths) would have hit close to 100 dingers a year in today's parks. Since many of the longest home runs (including Hondo's white seaters and Mantle's legendary shot) were hit in our neighborhood, there certainly was local interest. What I find intriguing is that this debate is, in reality, simply a different way of quantifying an age-old debate about whether ballplayers in the "golden era" of sports were better than today's athletes. Effectively, this is a new view on an old question. [3] Oddly enough, there have been a number of short threads concerning those involved in baseball in the DC area. These ranged from notes about Vinegar Bend Mizell (who worked in DC after his retirement), to questions about Pete Quesada's first name (Elwood), to questions about Buddy Myer, even to questions about Bowie Kuhn's educational background. I promise that next issue, I will manage to track items that the "locals" are involved with. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Essay Contest Winners Dominated by Stevensville Middle Schoolers Jan Finkel [Swanton MD] reports on the results of the Chapter's first student essay contest, "Digging into Baseball:"First Prize ($200) -- Zach Wilt (Stevensville Middle School), untitled essay on hitting and pitching inconsistencies.Second Prize ($100) -- Jack Hutchison (Stevensville Middle School), "The 1919 World Series."Third Prize ($50) -- Alex Jamis (no school given, lives in Potomac), "TheHistory of Baseball: From a Stick and a Rock to a Ball and a Bat ,"Chapter Website Adds A News Section -- from Don PollinsOur chapter's web site -- http://www.sabrdc.org/ -- will go through a minor redesign in the near future. We will also be adding some new items. In the mean time, take a look at our latest feature- Baseball News. It is located on our home page. Click on it and you will be taken to a page with links to 15 baseball stories. This page is updated daily so you will always be getting the latest news. Please let us know what you think at donpollins@postmark.net. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6) NEW FEATURE -- On The Dusty Diamond Casey at the Byte, by Jim Casey [Ed. Note: While you and I are applying wit and imagination to baseball, fifty-something Jim Casey [Falls Church] is applying actual torque to actual baseballs. A pitcher [3-2 last year], Jim plays on the 50+ Senators in the MSBL and credits his sixth pitch, a "dry spitball", to a tip from Bill Lee at a fantasy camp. Jim has agreed to keep a fragmentary e-diary for successive issues of The Squibber. His inaugural entry, below, covers preparation for the coming season.] I have been playing in adult amateur hardball leagues since 1989, and it has been one of the most fun, and most satisfying, experiences of my life. We all know what an unforgiving game baseball is, and I have had my share of pain and failure out there, but I have also experienced success, more than I ever would have imagined. Primarily I pitch. Those of you who know me are aware I could (and should) be in better shape. However, I do take good care of my shoulder and elbow, using light weights and a variety of exercises to keep them strong and flexible. The most important thing though, for a pitcher, is the legs. I ride an exercise bike for 15-20 minutes each morning and evening. Having that solid foundation to drive from and land on is a key element of being able to still go nine most of the time, even at age 51. Wish me luck, and get out there yourselves. It's never too late to live out that fantasy of striking out the side in the ninth to save a key win, or getting the game-winning hit, or making the game-saving play. Go, CJ! Go, Ramblers! Clyde Bailey, Junior ["CJ"] is a 6'4" junior at Eastern High School who is attracting some attention for his baseball talent. An undefeated RHP last year, CJ took the EHS Ramblers to the City Championship in both '00 and '01. A switch-hitter who has been batting in the third position in the line-up, CJ has been found at shortstop and catcher between his starts. We'll follow CJ's hardball progress in The Squibber in the coming months, and beyond. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7) LOCAL HEROES -- Charlie and Clem Charlie Keller of Middletown and Yankeeland -- by John Munns Local boy Charlie Keller was destined to take his place as one of the greatest of all time Yankees hitters until a congenital back problem interfered with his career. Even though Charlie's baseball life was cut short by the back problem and by two years in the Merchant Marines during World War II, he hit 30 or more home runs and knocked in 100 RBIs or more in each of three seasons. His nickname, "King Kong Keller," seemed to fit, as his appearance was broad, swarthy, and hairy; and he hit balls hard and far, even though he was only 5-foot-10 and weighed 185 pounds. Charlie himself, though, never liked the name "King Kong". Charlie played in four World Series and was selected for five All-Star games. At 30, Charlie's back problems made him a part-time player, and at 35 they forced him to his 1952 retirement. His son, Charlie III, also played professional baseball, but his career was also cut short due to his own congenital back ailment after he hit .349 to lead the Eastern League in 1961. Hal Keller, Charlie's younger brother, played for the Washington Senators from 1949-1952 and was the farm director for the Senators, the Texas Rangers, and later for the Seattle Mariners. Charlie ranks among the top long-ball threats in big league history, with a lifetime batting average of .286, 189 home runs, and 760 RBIs, which extended over 13 years with the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers. Charlie was born on September 12, 1916, in Middletown (Frederick County), MD, graduated from Middletown High School, and signed with the Yankees after graduating from the University of Maryland. The Yankees immediately assigned Charlie to the Newark Bears, the Yankees' International League team, in 1937. He won the International League batting crown and Minor League Player of the Year honors from The Sporting News in 1937 with a .353 average, 13 homers, 88 RBIs, and 120 runs scored. In 1938, playing with the Bears again, Charlie surpassed his 1937 stats with a .365 average, 22 homers, 129 RBIs, and 149 runs scored. In 1939, Charlie finally secured a position in the Yankees outfield and responded with a .334 average, 11 homers, and 83 RBIs. George Selkirk (left field), Joe DiMaggio (center field) and Charlie (right field) made up the only all-.300 outfield for the year. His seasonal average never matched his first-year mark with the Yankees, as the coaches wanted him to pull the ball to take advantage of the short right field porch at Yankee Stadium. Charlie excelled in the World Series that year, hitting .438, with three homers, one double, one triple, and five singles. Charlie scored the winning run against Cincinnati by barreling over the catcher Ernie Lombardi in the tenth inning of the fourth and final game of the Series. After retirement, Charlie purchased a 100-acre farm to the west of the city of Frederick on Yellow Springs Road. He named it Yankeeland, and he raised horses there. He died on May 23, 1990, and is buried in the cemetery at the Christ Reformed United Church of Christ in Middletown. Yankeeland is still in operation, with Charlie E. Keller III serving as president, and Chaz, [Charlie III's son] and nephew Dan Bittle running the day-to-day operations. The town of Middletown honored Charlie Keller on September 26, 1998, with a ceremony and a granite monument with a plaque placed at Middletown Memorial Park, the field that Charlie played ball as a youth. For more information on Yankeeland, including directions, go to http://www.yankeelandfarms.com/farm_info.html.
Directions to Middletown: From the DC area, take I-270 North. Exit at I-70 W towards Hagerstown. Exit at exit 49 towards Braddock Heights / Middletown. Merge unto US 40 Alt. US 40 ALT becomes E Main Street in Middletown. Take a left on MD 17 (Church Street). The Christ Reformed United Church of Christ is located on the left about one-quarter of a mile after taking the left onto MD 17. The Memorial Park is another quarter of a mile past the church on the left. From Baltimore: Take I-70 W toward Hagerstown. Take Exit 49 and follow the directions above. [Note: John is preparing a longer version of this account, including photographs, for the Squibber website. Keep an eye on http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/heroes.htm]--- Clem Dreisewerd -- by Walter Kephart I was surprised to see that pitcher Clem Dreisewerd died on 9/11/2001. I had several telephone conversations, the last being earlier that year, with Mr. Dreisewerd over the last couple of years. These were mainly in relation to investigation I had been doing of baseball played at Sampson military base in upstate NY during WW2, but also in connection with his having played for the Richmond, VA, professional baseball team in 1937. He was legally blind with macular degeneration and was very gracious and friendly when I talked with him, and he seemed willing and anxious to talk baseball. The things he seemed most proud of during his long career as a professional ball player were (1) Having pitched 1/3 of an inning in the 1946 Worlds Series for the Red Sox, (2) Having Mickey Owen as his catcher while in the Navy, (3) Having the highest salary except for Jerry Priddy for the St. Louis Browns in 1948, (4) leading three different minor leagues in earned run average and (5) the book his wife wrote, The Catcher was a Lady, about their life in baseball. His Major League record was 6-8 over four years, with an ERA of 4.54. Clem Dreisewerd was often mentioned in the sports pages as one of the few successes when he played for the wartime Red Sox. While playing baseball in Richmond, he lived in the near West End neighborhood now called the "Fan." The ballpark was on Mayo Island in the James River. He and his wife would walk the 3-4 miles from their apartment to the Island in the evening for the ball games and back home afterward. I would strongly recommend The Catcher was a Lady. Dreisewerd's granddaughter has copies. If anyone is interested they can order them from her for $23: Kris Sanchez, 117 Avenue E, Metarie, LA 70005, telephone (504) 833-6501. She remarks on also how Clem's life was immersed with baseball, how he loved to show his World Series ring, and how he could recall details of baseball games from years long past. Note: To see the 4 accounts of our Local Heroes [Keller, Dreiserwerd, Hodges, and Curtis Pride, go to http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/heroes.htm.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8) FROM THE SULTAN'S SHELF -- By David Vincent Thoughts on power plus speed, from the Sultan of Swat Stats [Woodbridge VA]: --- Bob Davids was particularly interested in the combination of speed and power. The first list shows that combination in one fashion. All inside the park home run research is based on the ground-breaking work done by Bob. This research continues today. (Bob, we do miss you.) -- David Vincent Most Times Homering and Stealing Home (Same Game) Lou Gehrig 7 Willie Mays 4 18 Others 2 Most Inside-the-Park HRs, Batter (Game) Guy Hecker, LOU AA, 08/15/1886 3 Tom McCreery, LOU NL, 07/12/1897 3 Most Inside-the-Park HRs, Batter (Season) Sam Crawford, CIN NL, 1901 12 Ty Cobb, DET AL, 1909 9 Kiki Cuyler, PIT NL, 1925 9 Hobe Ferris, BOS AL, 1903 9 John Reilly, CIN AA, 1888 9 Jake Stahl, BOS AL, 1910 9 Most Inside-the-Park HRs, Batter (Career) Jesse Burkett 55 Sam Crawford 52 Ty Cobb 49 Tommy Leach 49 Honus Wagner 41 Tris Speaker 40 (Since 1946, the leader is Willie Wilson, with 13) [For more of Dave's amazing Swat Stats, go to http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/sultan.htm] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- May, June, and BeyondMay 3 and 4 (Friday/Saturday) -- Documentary Film on Memorial StadiumThe film The Last Season: The Life and Demolition of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium will debut at the Maryland Film Festival on Friday, May 3 from 5pm to 7pm and Saturday, May 4 from 2pm to 4pm, in two Baltimore theaters. For more information, visit http://www.mdfilmfest.com. May 11 (Saturday) -- Talkin' BaseballAuthor Bruce Adelson [Alexandria] will address the Talkin' Baseball discussion group, discussing his book, Brushing Back Jim Crow, which tells the story of the end of baseball segregation in the South. The group will meet at 9AM at Border's Bookstore in Columbia, MD, in the Columbia Crossing Shopping Center to the northeast of the intersection of Route 175 and Dobbin Road -- less than 2 miles west of the Interstate 95/Rte 175 junction. The host is Dave Paulson, found at (301) 854-2244 and d2244@gtcinternet.com May 11 (Saturday) -- Philly Chapter Meeting in Wilmington DEThe Philadelphia Chapter of SABR will convene at 9AM at Frawley Stadium, Wilmington, DE [home of the Blue Rocks, KC's single-A entry in the Carolina League]. Whether traveling North or South, take Exit 6 off Rt. I-95 and follow the signs to the stadium. There is ample parking on the stadium lot. The registration fee is $20, and that includes lunch. Contact Kit Crissey (215-782-8213), Joe Dittmar (610-584-5988), or Joe McGillen (215-698-0476) ASAP. The meeting goes to 4pm and the Blue Rocks play a game at 7pm. May 26 (Sunday) -- EWBA Goes Extra InningsThe Eastern Women's Baseball Association, comprising teams in Washington and Baltimore, will hold a 100-inning fundraiser from 10am to dark at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. Check http://home.att.net/~itsahit/ for directions and details. May 29 (Wednesday) -- Home Opener, Bethesda Big TrainThe Griffith League's Big Train goes into action with a preseason game at 7:30pm at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda. For more details, go to http://www.bigtrain.org/. For more on the Griffith League, a collegiate summer league similar to the Cape Cod League, try http://www.clarkgriffithbaseball.org. [At press time, the league's teams from Arlington, Vienna, Reston, Germantown, and the new Baltimore Pride, had not posted their schedules.] May 31 - June 2 (Friday-Sunday) -- Baltimore Baseball WeekendGlenn Spatz [Bel Air MD] is planning the chapter's 2002 Baltimore Baseball Weekend for this period. The program will again feature a weekend series of O's games at Camden (against the Seattle Mariners), special presentations and events, and a brand new Baseball Reader for each attendee. For details, and to register, contact Glenn ASAP at gspatz@ryland.com.June 2 (Sunday) -- Home Opener, Silver Spring/Takoma ThunderboltsThe Clark Griffith League's Thunderbolts open at 7pm at Blair High School in Silver Spring. Go to http://www.tbolts.org/ for details.June 8 (Saturday) -- Talkin' BaseballLarry Moffi [Silver Spring] will discuss his forthcoming book on the MLB Commissioner's office. The Talkin' Baseball discussion group will meet at 9AM at Border's Bookstore in Columbia, MD, in the Columbia Crossing Shopping Center to the northeast of the intersection of Route 175 and Dobbin Road -- less than 2 miles west of the Interstate 95/Rte 175 junction. The host is Dave Paulson, found at (301) 854-2244 and d2244@gtcinternet.com.June 18 (Tuesday) -- Carolina League All-Star Game, Wilmington DEThe Carolina League - California League All-Star game will take place Tuesday, June 18th in Wilmington, DE. Phone 302-888-2015 for tickets. June 27-30 (Thurs.-Sun.)-- SABR32 Convention in BostonNote: The Boston SABR chapter is helping to organize a special Amtrak "SABRCar" for the trip to Boston. It will entail the regular Amtrak fare, and leave on 6/26 and 6/27 at either 7:30 or 9:30 from Union Station, arriving at Boston's Back Bay Station [with a marching band ready to usher riders to the convention] in mid-afternoon. For final details, contact Seamus Kearney at seamus@cs.umb.edu.July 13 (Saturday) -- Talkin' BaseballDave Raglin and Mark Pattison will talk about their new book on the Detroit Tigers. The Talkin' Baseball discussion group will meet at 9AM at Border's Bookstore in Columbia, MD, in the Columbia Crossing Shopping Center to the northeast of the intersection of Route 175 and Dobbin Road -- less than 2 miles west of the Interstate 95/Rte 175 junction. The host is Dave Paulson, found at (301) 854-2244 and d2244@gtcinternet.com.August 3 and 4 (Sat./Sun.) -- SI's Baseball Study Tour to NYCThe Smithsonian Institution, under study leader Frank Ceresi [Alexandria] has organized a two-day "August Study Tour" to New York. Highlights include the Yogi Museum, expert panel discussions, a minor league game, a tour of Yankee Stadium, and the HOF's Baseball as America exhibit at the Natural History Museum. The registration price, not a tiny one, includes travel and lodging and entrance fees. For more info, go to http://residentassociates.org/rap/tour-aug/baseball.aspOctober 19 (Saturday) -- Assess Your Hardball Treasures at the BRMThe Babe Ruth Museum is bringing in appraiser Bill Kulick to take a look at any baseball collectibles that may have come your way. "Treasures from the Attic" starts at 11am at the Museum. Details are at http://www.baberuthmuseum.com/ under the somewhat hidden link "Event Schedule" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10) LOCAL BASEBALL NEWS Aberdeen, MD -- thanks to Hank Riefle:Ripken Baseball has taken the first step in its plan to bring a suite of baseball programs to Aberdeen. On June 18th the brand-new Aberdeen IronBirds will inaugurate Ripken Stadium in a New York-Penn League game against Williamsport. Further plans involve attracting Team USA to the new $25M baseball facility, and opening Ripken Academy there. The new Aberdeen club, to become the 7th club in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system, replaces the Utica Blue Sox in the NY-P, in an acquisition that required approval from MLB, the NY-P League, and the Carolina League's Wilmington Blue Rocks, because they play in an adjacent county. Fans should not expect to find easy tickets to IronBird games, at least this year; all 28 skyboxes have been sold, and advance ticket sales are extremely good. In fact, single-game tickets do not appear to be available via the Ripken Baseball website, which is at http://www.ripkenbaseball.com/ Baltimore -- We were all a bit nervous about the spread of Communism back in those days, but on September 9, 1954, Baltimore TV host Bo Bo Newsom took a moment and wrote "Hoping structure stands and prospers forever" on an index card. The card then went into a time capsule for the cornerstone of the sparkling new Memorial Stadium on 33rd Street.A long-forgotten moment? No way. Thanks to Gordon Thomas [Arlington], who came upon contemporary coverage of the capsule while reading about the implanted Orioles, a January 2002 ceremony featured its reopening just before the final removal of Memorial Stadium's last remains. The structure hadn't lasted "forever," but it had outlasted the Soviet Union, and that counts for something. The contents of the capsule, which included 38 cents, a hardball signed by the mayor, and some sports programs, among other items, is in the custody of the Babe Ruth Museum. Baltimore -- Dana Burton [Elkridge MD] reports that her employer, the Baseball Factory, has launched a new team in the 2002 Clark Griffith League, the summer wooden-bat league for collegiate players. The Baltimore Pride will play its home games at UMBC's Alumni Field in Catonsville.---- Harrisburg PA and area -- supplied by Ted Knorr:Tommy John has signed on as pitching coach for the Senators for the 2002 season. May 29 -- SABR Night at Harrisburg Senators (Joe Jackson Theme)...on SABR nights there is a thematic table and information booth. I'd love to see some fellow travelers there.May 30 -- Lecture on Baseball History by Ted Knorr at the Dillsburg (PA) Senior Citizen's Center. The public is invited.June 19 -- SABR Night at Harrisburg Senators (Theme TBA)June 21 -- 6th Annual Negro League Night at the Harrisburg Senators - free t-shirts for youth, exhibit, Senators wear old style uniformsAugust 21 -- SABR Night at the Harrisburg Senators (Theme TBA)Hagerstown, MD -- thanks to Bob Savitt:The Hagerstown Suns gave some thought to having a Bash Bin Laden Night this season, but then reconsidered. The idea was to hand out bobble-head dolls made in Bin Laden's image, and then to let fans line up to destroy the dolls. When 72% of their fans responded negatively to this suggestion on the Suns' website, the Suns' notion went into eclipse. Fans were warmer toward the idea of creating a hot-tub party area at the park, with 56% supporting that idea. Richmond -- provided by Walter KephartThe Richmond AAA facility, called The Diamond, was built and is operated by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, a cooperative effort of the City and the surrounding counties of Chesterfield and Henrico. Now, after being in use for 17 seasons, the RMA has determined that major renovations are needed. Changes are needed to meet the new standards of the Professional Baseball Association. There are upgrades needed to meet Americans With Disabilities Act, which was not in place when The Diamond was built. Building codes and "potty parity" for males and females are other requirements. An architectural firm has been hired to make recommendations. In the meantime, the City of Richmond had suggested that a new ballpark be considered for the area by the James River that is being developed as a tourist attraction. In response to my ensuing call, the Director of Planning for the City said that any ideas the city had for relocating the baseball park have been put on hold pending the study being made by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority. He added that more than likely the City will go along with the renovations rather than relocation. Elsewhere -- Jim Casey [Falls Church] writes: Larry, Opening Days aren't reserved for distant Major Leauge ballparks. There is a lot of adult amateur baseball in the area, leagues for 19+, 30+, 40+, and 50+. The largest in the area is the Men's Senior Baseball League, which can be reached at http://www.dcmsbl.com. Anyone interested in playing can get information there. Schedules, times, and field directions can be found there as well, for those who might enjoy a free afternoon or evening of adult hardball. Also, there is the local branch of the National Adult Baseball Association, reached at http://www.eteamz.com/nabadc, and similar info can be found there. This is strictly a 19+ league, and only allows wood bats, so the play level is a little higher and perhaps more appealing to those who prefer the crack of the bat to the ping. I participate in both, and really love it. Anyone who misses putting the uniform on, and still has the desire and will to get ready to play, should look into these leagues. Just so you'll know how big they are, between the two leagues there are about 200 teams total in the various age divisions.There is also a women's hardball league in the area, the Eastern Women's Baseball Conference ( http://itsahit.home.att.net) has 5 teams playing in the Baltimore/Washington area, and I coach the defending champions. Our games start this Sunday May 5. The games are played at high school fields on full 90 foot diamonds and the quality of play will surprise you. There are players from their teens through their 40's playing, and it's a lot of fun coaching players who are so anxious to learn and enthusiastic.If you have any questions, feel free to call me (703-698-8137.) [To Contents] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11) CROSSING THE PLATE: MEMBER NEWS Clay Davenport [Bowie MD] has, as reflected in his Baseball Prospectus essays, tried to gauge the relative strength of baseball leagues. He proceeds by means of tracking players' performance as they switch from league to league. Clay's resulting multipliers: AAA .87, Caribbean Winter League .85, AA .80, High A .74, Mexican League .72, Northern League .72, Mid-A .69, and Frontier League .65. You can follow these and other of Clay's quantitative analyses at http://www.baseballprospectus.com/Fred Stein [Springfield VA] reports that McFarlane is has published his new book on player-managers, And the Skipper Bats Cleanup: A History of Baseball Player-Manager, with 42 Biographies of Men Who Filled the Dual Role.Bob Savitt [Potomac MD] and Todd Bolton [Smithsburg MD] are members of the Board of Directors of the Hagerstown Suns' Fan Club.Al Pepper [Virginia Beach VA] has a new book, Mendoza's Heroes: Fifty Batters Below .200, which is being published by Tom Hetrick's Pocol Press. The book offers biographies of fifty less-than-sensational baseball batters, covering the sweep of baseball history. This 250-page volume is named after infielder Mario Mendoza, who gained notoriety by having the "Mendoza Line" named after him. It is illustrated by Jon Gordon and has a forward ex-big leaguer Mike Stenhouse. For more, try http://www.pocolpress.com. The book's blurb includes this thought: "But, what about the players who repeatedly produced little more than pathetic squibbers [emphasis added] to third base and ego-bruising strikeouts?"Note: to peruse recent squibs on 42 Chapter members' attainments, see http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/Member_News.htm.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12) ON DECK: WHAT SOME MEMBERS ARE UP TO Lyle Spatz [Edgewater MD] is attempting to compile a list of all pitchers with winning streaks of at least ten games against an individual team and would welcome any input from chapter members. He's at lspatz@att.netJay Roberts [Alexandria] is writing an account of the New York Giants' first two great [and often overlooked] pennant races, in 1885 and 1889. Maybe the baseball wasn't played to contemporary standards, Jay points out, but the level of excitement certainly does measure up to more recent duels."Baseball Survivor" was conjured up by Tom Hanrahan [Lexington Park MD], and involves 19 SABR members [six or seven from our chapter] who serially banish one of 103 famous MLB ballplayers from a hypothetical island. At this point, only 7 players remain, including two megastars who, had death not intervened, might well be Davids Chapter members even as I scribble. Some local boys who were banished earlier include Brooks Robinson [finishing as the 103rd best player], Home Run Baker [78], Al Kaline [59], Jim Palmer [54], Cal Ripken [35], Jimmie Foxx [24], Frank Robinson [22], and Lefty Grove [11]. To see if they eventually throw out the Babe with the bathwater, go to http://www.concentric.net/~jkubatko/baseballsurvivor/ Documentarian Ken Burns has written a glowing endorsement for the back cover of Michelle Green's [Upper Marlboro, MD] forthcoming book, A Strong Right Arm. The book, now slated for release in July, is a biography of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, who pitched for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues. For a bit more on Mamie, and the Capitol Heights memorabilia shop where she can often be found, go to http://www.negroleaguesbaseball.com/aboutus.htmlMark Pankin [Arlington] is planning to conduct a quantitative analysis of how hitting is affected by the presence of a base-stealing threat at first base.Jeff Campbell [Washington] is in the process of completing the fifth volume of Diamond Cuts, comprising 18 baseball songs, including such possible future standards as "Ichiro" and "The Ballad of John Rocker." He is also preparing to launch a documentary project about baseball music starting back there with 1858's "Baseball Polka." As Chair of SABR's Music and Poetry Committee, Jeff is steering the group toward the eventual internet posting its bibliography of baseball songs and poetry.Dave Paulson [Columbia MD] continues his regular contributions to Elysian Fields Quarterly as its trivia quizmaster. His most recent interviews for the SABR Oral History Committee [which he chairs] have included Cecil Perkins, of Martinsburg WV, and 70's pitcher Jack Billingham. To help out with oral histories, contact Dave at d2244@gtcinternet.com.Ted Farmer [Blacksburg VA] is completing a project on "the toughest out." He sent questionnaires to 50 former MLB pitchers, asking each of them which hitters were hardest to pitch to, what adjustments they tried, and what the results were. His resulting paper will appear in the 2002 Grandstand Baseball Annual.Jimmy Keenan [Glen Rock, PA] is continuing to do research on Mortimer Lyston, who played in the Virginia State League from 1883-1895, and other members of the Lyston family. He is seeking any available statistical information, and offers to reciprocate by doing needed research at the Baltimore City Library. Jimmy can be reached at (717) 235-1345.Frank Ceresi [Alexandria] and Carol McMains have formed FC Associates, a museum consulting business whose website is http://www.fcassociates.com. The two also purchase collections of sports related artifacts and memorabilia and, as members of the American Society of Appraisors, conduct professional appraisals for their clients.Note: to see the current projects of 30 Davids Chapter members, see http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/On_Deck.htm.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 13) AROUND THE HORN -- BASEBALL ATTRACTIONS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION [Edited by Marty Payne] Don't forget to let Marty know of any baseball site or resource in our chapter region that you'd like to see reviewed. Just send him a note at martyp@toad.net.Frank's Mini-Tour of Local Research Resources "As soon as the spring sun draws the frost out of the hands of the idle boys and half-grown men who loaf about the streets, the nuisance of throwing base-balls about our thorough fares -- to the terror of ladies and small children -- commences." (Chestertown Transcript, April 13, 1872). While sitting idle and loafing about these last few weeks, Frank Ceresi [Alexandria] has sent in a few baseball resources from the Washington area:
Thanks, Frank. Now, the spring sun is at last drawing the last frost out of our hands -- then watch out for the ladies and small children. They are just as likely to be the ones throwing the "base-balls" about our "thorough fares" these days. --Marty ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14) BEDSHEET BANNERS -- Messages from Members A Great Day for Baseball, Let's Play Eleven! from Jim Casey [Falls Church]The Eastern Women's Baseball Conference is having a fundraiser on Sunday, May 26, from 10am to dark, at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. It will be a 100 inning game, and you're welcome to dig out a glove and come to play. Check the EWBC website for details: http://home.att.net/~itsahit/. The league is a nonprofit organization and all donations, of money or memorabilia to be raffled off, are tax deductible. If you want to play you need to have a sponsor, (which can be yourself) contribute a minimum of $10. A pitching machine will be used, though I would love to pitch some myself. Guess I'll just play some infield. Gil Hodges for the Hall of Fame? from Jeff Stuart [Gaithersburg]GIL AS A MANAGER --The expansion Washington Senators had finished last in each of its first two seasons, losing 100 games in 1961 and 101 games in 1962. Dodger great Gil Hodges, acquired from the New York Mets in return for outfielder Jim Piersall, took over the helm of the Senators just 40 games into the 1963 Season. Hodges proved a stabilizing influence. The club improved each year under his patient guidance. However, nobody much seemed to notice until the team tied the Baltimore Orioles for sixth place in 1967. But the New York Mets had apparently been watching. They turned to the popular Brooklyn hero for leadership. The Mets won an additional 12 games in 1968, escaping the cellar. In 1969 the Mets won the National League pennant and took four out of five games from the highly favored Baltimore Orioles in what is probably the biggest upset in World Series history. Gil's managerial career was tragically cut-short when he suffered a second heart attack, this one fatal, while playing golf prior to the 1972 season. GIL AS A PLAYER -- Gil Hodges played on seven Dodger pennant winners, including one in Los Angeles. After suffering the ignominy of going zero for twenty-one in the 1952 World Series, he batted .364 in the 1955 Fall Classic, propelling the Brooklyn to its only World Championship. He drove in both runs in the Dodgers 2-0 victory over the Yankees in the seventh game that October. Hodges was the only Dodger ever to hit 4 HRs in a single game and the first player ever to hit 4 in a night game (August 31, 1950 against the Braves). Mr. Hodges had 1274 career RBI''s. He drove in 8 runs in the 1956 World Series. He also had 370 career home runs. Gil was also a superb fielder, leading the NL in fielding average three times, and winning three Gold Gloves. And on April 11, 1962, Gil Hodges hit the first home run in the history of the New York Mets! PUT GIL IN THE HALL -- But among the fabled "Boys of Summer", Hodges seems forgotten by some. Robinson, Campanella, Snider, Reese, Koufax , and Drysdale are all in the Hall of Fame. So are former Brooklyn managers Alston and Durocher. Now who is missing from this picture? Are the Brooklyn Dodger teams of the 50's over-represented in the Hall? I don't know. But Gil was a great player on a great team. And if there is guilt by association, then there should be positive recognition by association too. He was a leader. As far as I know, none of the other "Boys of Summer" already in the HOF also distinguished themselves as a manager as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AND LESSER ODDMENTSDave Raglin sends along two more trivia stumpers. Answers appear in Section XX, below.Stumper W3 Name the two Hall of Famers who died in Washington, DC (hint -- no surprises here).Stumper X: Who are the ten Hall of Famers commonly known by their middle names (as was L. Robert Davids)?--- Didja Know . . . that Frank Howard is the alltime MLB leader in at least two hitting categories? First, Hondo is the tallest of six players whose number of intentional walks increased every year for six years [in his case, from 1965 to 1970], the greatest such skeins ever. Second, he is the tallest of three players [the others are Frank Robinson and Dick Allen] to proceed from Rookie of the Year to AL Home Run Champ. [Note; this information was supplied, in order to settle a bet, by the creative statophiliac Gerry Myerson in faroff Australia.] Didja Care?Didja Know . . . that our neighbor Walter Johnson reigned as MLB's strikeout king from 1921 to early in the 1983 season, a span of 62 years, but six months later had fallen to fourth, having been abruptly bypassed by Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, and Gaylord Perry? Didja Care?--- Bird Hoppings Here's how Chris Kahrl [Bethesda] sees some of the O's recent player transactions [Reproduced with permission from Chris' regular column at http://www.baseballprospectus.com/.]4/26 -- Erik Bedard sent from O's to Bowie: "The stranger problem is the question of why Erik Bedard was up at all, and why, once he was up, it made any sense whatsoever to use him to throw ten pitches in two games. Was he supposed to have learned something? If this was favoritism towards one of the organization's better prospects, it was a strange gift . . ,., Bedard has yet to establish himself above A ball. Calling him up now was simply another one of those little instances that make you wonder whether Syd Thrift is paying attention, or if he's still busy solving that caper about the missing quart of strawberries."4/15 -- Marty Cordova comes off the DL: "The return of Marty Cordova isn't the kind of reinforcement that should inspire visions of third place or anything fantastic like that, but having him in the lineup is a good thing compared to fielding an outfield with both Melvin Mora and Chris Singleton in it. Of course, it isn't really fair to single out Singleton and Mora; Mora has good on-base skills, and should be somewhere in the lineup on a near-daily basis, and Singleton is one of the best defensive center fielders in the game. With Jeff Conine playing his age (and with two or three more years to go on his contract) while David Segui makes his usual tepid contributions, this is a team with offensive problems galore. Marty Cordova might only be an adequate-hitting DH, but this team can use that."3/26 -- Mike Moriarty's contract is purchased: "It's a good thing to see Mike Moriarty finally make the majors. If there's a bragging right for being a poor man's Jeff Reboulet, Moriarty might have it. He's a decent little hitter for a middle infielder, and tends to be credited with good defensive skills and smart play. He was one of the prizes among minor-league free-agent middle infielders this past winter, and it's good to see him finally break into the majors.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To the Editor: I was interested to see that Howie Bedell was mentioned in Barry Sparks' January Squibber item on the baseball news from York PA. Here's my Howie Bedell story: Our son's mother-in-law is a receptionist in a doctor's office in PA. When Margaret (the in-law) learned of my interest in baseball, she told me that one of the drug company reps who visits her office is the son a former professional baseball player. She told me his name and I told her that I would get his contract cards and other items from his files in Cooperstown the next time I was doing research up there. She did, and I did, and she passed along the info to son-of-Bedell, who passed the info to his dad, who seemed very pleased. He sent me a nice note, card and autograph, which I proudly added to my eclectic collection of baseball memorabilia. -- Bob Savitt {Potomac MD]To the Editor: I was impressed to see the new Squibber feature by Phil Wood in the January issue. Phil Wood. What a guy! I brought a friend to one of Dave Paulson's Talkin Baseball discussions last fall, and Phil was there. Howard was quite impressed with Phil's encyclopedia-like knowledge of baseball, and now he and I use Phil's name in a kidding way but at the same time a tip of the hat to Phil's dedication to the game. We say, "Ohhh, that's Phil Wood material!" Or, "The Rain Man would know that. If not, ask Phil Wood!" -- Jay Roberts [Alexandria]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We welcome your ideas for future squibs. And we accept your complaints. Larry McCray, editor, Arlington VA -- mccrayL@bellatlantic.netMarty Payne, St. Michaels MD -- martyp@toad.netCorrespondents Baltimore -- Richard Ottone || Frederick -- John Munns ||Greater Aberdeen -- Hank Riefle || Hagerstown Suns -- Bob Savitt||Harrisburg -- Ted Knorr || Richmond -- Walter Kephart||SABR-L -- Mike Shapiro || York -- Barry SparksNote : a hard copy of this newsletter can be obtained by sending a self-addressed, 55-cent-stamped envelope to Larry McCray, 6424 N. 26th Street,Arlington VA 22207. If you meet a member who isn't on the net, tell her/him that. ------------ "The Backstop's Here?" President Harry S Truman kept a famous sign on his Oval Office desk, one that reflected the unique responsibilities of a President: -- other officials might be able to pass the buck, but, the Truman sign said, "The Buck Stops Here." Learning that George W. Bush was a catcher in his Little League days, we wonder if a "The Backstop's Here" sign wouldn't fit handsomely on his desk. ------------ Stumper Answer W3 -- Clark Griffith and Walter Johnson.Stumper Answer X -- Richie Ashburn (Don), Earl Averill (Howard), Frank "Home Run" Baker (John), Nellie Fox (Jacob), Lou Gehrig (Bob Davids's favorite player; Henry), Branch Rickey (Wesley), Nolan Ryan (Lynn), Tom Seaver (George), Monte Ward (John Montgomery), Hoyt Wilhelm (James).------ And Finally -- "Maybe if I start swingin' now at the second one I'll hit the third one." -- Ring Lardner, on a batter's soliloquy when up at bat against Walter Johnson, from Horseshoes, (1926), as cited in Dickson, Baseball's Greatest Quotations, p. 238.___________________________________________________________
Remembering Bob Davids Ernie Nagy -- Bob was truly a prince of a man. Unfailingly kind, he proved to be the ideal companion as we drove up to the Albany SABR Convention. Bob was as good and patient a listener as he was a storyteller, and he had these unexpected peninsulas of interest. He was, for example, quite knowledgeable about boxing, maintaining a list of the oldest living boxing champions. At the top of that list was Max Schmeling, who became a German Coca Cola tycoon after the war, and with whom Bob maintained a long and regular correspondence. Frankly, Bob Davids belongs in the Hall of Fame of good and interesting people.--- Lyle Spatz -- Shortly after I joined SABR in 1973, Bob called and asked to meet me, and we arranged to do so at the Library of Congress. Bob had that wonderful knack of putting people at ease, and, like everyone else, I was impressed by his courtliness and gentleness. When he turned the conversation to our respective families and jobs, I could tell that he was genuinely interested in my responses. I, of course, was fascinated by his baseball knowledge and by his story-telling. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable conversations I've ever had.Bob and I had many more such conversations, at the library or on the phone, over the next 28 years, and we also worked together on various projects. He always made clear to me that we were working together as colleagues, but to me, he was always the teacher and I the student. I already miss those conversations. --- Bob Savitt -- Bob's interest in -- and knowledge of -- the world around him seemed to lack any boundary. One of the treats in calling Bob to say "hi" or to discuss a baseball or local SABR matter was the probability that the conversation would take off in a direction related to none of these subjects. My life has been enriched by conversations with Bob Davids on subjects ranging from boxing to Admiral Peary's polar explorations to the history of local churches to the world of Capitol Hill. I miss him very much.--- Bill Deane -- I'll long remember Bob s dry wit. I first met him in 1984, but we had corresponded before that, and I'd sent him copies of my Baseball Digest writings, including three articles from a recent issue. Bob's first words to me were, "I haven't seen your name in Baseball Digest in at least five minutes."--- Larry McCray -- Bob carried bats and balls and gloves in the trunk of his car. On his trips to that famous Dyersville "Field of Dreams" ballfield in his home state of Iowa, he would enjoy pulling the equipment out so that young visitors assembled there could play a little ball.--- Ron Gabriel -- Driving with Bob to a SABR event, I got a $60 speeding ticket, and felt the beginnings of rage at my misfortune. Bob wryly reckoned that if this only happened once every 10 years, my outlay was merely $6 a year, and that simple statistic, somehow, calmed me down--- Paul Haas -- I recall a crowd forming itself around Bob on the train trip home to DC from New York's 1991 SABR Convention. The genial baseball stories, and the banter, flowed easily, and the long miles flew by quickly -- almost too quickly, I think, because Bob clearly wasn't near the bottom of his stock of fascinating stories.--- David Vincent -- At one SABR convention, I purchased a t-shirt because I liked its artwork -- a wonderful image of Joe Jackson. This was at the time that many people had just started talking seriously about putting Shoeless Joe into the Hall of Fame despite his banishment. After donning the new shirt, I noticed Bob Davids sitting at the side of the room so I went over and sat down. When I greeted him with "Hi, Bob" he replied: "I don't think I can associate with you any more." I was dismayed by this and blurted out: "Why?" Bob pointed at the shirt and stated: "You are starting to make political statements." I didn't know what to say, but stammered: "It's only a t-shirt!" Bob then smiled -- and I suddenly knew I'd simply been had by his quick wit.--- Jay Roberts --I was one of Bob's unofficial chauffeurs.Let me tell you, the pleasure was all mine. The man was a true gentleman. He would tell a great story and then he would listen to yours: "Oh, I see." I can still hear the caring in his voice. On our early Saturday morning jaunts up to Baltimore, Bob would preview his lead off presentation for the regional. Most of the time it was the traditional trivia quiz. Fortunately the beltway and I-95 were not yet crowded, so I could drive and think baseball at the same time. On the return trip, the traffic was much heavier, something that usually made me tense. But there was something about Bob. . . . His gentle ways had a soothing effect. --- Andy McCue -- I have one memory that might be worth sharing. At the St. Louis convention in 1992, I brought my 12-year-old daughter along to get Stan Musial's autograph. In the course of that, we ran into Bob and, in a burst of enthusiasm, I introduced Bernadette to Bob as someone even more important than Musial because he had founded SABR. Bernadette, who knew little more about Musial than she did about Bob, seemed very impressed. Bob seemed just very embarrassed.--- Stew Thornley -- One particular memory I have is the correspondence I had Bob him in 1997 as I was trying to confirm whether the armory near RFK stadium had once been the D. C. Jail. It was reported that the remains of Charles Guiteau, James Garfield's assassin, were still in there. Bob sent me a few notes, letting me know he'd have to wait until he was done with his chemotherapy, to check it out. He eventually did just that, confirming that the armory once had been the jail (although neither of us could confirm whether Guiteau is still in there or not).--- Skip McAfee -- The first time I met Bob was when we both served on the planning committee for the 1987 SABR National Convention in Arlington, Va. My job was to construct the convention budget, and I aimed to capture a lot of revenue for SABR, figuring we'd get a high attendance and a captive audience. But Bob calmly noted, almost as an aside, that the purpose of SABR was not to make "a lot of money" but to do research for the love of the game. His presence on the committee helped assure that SABR17 is still our greatest convention ever in terms of attendance.--- Fred Stein -- I admired Bob Davids especially for his gentle directness, his encyclopedic baseball knowledge, and for his caring for SABR members. I started a book project before leaving the D.C. area for some time. Bob and I only rarely chatted, and I did not know that he was aware of the project. Yet, shortly after I returned home, he called me out of the blue to say hello and to ask how the project was coming along. Typically, he was interested in what we members were doing and, most importantly -- he cared.--- Bill Deane -- Bob used to come to Cooperstown with Bob McConnell twice a year, in early May and late October. Each trip, I would join them for lunch at Bob's choice of fine dining: the restaurant in Newberry's department store!--- Mark Pattison -- At my first SABR regional meeting in 2000, Bob had a list of pitchers winning both ends of a doubleheader -- exactly what I was looking for to add to our book on the Detroit Tigers. It was information I would have had a much harder time verifying independently. Some complimentary photocopying by the hotel staff and the information was now mine! When the book comes out in March, I'll think of Bob every time I come across that list.--- Bill Gustafson -- I was acquainted with Bob since before he got the seventeen of us to Cooperstown for that memorable August 1971 organizational meeting. Within several years of that meeting, I had occasion to visit Washington during my winter break from teaching. I asked Bob to set me up at the Library of Congress. This he did, but because wife Yvonne and daughter Roberta were in Europe, as I recall, Bob invited me to stay with him. Each evening after dinner, when I was exhausted from my research efforts at LOC, Bob would spend the evening poring over his baseball volumes for ideas to be included in his Baseball Bits newsletter, which were uniformly interesting and informative. In summary, Bob was energetic, unassuming, and very generous.--- Reminder: Do you have a memory of one of Bob Davids' many facets that you'd like to add? Send it to mccrayL@bellatlantic.net. Submissions received by June 15 can be added to the SABR32 display on Bob in Boston. |
Upcoming Events
-
04/10/2010
"Six Decades of Baseball: A Personal Narrative" -
05/08/2010
Mark Hyman "Until it Hurts" -
06/12/2010
Charlie Brotman (details to come) -
07/10/2010
A History of Baseball and Ballpark Construction in Wash. DC