Next SABR Meeting

The next Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter meeting of SABR will take place on Saturday, February 28th, 2009, 11 AM at Long Wong's Chinese-American Sportsbar, 5230 Bluemound Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Guest of Honor: Doak Ewing, owner of Rare Sportsfilms. Doak has graciously offered to show the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen on October 8, 1956. This is an event which is unique! This game has been shown public only on a few occasions, and we THANK Doak for offering to do this!!

We plan on a Research presentation, there will be items for sale including some of Doak's great sportsfilms, and a 50/50 raffle. Food and your choice of beverage will be available! Special Thanks to Paul Wong and his staff for hosting this event!

Reservations are recomended for this event, as seating is limited. You can reserve a spot to watch this historic game by sending an e-mail to Rick Schabowski at RICKIU76@aol.com or calling at 414-322-4997.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

Rick

Edited by author 11-26-2008 08:14 AM
Japan’s All-Stars at Borchert Field
     
By Dennis Pajot--U.S.A and Yoichi Nagata--Japan
            
On Tuesday, June 11, 1935, a baseball game was played at Borchert field between a team of Japanese All-Stars and the Milwaukee Red Sox. The game was scheduled to start at 8:15, “under the new floodlights”.

The Milwaukee Red Sox were made up of leading AAA and semi-professional players from Wisconsin. Managed by Al Moran and Eddie Stumpf—who also acted as the club’s general manager, the team played in the Chicago City League, as well as against other independent teams across the country.

This Japanese All-star team was made up of ex-college and ex-prep school players, and had enjoyed great success on their US tour, which had begun early in the spring of that year, playing minor league and local semi-pro teams. Lefty O’Doul, then managing the San Francisco Seals, named the All-Stars the Tokyo Giants for promotional purposes on the tour. The All Stars played the eight teams of the Pacific Coast League, winning 6 and losing 17. Entering Milwaukee the Giants record on the American tour was 59 wins, 30 losses and one tie. It was reported in the Milwaukee Sentinel the Japanese players played the game as well as Americans, except they did not hit as well.

The game on June 11 was attended by about 1,400 at Borchert Field. The Japanese All-Stars won 9 to 4, “with a masterful exhibition of fielding, timely hitting and some really high class flinging by Eiji Sawamura, the 18-year old ace of all Japan”. [He was reported as being 17 in the Wisconsin News.] Toshihide Hatafuku started for the All-Stars and pitched the first three innings. Sawamura pitched the last six innings, allowing 6 hits and striking out 9, en route to being credited with the win. Sotaro Suzuki, the All-Stars business manager, explained he was forced to pitch the youngster more than he had planned on the tour, as he did not figure on so many doubleheaders. The All-Stars had split a doubleheader Sunday in Chicago, but Sawamura had not pitched. However, he pitched 12 innings the day before the Milwaukee game in Battle Creek, Michigan, (a 12 inning tie game), and 9 innings on Saturday in Detroit. The Wisconsin News, told its readers that Sawamura had held Babe Ruth’s American leaguers to five hits the previous winter, but lost 1 to 0 on a home run by Lou Gehrig. “He is something of a national hero”, the paper reported.

Larry Kessenich—a former local sandlot star-- started for the Red Sox, but was forced to leave the game when he was hit in the stomach by a line drive in the third inning. Doug McWeeney—a former major leaguer and former Milwaukee Brewer-- then took over. McWeeney gave up four runs in the fourth inning to take the loss.

One odd moment in the game occurred when the Red Sox’s catcher, Bob Casey, was ejected by the umpire for arguing balls and strikes. Manager Eddie Stumpf pleaded with umpire Schiefelbein not to eject his only catcher, and Casey was allowed to stay in the game.

         Red Sox All-Stars
    AB R H E AB R H E
  Mudlaff 3b 4 2 2 0 Yajima rf 1 0 0 0
  Kedzierski ss 5 1 1 2 Fuma rf 4 0 1 0*
  Brooks cf 4 0 1 0 Tabe 2b 5 1 3 0
  Sherbarth 1b 4 0 0 1 Karita ss 5 0 0 1
  Roessler rf 2 0 0 0 Horio cf 5 0 0 0
  Berka rf-2b 2 0 0 0 Shintomi lf 5 1 1 0
  Maglio lf 4 0 0 0 Mizuhara 3b 5 2 1 0
  Walenta 2b 3 1 1 0 Nagasawa 1b 5 2 1 0
  Casey c 4 0 2 0 Uchibori c 5 2 1 0
  Kessenich p 1 0 0 1 Hatafuku p 1 1 0 0
  McWenny p 1 0 0 0 Sawamura p 2 0 2 0
  Hust rf 2 0 1 0
  Golem p 0 0 0 0
  Wozniak p 0 0 0 0
  K’minski ph 1 0 0 0
     37 4 8 4 43 9 10 1
  All Stars 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 2 1 0 - 9
  Red Sox 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4
 *Yoichi Nagata related Isamu Fuma stayed in Japan, and did not go on barnstorming tour. It is likely Shiro
       Tsuda replaced Yajima in right field—as he did in Madison the next day.


However, the real interesting story of this game comes from Yoichi Nagata. Yoichi relates the following account. After the Giants were to leave the field after the game, a man in his 40s came up to Sotaro Suzuki and asked “When do you give me Eiji Sawamura? Schoolboy Sawamura signed with me.” This man introduced himself as a baseball scout, showing a player contract signed by Sawamura. The stunned Suzuki asked Sawamura how that occurred. Sawamura explained, “In the pre-game practice, I chased a loose ball to the outfield, where he came up to me. He wanted me to sign the paper. I thought he was a fan seeking my autograph”.

Business Manager Suzuki refused the man’s request for Sawamura. However, the scout did not retreat, saying that he would bring this case to the Baseball Commissioner. Suzuki countered “It is no problem. The Tokyo Giants are not in organized baseball.” Milwaukee Red Sox manger Eddie Stumpf and Ralph Siners, who were at the field, seconded Suzuki.

Eiji Sawamura and the Tokyo Giants continued their barnstorming tour, however, it was said it had cost Suzuki some money to get the contract back from the scout. Who was the scout? Sotaro Suzuki at one time said he was a St. Louis Cardinal scout, and another time a Pittsburgh Pirate scout. Another source reported the man scouted for an American Association team.

The day following their win over the Milwaukee Red Sox, the All-Stars played the Madison Blues in Madison, before a record attendance of 4,601. The Madison team won 9 to 3. The Tokyo Giants finished their 109 game tour, including 5 games in Hawaii, with 74 wins and 34 losses, plus the one tie.

Eiji Sawamura is a legend of Japanese baseball. He was born on February 1, 1917, in Ujiyamada, Japan. He first gained fame on November 20, 1934, in a game at Kusanagi Stadium in Shizuoka, Japan, against the barnstorming team of American major league players mentioned above in the Wisconsin News. The 17-year old started and completed the game, giving up 5 hits and striking out 9 in eight innings (the Americans were the home team), including Charlie Gehringer, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx in a row. Sawamura did give up a home run to Gehrig in the seventh inning—thus losing 1 to 0.

In 1936 Sawamura recorded 14 wins against 3 losses with the Tokyo Giants in his first professional season in the Japanese League. (The league had a spring fall split-season; Sawamura had a 1 and 1 record in the spring, and 13 and 2 record in the fall season). On September 15 he pitched the first no-hitter in that league. In 1937 Sawamura went 33 and 10 for the entire season (24 wins against 4 losses in the spring, 9 wins and 6 losses in the fall portion); pitching another no-hitter, and being named the MVP in the spring season.

In January 1938 Sawamura was drafted into the Japanese military, and served three tours of duty. He injured his shoulder while in the military and was never again a dominant pitcher. However, in parts of three seasons in the 1940s he had a 16 and 9 record, including his third no-hitter.

On December 2, 1944, the transport ship carrying Eiji Sawamura was sunk by an American submarine. Eiji Sawamura was dead at the age of 27.

In 1947 the Japanese Baseball League began awarding the Sawamura award to the league’s best starting pitcher each year, similar to America’s Cy Young Award. The award is still given out.

Eiji Sawamura was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1959.

Happy Felsch: Milwaukee’s Man Out
By James R. Nitz for SABR BioProject

The 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal shocked the sporting public more than any other in baseball history. Central to this astonishing fix were eight White Sox ballplayers, including star center fielder, Oscar “Happy” Felsch. An unpretentious Milwaukee native, the “Pride of Teutonia Avenue” only left his hometown to play ball. Felsch, one of twelve children of ordinary German immigrants, rose to the pinnacle of the baseball world only to descend to the depths of sports infamy. Now that over eighty years have passed since the tainted 1919 World Series, it is time to take an in-depth look at the fascinating life of Happy Felsch, both on and off the diamond.

Sox left fielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and third baseman George “Buck” Weaver have garnered the most attention of the “Eight Men Out,” almost to the point of becoming mythicized in contemporary books and movies. An inquiry of Felsch will reveal that this exceptional athlete was really just a common Milwaukeean caught up in momentous events of the turbulent 1910s and 20s.

Oscar Emil Felsch, who grew up to be arguably the best baseball player ever produced by Milwaukee’s north side, was born in 1891 in a German working-class neighborhood. His birth certificate is nonexistent due to the lack of local public health records in that era.# Many baseball historical resources list Felsch’s birth date as August 22, 1891 or unspecified dates in 1893 or 1894. However, his 1943 Social Security application and 1964 death certificate both state that he was born on April 7, 1891 to Berlin natives Charles and Marie Felsch (nee Tietz or Tiegs).# Charles was a carpentry contractor living at 2734 Fond du Lac Avenue in 1891.# The remainder of Felsch’s childhood and early adulthood, except for a few short-lived moves down the street, was spent at the small family home at 1086 (now 2758) N. 26th Street.#

In the census year of 1900, young Oscar was one of ten living children out of Marie’s twelve births and one of seven still residing in the mortgaged 26th Street frame house. He did not read or write in 1900 but eventually could after receiving only a sixth grade education, a common final level for children of immigrants. This lack of formal education proved to haunt Felsch in later years when he had to deal with shrewd baseball executives, underhanded gamblers, lawyers, and college educated teammates.# The teen-aged Oscar then gained employment as a $10-per-week factory laborer and shoe worker, giving all but 25 cents to his father.#

Felsch’s rise from the Milwaukee sandlots was due, in no small part, to his ball-playing dad and brothers. Reputed to be a first baseman of great ability, Charles had three more sons who competed with area teams. As typical members of the aspiring working class, the boys hoped to develop their reputations in prominent local leagues in order to gain notice from pro scouts.# Following the example of many other second generation German children, the youthful Oscar turned away from individual sports such as gymnastics and wrestling and gravitated toward the popular American team game of baseball. A member of the Turnverein (or Turners, a German gymnastics movement that emphasized physical education), the powerfully-built wrestling champion eventually gave up grappling for baseball. In 1917, Felsch described his switch:

“At one time, my friends had me kidded almost into believing that I had a chance for the heavyweight championship. They thought I would be heavier than I am when I fully developed. Once I made an opening in the baseball profession, however, I soon lost much of my enthusiasm for head spinning. I’d sooner be batting champion of the American League than the conqueror of Frank Gotch.”#

The broad-shouldered Felsch, listed at heights between 5’9” to 5’11” and weights of 160 to 190 pounds over his playing career, first appeared on the local baseball scene in 1911.# Now employed as a shingler, the righthanded throwing and hitting shortstop-third baseman spent his spare time performing for Sisson and Sewell. This semiprofessional club, sponsored by a local retail clothier, competed against high-caliber City League opponents such as Burghardt’s Sporting Goods, the Kosciuskos, Watertown, and Oconomowoc. Their Sunday contests allowed Felsch to display his developing skills. After a four-hit, seven-fielding chance game as leadoff man on August 6, the Milwaukee Sentinel noticed the budding star by declaring, “Felch (sic) played a swell game at third.”#
In 1912 the precocious Oscar played with four semipro teams throughout Wisconsin. The star Sewell shortstop left in mid-June to sign with Manitowoc of the higher-level Lake Shore League. Felsch then manned third base behind pitcher Stoney McGlynn, a former St. Louis Cardinal and Milwaukee Brewer. Larger crowds in LSL towns such as Racine and Sheboygan gave an athlete of Felsch’s caliber this opportunity for more lucrative paydays.#

By mid-July the lure of keener semipro competition with more games motivated the itinerant infielder to move to Grand Rapids, now Wisconsin Rapids. Felsch arrived with a bang on Wednesday, July 24 as he hit a three-run home run in the very first inning of his initial game. The pitcher, Jacob “Cy Young III” Jung of Stevens Point, saw his 94-inning scoreless streak end, thanks to the Grand Rapids rookie “demon swatter.” Even with Felsch installed as the new cleanup hitting shortstop, Stevens Point still won 5-4 to present Jung, who once struck out 22 Eau Claire batters in a game, his 11th consecutive victory.# The Grand Rapids Tribune described Felsch’s next game, against Merrill, as follows: “The sensational feature of Sunday’s game was a home run by Felch (sic), the local shortstop, who batted the ball over the fence in center field, making the longest hit that has ever been made on the local grounds, and will probably hold the record for some time to come.”#

Felsch continued to haunt Jung as his triple and home run on August 4 broke the future White Sox signee’s 13-game winning streak, allowing Grand Rapids to defeat Jung for the first time ever.#

Teams such as Grand Rapids and Stevens Point competed against semipros from Tomahawk, Green Bay, Waupaca, Wausau, Fond du Lac, and Portage on weekdays as well as weekends. Barnstorming Negro teams also provided a high level of competition. Side bets were common as were benefit games for local hospitals.#

By late August the Grand Rapids team disbanded and Felsch signed on with his former rival, Stevens Point. Now that Jung and the “sensational shortstop” were on the same club, Stevens Point was ready to battle Stoughton for the “semiprofessional championship of the state” over the Labor Day weekend. The teams split the two-game series in Stoughton as Felsch, “the fence buster,” hit a two-run triple to support Jung’s three-hitter on Monday. Subsequent games against Waupaca made it unclear whether Stevens Point, Stoughton, or Waupaca were the champs of a disorganized group of semipro teams.#

Felsch’s easygoing nature and wonderful smile made the sobriquet “Happy” a perfect fit. At times, he even preferred practices more than games just for the sheer joy of hitting, fielding, and running. Newspapers adopted the nickname as early as 1912.# In 1913 Felsch continually appeared in the dailies as he advanced to minor league ball with the Milwaukee Mollys of the Class C Wisconsin-Illinois League. The youthful shortstop made a grand first impression on opening day at Athletic Park (later called Borchert Field) as he went 5 for 5 with a grand slam home run in the first inning plus seven runs batted in and two errors. The Mollys defeated Appleton 12-5 in the April 30 game played immediately after the American Association Brewer contest.#

Felsch continued his impressive hitting, including a three-homer game in Oshkosh, and sensational, but error-prone, fielding during his abbreviated stay in his hometown. Meager crowds for this farm team of the higher-level Brewers forced the Mollys to move to Fond du Lac on June 28. There Felsch continued to spend time at both shortstop and his new position of right field.# By early August, the Brewers called up their phenom. This allowed him to vault to Class AA, the top category of the minors, bypassing the B and A levels. Following are Felsch’s impressive Deadball Era statistics with the Mollys, his first professional team:

Hitting: Games At-Bats Runs Doubles Triples Homers Stolen Bases Batting Average
                      92 357 54 12 3 18 16 .319
Fielding: Games Errors Fielding Average
Shortstop 58 36 .868
Outfield 34 2 .971

These numbers certainly indicate that the promising youngster’s future was in the outfield.#

Felsch did not play often for the pennant-winning Brewers in 1913 as he needed polishing. He finished with a batting average of .183 with two home runs in only 26 games.#

In 1914, the powerful Felsch showcased his major league potential both at the plate and in the outfield. As a Brewer, he set home run distance records in Milwaukee (over 500 feet at Athletic Park) and Kansas City and led the American Association in round-trippers with 19. Felsch batted a potent .304 with 41 doubles, 11 triples, and 19 stolen bases for the repeat-champion Brewers. He demonstrated his outfield prowess with great range and a rifle arm.#

By early August, the Brewers, an independent club, knew they owned a star fit to sell to the highest major league bidder as the Senators, Cubs, White Sox, Giants, and Reds were scouting the left fielder. On August 8 the Sox acquired Felsch for $12,000 plus an infielder and an outfielder from their organization. The Brewers were delighted that Chicago allowed their “fence breaker” to remain in Milwaukee for the duration of 1914. Felsch, declared the greatest Brewer ever by their business manager, Lou Nahin, then signed a two-year contract with Chicago at a substantial increase in salary of $2,500 per year.#

1915 developed into an eventful year for the Sox rookie center fielder. Not only did Felsch make his major league debut on April 14 in St. Louis with two singles, a stolen base, and an error, but he also married.#
The 1915 White Sox started their steady ascent to the top of the American League by rising from sixth to third place with a 93-61 record. This was due to the addition of energetic 33-year-old manager, Clarence “Pants” Rowland, and five new position players including Hall of Fame second baseman Eddie Collins, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and Felsch. The newcomer in center finished with a .248 batting average, three home runs, and 16 stolen bases in 121 games as a semi-regular. No doubt Felsch’s numbers could have been stronger except for a nagging leg injury he suffered early in the season #

After the conclusion of the hotly-contested Chicago City Series between the Sox and Cubs, the handsome, square-jawed, 24-year-old major leaguer returned to Milwaukee where he married Marie Wagner, a 22-year-old north side homemaker on October 27.#

Felsch spent what should have been his honeymoon getting his first experience with the judicial system. On October 29 the newlywed was asked to testify in pitcher Cy Slapnicka’s lawsuit against the Brewers for back pay. After the case was postponed until December, Felsch, Slapnicka, and Philadelphia Phillie Fred Luderus, also of Milwaukee, embarked for Little Chute for a Sunday exhibition contest.#

The upcoming baseball season surely brought hope to Felsch and the White Sox. The promising club advanced to second place, overcoming a slow start to finish only two games behind the Red Sox. Charles Comiskey, White Sox owner, was spending money to make money. Adding a pitcher of the caliber of Claude “Lefty” Williams to a staff that already included stars Eddie Cicotte, Red Faber, and Reb Russell helped the Sox break their attendance record with 679,923 fans, 140,462 more than in 1915.#
Comiskey Park loyalists enjoyed watching Felsch belt seven home runs, out of a team total of 17. He led the Deadball Era Sox and tied for third in the American League. Suddenly, the sophomore from the sandlots of Milwaukee was in the upper echelon of AL hitters as he batted an even .300 and finished sixth in the league with a slugging average of .427. Under the tutelage of coach William “Kid” Gleason, the sure-handed Hap, an honorable mention member of Baseball Magazine’s AL All-America Baseball Club, also topped all AL outfielders with a fielding percentage of .981.#
For Happy Felsch it would never get better than 1917. In only his fifth season of professional ball, he became a national hero, thanks to a remarkable regular season and an exceptional World Series. The Sox center fielder was in a class with Hall of Fame outfielders Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb, thanks to the following 1917 statistics:

.308 batting average (fifth in American League)
102 runs batted in (tied for second in AL with Ty Cobb, first Sox ever with 100 RBIs)
440 putouts (first among AL outfielders)
Six home runs (tied for fourth in AL and all hit in losing causes)
133 clutch hitting index (third in AL)#

Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly Newspaper extolled the talents of Felsch by proclaiming:

“In Oscar (“Happy”) Felsch, however, he (Comiskey) has obtained a real live wire, whose individual playing has been a big factor in keeping the Chicago club among the leaders in the American League race. Not only is Felsch a heavy and consistent batter, but he is one of the best fielders in the big show, and as a defensive gardener ranks close to Speaker.#
Rowland’s charges captured their first pennant since 1906 with their finest record ever at 100-54, nine games in front of Boston. The champs led the league in stolen bases, triples, runs scored, on-base percentage, clutch hitting, shutouts, and earned run average.# Five Sox, including Felsch, were named to the Baseball Magazine American League all-star team.#

Several of the more superstitious 1917 team members attributed their success to a teen-aged hunchback. One day Felsch noticed Eddie Bennett in the bleachers of New York’s Polo Grounds and asked, “Hey boy. Are you lucky?” The 15-year-old proved he was as Felsch and others seemed to hit better after rubbing his back for good fortune. In this era of limited sensitivity to the handicapped, Bennett became the Sox mascot/batboy through 1919. The young dwarf moved on to the Dodgers for 1920 and the Yankees from 1921-23. Amazingly, the 1919-1923 Bennett teams were all pennant winners.#

Even as Chicago was winning in front of record-setting home attendance of 684,521, clubhouse strife was beginning to rear its ugly head. In response to his team’s remarkable performance, Comiskey reneged on promised cash bonuses. Instead, the Sox were rewarded with a case of cheap champagne that sportswriter Ring Lardner said tasted “like stale piss.” Comiskey also picked up shortstop Swede Risberg and first baseman Chick Gandil to round out the starting lineup. Although both players were welcome additions on the diamond, they helped form divisive cliques in the clubhouse. Gandil also retained his connections to gamblers. Felsch fraternized with the boisterous, card-playing Risberg/Gandil group that was often in conflict with the higher-educated catcher Ray Schalk/Eddie Collins faction. The seeds of discord that led to the 1919 scandal were sown.#

To be continued

December is always the time to review our favorite moments from the past year
and to begin planning for the year ahead. To that end, SABR invites nominations
for the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award and the Sporting News-SABR
Baseball Research Award and encourages you to develop and submit a presentation
proposal for the Seymour Medal Conference in April or SABR 39 next summer (this
information can also be found in The SABR Bulletin).

Briefly:

The McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award honors the author(s) of the best
article or paper, published or unpublished, on baseball history or biography
completed during the preceding calendar year. Nominations on behalf of others or
self-nominations are equally welcome, and nominees do not have to be SABR
members in order to be eligible for the award. Nominations must include five
copies of the article or paper and must be received by February 15, 2009.
Nominations should be sent to: Len Levin, 282 Doyle Ave., Providence, RI
02906-3355.


The Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award honors outstanding research
projects completed during the preceding calendar year that have significantly
expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball. Nominations on behalf of
others or self-nominations are equally welcome, and nominees do not have to be
SABR members in order to be eligible for the award. Nominations must include
five copies of the book, article or paper and must be received by February 1,
2009. Nominations should be sent to the SABR office: 812 Huron Rd E #719,
Cleveland, OH, 44115.


If you would like to present at the Seymour Medal Conference, April 24-26, 2009
in Cleveland, Ohio, you must submit a presentation proposal by February 20,
2009. Presentations should be 25-35 minutes in length. Proposals should include
a one-page abstract of the paper as well as a cover page with your name,
address, phone number, and email address. Send your proposals to Susan Petrone
at the SABR office: spetrone@sabr.org OR 812 Huron Rd E #719, Cleveland, OH,
44115.


If you are interested in presenting at SABR 39, July 29-August 2, 2009 in
Washington, DC, you must submit an abstract of the proposed presentation by
March 15, 2009. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words and must include the
abstract’s title, review of previous work on the subject, a summary of the
research methodology and anticipated results, and the expected contribution to
the field of baseball research. While submitters may express preference for one
format or the other, all abstracts will be evaluated as both oral and poster
presentations. Oral presentations will be limited to 20 minutes (plus five
minutes for questions). For more details, please visit: http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,2705.
(And don’t forget that discounted early-bird registration for the convention
ends on December 31, 2008. Save $30 by registering now.)

Thank you for your continued support of SABR!

John Zajc
Executive Director

Society for American Baseball Research
812 Huron Rd E #719
Cleveland OH 44115
www.sabr.org
1-800-969-7227 or 216-575-0500

Borchert Project - Felsch 2 - By Jim Nitz

Climaxing this year of destiny was the 1917 World Series, the last one in which the White Sox have been victorious. Game 1, held at Comiskey Park on Saturday, October 6 was decided by a “loud and vicious clout from the trusty bludgeon of Felsch.” “Milwaukee’s famous beef and brawn” hit a long home run to deep left field, giving the Sox a 2-0 lead in a game they eventually won 2-1 over the New York Giants. The center fielder also made a sensational one-handed cutoff play of a Giant double, preventing a round-tripper. Felsch, who drove his new Packard from Milwaukee to Chicago the day before, was rewarded with two $50 Liberty bonds, including one from entertainer Al Jolson. He also accepted a new suit, hat, shoes, and other clothing articles from Chicago merchants. Milwaukeeans, thrilled over Felsch’s success, presented him with a baseball-shaped diamond stickpin before Game 1 and jokingly threatened to take it away if he did not hit a home run. Felsch proceeded to earn the pin and much adulation by slugging the only Sox circuit clout in that Fall Classic. 1,000 Milwaukee fans, including Felsch’s father and a brother, were at Comiskey Park that day. Back home 20,000 more flocked to local electric scoreboards in theaters such as the Pabst and the Empress or to tickers and blackboards in restaurants and businesses. Fans were just as loud as if they were at the game and remained in a frenzy for 15 minutes after the home run.#

In Game 2, Chicago continued its winning ways as the “pride of the Cream city” contributed to the 7-2 victory with a hit-and-run single and several outstanding fielding plays. In Milwaukee Felsch fans went wild again as 35-cent tickets to the electric scoreboard venues were scalped for one dollar. That Sunday evening the Sox and Giants left for New York, arriving on Monday afternoon. Game 3, scheduled for Tuesday at the Polo Grounds, was rained out. Off-the-field news included a flattering invitation for Felsch, Eddie Cicotte, and outfielder John Collins to appear in New York vaudeville. The three did not state if they accepted.#

The Giants recovered to tie the Series at two games each with back-to-back shutouts of the hard-hitting Sox. Comiskey Park hosted Game 5 on Saturday, October 13. The Pale Hose came back from a 5-2 deficit to win 8-5 with Felsch going 3 for 5. The teams traveled again to New York where, on Monday, Chicago captured the Series, four games to two, with a 4-2 victory.#

The White Sox were the toast of the Windy City as they returned to thousands of exultant fans, orators, and two big brass bands. The ballplayer that “made Milwaukee famous” was welcomed back with numerous parties, receptions, banquets, and dances throughout his proud hometown. Friends, local clubs, and city officials helped to arrange these celebrations that honored the man that New York sportswriters believed made the difference in the Series, both with his bat and his glove. The smiling, but reticent, ballplayer enjoyed the attention, but insisted that he not speak in front of throngs of his clamoring fans. In addition to his World Series check of $3666 (almost matching his salary of $3750), the popular star received presents including a gold watch, a set of silverware, and $100 worth of shares in American Aircraft. The papers glorified Felsch by claiming that he made $10,000 a year and accepted enough complimentary drinks to start his own brewery. After all of the honors and gifts were bestowed upon Felsch, “the greatest citizen the north side has ever produced,” he left for the solitude of a three-week fishing/hunting trip in the northern woods. Upon his return, he lived at 1003 (now 2629 North) Teutonia Avenue, adjacent to his in-laws.#

Events surrounding World War I had some effect on the White Sox and major league baseball in 1917 as the United States declared war on Germany five days before the season opened. In June, all men ages 21-30 were required to register for the first universal military draft in U. S. history. Club owners were pleased that they lost very few draftees or volunteers. Teams participated in promotions to raise funds for Liberty bonds and the Red Cross. Patriotism was advanced by allowing free admission to servicemen and staging military parades at ballparks. Led by Army sergeants, players performed an hour of daily close-order military drills, utilizing their bats in place of rifles. The White Sox even donned unique red, white, and blue uniforms complemented by white stockings with red and blue stripes. These were worn only during the World Series and then retired. Fans also contributed as the person who caught Felsch’s World Series home run ball refused $40 for it. Instead, he asked Happy to sign it before donating the historic sphere to the Red Cross to auction. The government also shut down horse racetracks. This drove gamblers to ball parks and team hotels, where they possessed the potential to cause great harm to the national pastime.#

Major league baseball, the White Sox, and Felsch experienced tough times in the intensified war year of 1918. The season was shortened so that baseball could comply with the “work or fight” edict of May 18. This decreed that any male between ages 21 and 31 in a nonessential job must enlist, secure a war-related job, or be reclassified with a lower draft number. Owners wanted an extension of the July 1 deadline and asked for October 15. The government gave baseball September 2, except for the two World Series teams, granted September 15. Players who did not enlist hurried to take exempt jobs in shipyards, steel mills, war-production factories, and farms. Many of them, now subject to criticism as slackers, then played ball in industrial leagues.# Owners and the press resented athletes who avoided military service by working for companies with baseball teams. A disgusted Comiskey, alluding to Felsch, Jackson, and Williams, went so far as to say, “There is no room on my club for players who wish to evade the army draft by entering the employ of ship owners.”#

The defending champion White Sox got off to a rocky start as the train transporting them to spring training derailed March 18 in Texas. Fortunately no one was hurt, but Felsch missed the beginning of camp due to a sudden illness. The season continued downhill as the Sox lost many key players to the war effort. The club finished in sixth place with a 57-67 record before only 198,081 Comiskey Park customers. This was a significant decline from the 684,521 who watched the 100-54 pennant winners of 1917.#

The glory of 1917 must have seemed like a distant memory to Happy Felsch as he struggled both on and off the field in 1918. The star outfielder left the Sox for 12 days in May as he visited a seriously injured brother in a Texas Army camp. Alarming his family and manager Rowland, the distraught Felsch remained incommunicado during the entire trip.#

The “mighty Happy” departed for good on July 1, leaving Rowland with a punchless, spiritless shell of a team. Surprising the defending champs with his sudden resignation, Felsch announced that he was taking a war-effort job at the Milwaukee Gas Company for $125 per month plus earnings from weekend semipro ball. This paled in comparison to the $3750 contract he walked away from. In an effort to boost attendance, the Kosciuskos of the Lake Shore League quickly signed the former World Series star.#
Sportswriters believed that the distractions of the “work or fight” edict and the Sox’ anger over the length of the May trip to Texas caused Felsch to play below his normal standards. Comiskey tried to downplay any strife by claiming, “I regard Felsch as one of the most promising young ball players that ever entered the major leagues. But he was not much use to us in the last few weeks as his mind was not on baseball. However, when in form, he is a real star, as he is a born ball player.” Normally a modest man, Felsch kept quiet about the dispute until July 18. That day, the Sentinel reported the disgruntled star’s desire to eventually return to the American League with any team other than the White Sox.# The Sporting News reported that Felsch departed due to disputes with Comiskey regarding pay, abstinence from drinking, and the Texas journey plus a personal conflict with Eddie Collins.#

“Milwaukee’s most famous diamond gladiator” was welcomed home with open arms by his many local admirers. The Koskys now played before packed houses both on the road as well as at Milwaukee’s South Side Park and Athletic Park. As expected, Felsch hit very well and showed his versatility by handling all three outfield positions, first base, and catcher. Not only did he remain a Kosky through early October but also participated in several “All-Star” games in Milwaukee and Chicago. These contests included major leaguers such as Bobbie Roth, Dickie Kerr, Jack Quinn, and Fred Luderus.#

After the 1918 season Comiskey replaced manager Rowland with popular long-time Sox coach “Kid” Gleason, stating that “Pants” had lost control of the team. Even though the war ended (saving the expected shutdown of the 1919 season) on November 11, it had created a profound impact upon the White Sox. No doubt the club was dissension-ridden due to internal wage disparities and disputes between players who enlisted in the military versus those who took exempt war-effort jobs.# In addition, gamblers began gathering at ballparks after the government closed horse racing tracks. Players found it much more tempting to fix games and receive bribes.#

Comiskey created alienation by offering substandard meal money and attempting to make his athletes pay for uniform laundering. Meanwhile, the owner maintained his superb public image by lavishing journalists and politicians with first class food, drink, and travel accommodations. His penny-pinching of players went unreported by a beholden press that was fed inflated salary figures. This practice made Comiskey and his stars look exceptional.# The stage had been set for the tumultuous 1919 season.

Comiskey conveniently set aside his anger in order to rebuild his remarkable team. With Gleason serving as a capable conciliator, the Sox promptly brought back state-side war workers Felsch, Jackson, and Williams. Felsch quickly regained his form in 1919, leading the American League with 32 outfield assists and 15 double plays.# Four of the assists came on August 14, allowing Felsch to tie a major league record that stands to this day. Accepting 12 chances on June 23 let the gifted ball hawk tie an American League standard. His 15 outfield double plays are still a major league season record.# At the plate Felsch batted a solid .275 for the top run-producing team in the majors, and slugged seven home runs, tying Jackson for the club lead. His 24 homers that decade were more than other White Sox.#

Many of these statistics could have been more impressive had the owners not shortened the 1919 campaign. Anticipating lower attendance as the public recovered from the war, the baseball moguls cut the regular season from 154 to 140 contests. In addition, American League rosters were reduced from 25 to 21, and salaries were depressed in anticipation of lower gate receipts. These concerns proved to be unfounded as war-weary fans flocked back to the national pastime. Attendance rose to 627,186 from 195,081 for the AL champion Sox and to 6.5 million from 3 million in the majors. In an effort to recoup some revenue lost to the ill-advised shortened season, the owners extended the upcoming World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Sox from seven to nine games.#
Felsch’s eventual banishment from organized ball was a result of the 1919 Fall Classic, his second and last. The White Sox, playing in an atmosphere poisoned by unchecked wagering and lower-than-market salaries, were easy prey for gamblers. Owners and league executives generally ignored betting as they desired any and all interest in their sport and were afraid of libel suits. Baseball was revered as upright and patriotic. Charles Comiskey stated in an authorized 1919 biography, “To me baseball is as honorable as any other business . . . . It has to be or it could not last a season out. Crookedness and baseball do not mix.” At the very same time, his mutinous players established a doomed connection between baseball and gambling.#

In this era long before modern-day free agency, many ballplayers received wages far below their real market value. Due to the reserve clause they could sign with typically penurious owners or go home. Black Sox such as Felsch, Jackson, and fix organizer Gandil were rightly upset that their three salaries combined were less than the $15,000 made by college-educated Eddie Collins. The eight Black Sox averaged $4,300 in 1919 and were relatively unschooled, less refined, and deficient in negotiating skills. Certainly, Felsch’s $3750 annual 1917-1919 contracts (plus the potential for $5000 in World Series pay) compared favorably with the average blue collar pay range of $1000 to $2400. However, Edd Roush, Cincinnati center fielder, earned $10,000 and was a headliner equal to Felsch.#

After researching this topic, Robert Burk, an American history professor at Muskingum College in Ohio, concluded: “The White Sox’s salaries were comparable with other teams. But while they were an elite team in talent and revenue, they were in the middle echelon, not at the top, in salaries.”#

To this day it is still unclear as to exactly how the Series was fixed and who the principals were. However, many of the favored Sox did play poorly, whether it was due to taking money from gamblers, exhibiting fear of gangster retribution, or enduring an ordinary slump. Felsch himself was full of contradictions, both in his on-field performance as well as in interviews from later years.

At the plate Felsch produced only a .192 batting average with one extra base hit, a double, in the eight-game Series loss.# The hard-hitter made satisfactory contact but was robbed several times by superb Cincinnati fielding. The press looked at his sudden inability to advance runners and several questionable running and fielding misplays as possible proof of Felsch’s involvement in a fix. After botching catches in both Games 5 and 6, the normally sure-handed center fielder suffered a demotion to right field for Game 7.# The Sentinel believed that the hometown hero hit in bad luck and was just “outshone” by Roush. The paper did not hint at a fix but stated that the Sox were down and lethargic. After Felsch hit his two-bagger, the Sentinel exclaimed, “Felsch was also on the job, much to everyone’s surprise, and walloped a double.”#

After dropping the World Series, the defeated Sox returned home with promised losers’ shares of $3254 and without their normally triumphant attitude. Missing out on the $5207 winners’ portions, the largest in baseball history, several Sox were forced to wait for baseball’s investigation of the Series before receiving their checks. Comiskey, in the midst of these “nasty rumors,” even offered a $20,000 reward to anyone with evidence of a fix. The Sentinel treated its native star with sarcasm, saying, “Felsch is back home and will amuse himself on the bowling alleys this winter. If he makes as many strikes as he did in the world’s series he ought to be good for a couple of 300-scores.”#
The off-season proved disturbing for Happy Felsch. In November he and other Black Sox were the subjects of a private investigation. Comiskey hired detectives to check if his players were making suspiciously liberal purchases or lifestyle changes.# Operative #11 of Hunter’s Secret Service conducted the Felsch surveillance only to uncover contradictory information. After culling tips from many north side taverns, the investigator discovered that Felsch recently moved from his father’s home on North 26th Street back to his in-laws’ neighborhood on Teutonia Avenue. While the slugger was on a duck hunting trip, #11 gained access to the Felsch apartment under the pretense of renting a furnished room. The eight-room, no-bath living quarters above Mrs. Lamber’s grocery at 965 (now 2569 North) Teutonia was crowded as the Felsch’s lived with Marie’s parents, sister, and her two small children. The private eye believed the neighborhood to be poor. He found Hap’s recent purchase of a new $1800 Hupmobile--a solid automobile bought by those rising from the working class—inconsistent with living in a cramped, $22-per-month apartment.#

After the secret investigation, Comiskey was left with no choice but to mail the $3254 checks as only fix chief Gandil, generally acknowledged to receive the most illicit cash, went on a spending spree.# Felsch then became the recipient of an unexpectedly generous contract from the White Sox. Comiskey’s top assistant, Henry Grabiner, made a special trip to Teutonia Avenue in late 1919. His purpose was to ink the center fielder to a 1920 contract that included a surprising $3000 raise. Felsch, taken aback by this sudden Comiskey largesse, signed even as Grabiner reminded him that he could not play with anyone but the White Sox. In addition, Grabiner mentioned the swirling scandal rumors and requested Felsch’s muteness about the fix, both with the press and American League inquisitors.# It was apparent that Comiskey desired his stars back and was finally willing to invest in salaries commensurate with their talents in order to purchase their silence. Further investigations could result in ruinous player punishments.#

In a cruel bit of irony, Felsch’s finest year on the diamond was to be his last. He established career highs of 14 home runs (first on the Sox and fourth in the AL behind Babe Ruth’s unbelievable 54), 188 hits, 88 runs, 40 doubles, 15 triples, 115 runs batted in, and a .338 batting average.# 1920 batters enjoyed a livelier ball, the new requirement that umpires only keep fresh, unmarred spheres in play, and the outlawing of trick pitches (except for the grandfathered spitball).# The 29-year-old, now in his prime, was considered one of the American League’s top ballplayers and paced the circuit with ten double plays.#

After the defending AL champs trained in Waco, Texas, they arrived at Milwaukee’s Athletic Park on Eighth and Chambers for several preseason exhibitions with the Brewers. Felsch, the hometown idol, responded to a rousing ovation from the 5000 fans with a 2-for-4 day on April 10.#

The Sox proceeded to stay in the 1920 pennant race until the events of a turbulent September caused them to succumb to the Cleveland Indians.
September of 1920 proved to be the final month of Happy Felsch’s brilliant career. On September 7 a Chicago grand jury was impaneled to investigate the possible fix of an August 31 Cub-Phillie game. After the hearings began on September 22, the focus quickly shifted to the tainted 1919 World Series. On Monday, September 27 the seven remaining Black Sox (Gandil had retired) suited up for the last time. The following day the implicated were suspended by Comiskey with their team only one-half game behind the Indians. The unsophisticated Cicotte and Jackson, without legal counsel, confessed to the grand jury after ignorantly signing waivers of
immunity.#

To be continued

You only have 20 days left to take advantage of the discounted registration for
SABR 39 in Washington, DC!

Register before December 31, 2008, for only $85. On January 1, 2009, the price
goes to $115. Your registration fee allows you access to all research
presentations, panels and special topics, as well as the trivia contest and
research committee meetings. In addition, you’ll receive a well-stocked
convention goody bag. Sign up today for SABR 39 at the SABR Store,
http://store.sabr.org. 114 members have registered through yesterday.

While you are at the SABR store, please consider renewing your SABR membership
at the same time.

Membership dues provide more than 70% of SABR’s operating expenses, thus every
renewal helps SABR fulfill its mission and maintain its programming. Your SABR
membership gives you two issues of Baseball Research Journal, the National
Pastime convention journal, the quarterly SABR Bulletin, and access to a variety
of online resources, such as SABR-L and the online encyclopedia. More than
that, it provides a true gathering place and community for all baseball fans,
regardless of age, gender, location, or background. Please return your renewal
notice via postal mail or renewal securely and quickly online at the SABR store.


Now through March 1, 2009, SABR is conducting a member-get-a-member campaign.
For each member you recruit, you get one chance to win a random drawing for all
convention events fees paid for the Washington Convention. If you recruit five
new members, you will automatically receive a one-year extension to your SABR
membership.

Thank you for your continued participation in the SABR community.

John Zajc
Executive Director

Society for American Baseball Research
812 Huron Rd E #719
Cleveland OH 44115
www.sabr.org
1-800-969-7227 or 216-575-0500

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SABR 39 Convention Website Is Live

Do you know what you’re doing July 30 to August 2, 2009? How does attending SABR
39 in Washington, DC sound? Find out more about the convention, the hotel, and
nearby attractions on the new SABR 39 Convention website, http://convention.sabr.org


Be sure to bookmark the site for frequent updates.

Register for the convention before December 31 and save $30 (you can use the
extra money to buy books and souvenirs in DC). Head to the SABR store
(http://store.sabr.org/) and join the 164 members who’ve already taken advantage
of this discount.

If you had not paid your 2009 dues before October 24, you should have received a
renewal notice in the mail (or will receive it very shortly). If you haven’t
already paid your dues for 2009, please renew online via SABR’s safe and secure
website. Annual membership is $65, with a discounted rate of $45 for those under
age 30 or over age 65. You can cut down on the number of renewal notices you
receive and save a few dollars if you renew for three years. A regular
three-year renewal is $175; senior three-year renewal is $129. Keep SABR in your
life by renewing today.


Board Nominations Open until February 1

The SABR Nominating Committee is still seeking nominations for candidates for
the 2009 election as well as your input for questions to ask candidates on the
Candidate Statement Form. All candidates must have been members of SABR for at
least the preceding four years in order to be eligible for election.

The deadline for nominations is February 1, 2009. Nominees must prepare the
Candidate Statement Form, which is available from any Nominating Committee
member (in January). Candidate Statement Forms must be received by the
Nominating Committee Chair no later than February 15, 2009. The offices to be
filled at: President (two-year term), Secretary (three-year term), Director
(three-year term). If you would like to nominate yourself or another member or
suggest a question for the candidates, please contact a member of the nominating
committee:

Dan Levitt (Chair) at danrl@attglobal.net
Mark Armour at markarmour@comcast.net
Norman Macht at nlm@grandecom.net

Thank you for your continued participation in the SABR community, and happy
holidays!


John Zajc
Executive Director

Society for American Baseball Research
812 Huron Rd E #719
Cleveland OH 44115
www.sabr.org
1-800-969-7227 or 216-575-0500

HOLIDAY SEASON

Happy Holidays to All! I hope you're enjoying the warm weather........only 15 weeks and 5 days to Brewers Opening Day! Think the snow will be gone by then?

HOLIDAY GET-TOGETHER

We'll be having our annual Holiday get-together at Long Wong's, 5230 West Bluemound Road on Monday December 29th at 5:30 PM. Stop down and socialize, enjoy your choice of beverage, and a bite to eat.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The Emil Rothe Chapter ( Chicago) is holding a meeting in January. Here's all the info:
Chicago (Emil Rothe) Chapter
 
   
 
   
Meeting Announcement
 
Date: Saturday January 10, 2009
 
Time: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
 
Location: Eisenhower Public Library, 4613 N. Oketo Ave., Harwood Hei ghts, IL
         (Near the Northwest Side of Chicago -- one block south of Lawrence; two blocks west of Harlem)
 
Web Site: http://www.eisenhowerlibrary.org/
 
Driving Directions: If you're coming to the library on Route 294 (Tri-State), you should take Route 90 (Kennedy) to Chicago and then exit at either Cumberland going south or at Harlem going south. Take Cumberland or Harlem south to Lawrence. Make a left on Lawrence from Cumberland or make a right on Lawrence from Harlem. The library is approximately two (2) blocks west of Harlem and a block south of Lawrence.
 
Program: -- Amber Buchanan of the Chicago Baseball Museum will show the organization’s recently completed documentary “Buck O'Neil and Black Baseball in
Chicago”. Written and produced by John Owens, the film offers a unique look at the early days of local minority baseball, much of it through the eyes of O'Neil, the one-time Negro League legend.
 
                   -- Jim Walker will discuss his book “Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television”. Co-authored with Robert Bellamy, the book traces the history of baseball telecasts from the earliest experimental efforts to the present day.
 
                   -- R.J. Lesch is the co-editor of an upcoming SABR BioProject book on the 1959 White Sox entitled “Go-Go to Glory”. The book will co ntain biographies of all of the players on the team in addition to background articles. R.J. will discuss the efforts made to ensure that a quality product was produced while still getting the book out in time to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the pennant-winning team.
 
For More Information: Contact Richard Smiley at (312) 525-3606.


Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter Meeting

The next meeting of the Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter of SABR will be held on Saturday February 28th. Here's all the info:
Don Larsen’s Perfect Game
 
Saturday, February 28, 2009
11:00 AM
Long Wong’s Chinese American Sports Bar
5230 W. Bluemound Rd.
 
On Saturday February 28, 2009 the Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter of SABR, with the help of Doak Ewing, President of Rare Sportsfilms, will be showing Don Larsen’s Perfect Game. Doak has graciously offered to show the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen on October 8, 1956. This is an event which is unique! Professor James Walker, Author of the book, "Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television", co-authored with Richard Bellamy. will also give a brief presentation prior to the show ing.This game has been shown publicly only on a few occasions, and we THANK Doak for offering to do this!! There will be items for sale including some of Doak's great sportsfilms, and a 50/50 raffle. Food and your choice of beverage will be available! Special Thanks to Paul Wong and his staff for hosting this event!
                                                  
Reservations are recommended for this event, as seating is limited. You can reserve a spot to watch this historic game by sending an e-mail to Rick Schabowski at RICKIU76@aol.com or by calling at 414-322-4997.
 
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Admission is FREE and open to all baseball fans. Lunch and beverages will be available for purchase.

SABR NATIONAL CONVENTION

The SABR National Convention is rapidly approaching. You can access the latest developments, including booking the hotel, and saving money by pre-registering before New Years by going to the SABR website at www.sabr.org, and clicking the Convention hyperlink.


 
SABR 39
July 30 – August 2, 2009, Washington, D.C.
Please visit the SABR 39 Convention Website for updates on the convention (including research presentation submissions), hotel information, and lots to do in and around Washington.
Time is almost up for early bird registration sign up before December 31st and save $30!

Questions????

Don't hesiatate in calling me at 414-322-4497, or e-mailing me at RICKIU76@aol.com if you have any comments or questions. Hope to see you soon.

Rick Schabowski

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The SABR office is getting back to normal, after two holiday-shortened weeks and a flurry of renewals and last-minute early bird registrations for SABR 39. You should receive the Winter 2009 issue of The SABR Bulletin in the next few weeks. The SABR Bulletin has a new look and some new features. We hope you like it. The first of two issues of Baseball Research Journal is due out in the late spring.


By now, all members from the 2008 membership year should have received the 2008 edition of Baseball Research Journal. We hope you are enjoying it. New members for 2009 can order a copy at the University of Nebraska Press web site.


A few news items/articles you might be interested in:


Member Joe Palladino, a sportswriter and columnist for the Waterbury, CT, Republican American, recently wrote a column on SABR’s BioProject in which he interviewed members Joe Cizik and Bill Nowlin about their work on the BioProject’s monumental goal of writing a biography of every man who has played major league baseball. My favorite line of the article: “Visit bioproj.sabr.org …and you can see the completed bios for yourself. They are all in the “public” section of SABR, for all you slackers who have not joined up.”


Amid all the discussion and speculation about the Hall of Fame selections, member Mike Lynch took an informal poll of members on the SABR-L listserv and other Seamheads Facebook fans asking for their votes for the HoF. While SABR and other fans agreed on Henderson to a greater percentage than the actual HoF voting, they disagreed everywhere else. Mike’s article is HERE:


The Boston Herald notes that SABR member Tom Tippett has been hired as Director, Baseball Information Services by the Boston Red Sox. He’s been consulting with that organization since 2003. This hiring, along with Tony Blengino’s new job at the Seattle Mariners, shows SABR members are making their mark in more front offices and baseball operations.


Finally, two new items in the online SABR zine that you might have missed. The first notes members Art Stewart and Gib Bodet, who each received Scout of the Year honors at the winter meetings. The second article gives an overview of some recent updates to the Protoball section of the Retrosheet website.


As always, thank you for your continued support of and participation in SABR.


John Zajc

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Don Larsen’s Perfect Game
 
Saturday, February 28, 2009
11:00 AM
Long Wong’s Chinese American Sports Bar
5230 W. Bluemound Rd.
 
On Saturday February 28, 2009 the Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter of SABR, with the help of Doak Ewing, President of Rare Sportsfilms, will be showing Don Larsen’s Perfect Game. Doak has graciously offered to show the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen on October 8, 1956. This is an event which is unique! Professor James Walker, Author of the book, "Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television", co-authored with Richard Bellamy. will also give a brief presentation prior to the show ing.This game has been shown publicly only on a few occasions, and we THANK Doak for offering to do this!! There will be items for sale including some of Doak's great sportsfilms, and a 50/50 raffle. Food and your choice of beverage will be available! Special Thanks to Paul Wong and his staff for hosting this event!
                           &nbs p;
Reservations are recommended for this event, as seating is limited. You can reserve a spot to watch this historic game by sending an e-mail to Rick Schabowski at RICKIU76@aol.com or by calling at 414-322-4997.
 
Admission is FREE and open to all baseball fans. Lunch and beverages will be available for purchase.
 
PITCH AND HIT CLUB
 
Thome to receive the Pitch and Hit Club Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame Award.
 The largest and best awards sports dinner in Chicago, do not miss it, you want to be part of this great event. Meet everyone in the baseball world here at the 63rd annual Pitch and Hit Club Awards Dinner.

Date
January 25th, 2009, Sunday.
Place
Donald E. Stephens Rosemont Convention Center
Time
Cocktails and Autographs start at 4 pm, Doors open 4 pm
Tickets
Call Chip Sobek for tickets, (219) 865-9442 or e-mail him i22chipster@sbcglobal.net
Tickets $60, Table of 10 is $600

Signing autographs prior to the dinner will be Dan Pasqua, Ron Kittle, Donn Pall, Pat Hughes, M arvin Freeman, Tim Stoddard, Buzz Capra, Bill Pierce, Bill Campbell, Bill Sharpe, Gene Hiser, Dave Otto and many more. Autographs are part of the dinner price along with free parking.
 
Come see Jim Thome receive the Pitch and Hit Club Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame award along with Assistant GM of the Cubs Randy Bush and Rick Hahn Assistant GM of the White Sox talk about their respective teams. Nancy Faust will be playing during the autograph cocktail hour during 4-5:30 pm and Wayne Messmer singing the national anthem and announcing the award winners into the dinner all.
 
Lots of excitement with area pro team mascots mingling during the cocktail hour , sponsors exhibiting their items and a great silent auction of sports memorabilia from all over the sports world. The largest and best Baseball dinner in Chicago.
 
Celebrity media people presenting awards, Bruce Levine of WMVP radio, Dave Kaplan WGN radio, and Tom Shaer President of Tom Shaer sports media and George Ofman of Score radio.
Website can be found at www.pitchandhitclub.org.
HEAR JEFF GRAYSON: FOX SPORTS
The Education Foundation of Wauwatosa (EFW) is inviting the community to a special night to honor the foundation’s 2008-09 grant recipients and celebrate the great things happening in Wauwatosa’s public schools.
The EFW will hold its Annual Celebration on Thursday, Jan. 29 at the Blue Mound Country Club, 10122 W. North Ave.
The Annual Celebration will recognize the 17 grants funded by the EFW. The grants were awarded to teachers in the Wauwatosa School District to fund creative and innovative classroom programs.
“This is a special night because we get to turn the spotlight on the educators in Wauwatosa that have brought some very special programs into their classrooms,” said Maureen Kenfield, EFW president. “The EFW is honored to help these20educators continue the exceptional work they are doing in Wauwatosa’s schools.”
 
"The evening will feature guest speaker Jeff Grayson. Grayson is
 
an anchor on Fox Sports Net and a 1983 graduate of Wauwatosa
 
East High School.
 
The Annual Education Foundation of Wauwatosa (EFW)
 
Celebration is on Thursday, Jan. 29 at the Blue Mound Country
 
Club, 10122 W. North Ave. It will get started at 5 p.m. with
 
registration and heavy hors dʼoeuvres. The program will begin at
 
6 p.m. Cost is only $25 and benefits the Education Foundation.
 
Contact Laura Wainscott at (414) 773-1062 for tickets."
 
 
 
      MILWAUKEE BRAVES BANQUET
 
The next Milwaukee Braves Historical Association Banquet will be
 
 held at Potowatomi’s Northern Light’s Banquet room on Monday
 
May 11, 2009. The Guest of Honor is Bob Uecker. Tickets cost
 
$125 and include meal and a Bob Uecker autographed baseball.
 
 Attendees must be 21 years or older, and no other autographs .
 
If you’re interested in purchasing a ticket contact Rick Schabowski
 
at RICKIU76@aol.com or calling 414-322-4997.
 
PRIDE AND PASSION EXHIBIT
 
The Milwaukee Public Library will be featuring an exhibit this
 
Summer titled “Pride and Passion” which will deal with the Negro
 
Leagues. Request for research follows:
 
 
 “ I am contacting you to see if anyone in your organization has information on the Bears or on an earlier team in the late 1800’s called the Reds. The Reds came up as a mention in an article with no other information offered. I have not heard of them. Also do you in your Borchert Field research have materials on the Bears use of Borchert Field and how those games were handled. Our staff is doing some research on some of our earlier African American newspapers to see what might show up on the Negro Leagues. If you have any information on your end I would appreciate it if we could make copies of what you have.”
 
This is an excellent opportunity to further our Chapter’s Borchert
Field Project. Research could concentrate on the games played at
Borchert Field!
 QUESTIONS?
Feel free to contact me with any questions at 414-322-4997, or by
e-mail at RICKIU76@aol.com.
 
81 Days ‘till the Brewers Home Opener!!

 
Fans of the minor leagues
should order their pre-publication
copy of Going for the Fences.
The latest edition should be
ready this spring, and it
includes many lists of minor league home run leaders and feats.
 
Order today from the SABR Store
 
Also, keep an eye on the SABR
website and future mailings of
"This Week in SABR"
for ordering information on the
2009 Emerald Guide to Baseball.
    
 


Everyone in the SABR office was saddened to hear of the death of Raymond Gonzalez, who was one of SABR’s original 16 members. Born on October 27, 1919 in Havana, Cuba, Gonzalez had, at various times, been a baseball player, umpire, and score keeper, but his real love was records and analysis. He reportedly had a record of every Yankees game as well as home run records, triple plays, and thousands of other statistics.
 
A retired accountant, he served as SABR’s treasurer from 1975-77 and was co-recipient of the SABR Salute in 1988. He lived in Hialeah, Florida, and was a member of the South Florida Chapter. When chapter co-chair Sam Zygner spoke with him by phone in the fall, Gonzalez said that he always believed he "was born with little baseballs running through my veins." He will be greatly missed.
 
Some news items that may be of interest or amusement:
 
The SABRzine features an article on member Gary Cokins’ forty-year-old baseball gaming computer program, which has been donated to the Hall of Fame.
 
In case you missed a few recent news announcements, SABR has a new research committee on the Black Sox Scandal and the Minor Leagues Committee has a new chair. Read about it HERE.
 
Applications are now being accepted for the Yoseloff-SABR Baseball Research Grant Program. More details HERE.
 
The Naples, FL chapter welcomed Carlos Alfonso, the Tampa Bay Rays Director of International Relations, as the guest speaker at their last meeting. Read about it HERE.
 
At least one staffer was amused that even one of the biggest stars in Hollywood can still be swayed by the prospect of meeting two of his heroes, in this case, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. Just goes to show you how strong a hold this game can have on its fans.
 
Please note several upcoming deadlines:
 
The McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award honors the author(s) of the best article or paper, published or unpublished, on baseball history or biography completed during the preceding calendar year. Nominations on behalf of others or self-nominations are equally welcome, and nominees do not have to be SABR members in order to be eligible for the award. Nominations must include five copies of the article or paper and must be received by February 15, 2009. Nominations should be sent to: Len Levin, 282 Doyle Ave., Providence, RI 02906-3355.
 
The Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award honors outstanding research projects completed during the preceding calendar year that have significantly expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball. Nominations on behalf of others or self-nominations are equally welcome, and nominees do not have to be SABR members in order to be eligible for the award. Nominations must include five copies of the article or paper and must be received by February 1, 2009. Nominations should be sent to the SABR office: 812 Huron Rd E #719, Cleveland, OH, 44115.
 
 
If you would like to present at the Seymour Medal Conference, April 24-26, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio, you must submit a presentation proposal by February 20, 2009. Presentations should be 25-35 minutes in length. Proposals should include a one-page abstract of the paper as well as a cover page with your name, address, phone number, and email address. Send your proposals to Susan Petrone at the SABR office, 812 Huron Rd E #719, Cleveland, OH, 44115.
 
Nominations for the position of President, Secretary, and Director must be received by February 1. Contact one of the nominating committee members for more information: Dan Levitt, Mark Armour, Norman Macht.
 
As always, thank you being a part of SABR and helping to preserve baseball’s history.
 
John Zajc
Executive Director
Society for American Baseball Research

As announced in Saturday's meeting, the Bob Davids Chapter of SABR has a new
site. Its content will grow more robust and more useful as members send in
electronic photos and stories of interest, but most of all ideas.
 
You can already see:
- A list of previous chapter meetings, including our recent successful 36th;
- Archive and current copies of our chapter's official organ, The Squibber;
- Information and submission requests; and
- A list of professional baseball teams who play their home games in our
chapter.
 
Much more will be added in the coming weeks and we thrive on participation from
members and nonmembers alike.

As I have recently added a number of people to this list (basically everyone who has written a biography and is still in SABR), I thought I would update you on a few things.

1. We have a Yahoo! discussion list, which is where one would go to ask questions about researching a biography or about some of the common issues we might have. To subscribe, send a blank email to SABRBioProject-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.


2. As you all know, our project has spawned a number of book projects of late, five of which have been published. In order to better recognize this, I have added a new page to our web site:
http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=cms,c,1522,69
which highlights each of these books, as well as a couple of books which came before us. As new books are published (four more this year!), they will move to the front of the page.

[Yes, I know the menu name is wrong--I am working on this.]

Note that the last four books also contain a link which will allow you to read the bios that have already been posted. As new books are posted (generally a year after publication), these links will be added.

On a related note, those four books are now "categories" that you can find by browsing. For example, here is the 1967 Red Sox book:
http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=l&br=cat&catID=6&sctID=26


3. For those of you who have written at least one bio, you should have an author's page at this link:
http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=w&m=62

Click on your name. If there is no blurb there about you, send me one and I will post it for you.


We have 952 published bios. If you get working, you could be number 1000.

Best,
Mark Armour