A look back at SABR 27: Louisville, 1997

This article was published in the Pee Wee Reese Chapter’s Fall 2024 newsletter.

From left: Bud Thieman, Henry Mayer, and Harry Rothgerber, the three co-chairs of the 1997 SABR Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.

Hosting the 1997 SABR national gathering was a proud moment in the history of Louisville’s Pee Wee Reese Chapter. It also could have been titled, “Be careful what you wish for,” or “2-plus years of hard work.” Although the three co-chairs — Henry Mayer, Bud Thieman (Treasurer) and I — were in the forefront, there was a large, active convention committee filled with 40-plus dedicated individuals who did much of the planning and execution of the event.

Henry and I began the process by attending the 1996 national convention in Kansas City to monitor what they did right and what could have been better. There we connected with award-winning baseball author Bill Marshall from Lexington and others who would be key in planning and support. We had the full cooperation of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Hillerich and Bradsby, and the old Louisville Board of Aldermen, several of whom made donations from their discretionary funds to our convention treasury. It was indeed a team effort.

Regular monthly meetings were held in space graciously provided by The Temple on Lime Kiln Lane. Attendance was always superb. Henry, Bud, Bill Marshall, and Brent Kelley, prolific Negro Leagues author from Paris, Kentucky, did an outstanding job of wrangling attendance from former players for the various panels.

The convention took place on June 20-23, 1997, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Here’s the official, brief description from the SABR Convention History page online:

The 1997 Convention was held in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Hyatt Regency Louisville. Convention organizer co-chairs were Harry Rothgerber and Henry Mayer. A total of 440 members and guests were in attendance. Pee Wee Reese and Jim Bunning were the featured speakers, with then-Congressman Bunning giving the keynote address. There were rumors all weekend long that Ted Williams would attend but the Splendid Splinter, in poor health, was unable to make it. There were several interesting player panels. One consisted of Reese, Carl Erskine, Don Lund, Ed Stevens, and Tot Presnell. The current Louisville Redbirds were represented by Gaylen Pitts, Kevin Koslofski, and Brian Maxcy. Among other players present were Ned Garver, Bill Cash, Connie Johnson, Butch McCord, Thomas Turner, Slick Surratt, Ernie Andres, and Mel Parnell. Branch Rickey III and Louisville Redbirds General Manager Dale Owens also spoke. The membership had a tour of the Louisville Slugger Museum and Bat Factory and also attended an American Association game between the Louisville Redbirds and the Iowa Cubs in which Iowa pitcher Miguel Batista tossed a neat two-hit shutout.

Coincidentally that weekend, Derby Dinner Playhouse in Clarksville, Indiana, was wrapping up its engagement of Damn Yankees.

Several craft stores on Main Street also were displaying baseball-related items and themes. At a convention event on Friday afternoon, a town ball game was held at the St. Xavier High School baseball diamond on Poplar Level Road. The Great Black Swamp Frogs defeated the Picked Nine 12-6 to the enjoyment of all in attendance. The Louisville Courier-Journal’s article was titled, “History Buffs take fans out to the old ball game,” with the photo sub-title, “Baseball the way it used to be.”

The first major convention event involved a buffet dinner, tours, and research presentations at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory on Friday evening. Earle Combs’ grandson Craig, a committee member from Richmond, Kentucky, announced that he was donating some of his grandfather’s letters to SABR. Bob Bailey gave a controversial presentation which called into doubt the H&B origin story. Attorney General Ben Chandler, grandson of former Baseball commissioner A.B. “Happy” Chandler, was invited but was unable to attend due to a major scheduling conflict.

As the Saturday buffet luncheon featuring the Dodgers panel was getting under way, I stood at the top of the hotel escalator, waiting to see if Pee Wee Reese would appear. His attendance was in doubt due to his recent serious illness. It was such a relief to see him walk through the door with a former H&B colleague on his arm. Pee Wee, always the gentleman, expressed gratitude for the invitation and was especially glad to see his first roommate, Tot Presnell, then almost 91 years old. The panel presentation, which I emceed, was a huge success.

I was also thankful the following day when the ten school buses arrived on time to transport the conventioneers to the old Cardinal Stadium for the game between the Redbirds and the Iowa Cubs. Although it was a humid 88 degrees, everyone seemed to enjoy the ballpark experience. The 1997 season was notable for the American Association because it was the last in the league’s history. The Association was then folded into the Pacific Coast League and International League, mainly due to Triple-A expansion and the desire to expose fans to a larger league with more prospects.

In my opinion, the best presenters were Pee Wee Reese, followed by Branch Rickey III (with stories about his grandfather), Ned Garver (humorous and insightful), and Jim Bunning (who proved that he could indeed remember every home run ball he ever threw). The convention was very well received by the attendees. Evaluations across the board were very high. If there was a “disappointment,” it was that Ted Williams, though not on the schedule, was unable to make an appearance. We were in conversation with those close to Ted and we knew that he wanted to be present to make a pitch that baseball set aside Shoeless Joe Jackson’s permanent ban and for his election into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A local businessman even volunteered his plane to bring Ted up from his Florida home. However, Ted’s last-minute illness prevented that scenario.

HARRY ROTHGERBER was the longtime president of SABR’s Pee Wee Reese Chapter in Louisville, Kentucky.

• Audio: Listen to Jim Bunning’s keynote speech from SABR 27 (with introduction by former major league pitcher Ned Garver)
• Read more: Download a PDF of A Celebration of Louisville Baseball, the SABR 27 convention journal