Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series
As part of SABR’s 50th anniversary in 2021, all baseball fans were invited to join us online for the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series, presented by Major League Baseball and Baseball-Reference.com, for a series of presentations, chats, and panel discussions featuring authors, scholars, and figures from around the game.
The Summer of SABR series included panels and presentations on the future of baseball, a preview of Team USA’s run to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and international baseball in June; the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in July; and a celebration of SABR’s 50th anniversary, baseball labor relations, and the 1921 Century Project in August.
Video Highlights
The Summer of SABR online sessions were held on the weekends of June 25-27, July 23-25, and August 10, 13-14.
Click on a date below to watch the replay of each day’s session.
Friday, June 25 — Future of Baseball
Friday, June 25
7:00-9:00 p.m. EDT
Future 50: With 50 years of history under its belt, SABR dives into what the next 50 years of baseball might look like as featured in 2021’s The National Pastime. Hosted by Emily Hawks.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 7:00-8:00 p.m.: Future of Women in Baseball panel, with Katie Krall, Cincinnati Reds; Bianca Smith, Boston Red Sox; Janet Marie Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers.
— 8:00-9:00 p.m.: Baseball Rules Changes panel, with J.J. Cooper, Baseball America; Rick White, Atlantic League; and Cecilia Tan, SABR.
Saturday, June 26 — Negro Leagues Panel and Annual Business Meeting
Saturday, June 26
3:00-6:00 p.m. EDT
Negro Leagues Panel and Annual Business Meeting: After a panel discussing Negro League data, SABR conducts its Annual Business Meeting, giving an update on the state of the organization. Afterward, members will have a chance to connect during a virtual social hour. Hosted by Scott Bush.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 3:00-4:00 p.m.: Negro Leagues as Major Leagues panel, with Sean Forman, Sports Reference; Scott Simkus, Seamheads.com; and Larry Lester, SABR Negro Leagues Committee. Moderator: Dr. Raymond Doswell, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
— 4:00-5:00 p.m.: Annual Business Meeting, with presentation of Bob Davids Award.
Sunday, June 27 — International Baseball
Sunday, June 27
2:00-4:00 p.m. EDT
International Baseball: From the prominence of baseball globally to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, SABR looks at different facets of the international game. Hosted by Chanel Zapata.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 2:00-3:00 p.m.: Caribbean Winter Leagues and Post-Pandemic Latin American Baseball, with Leonte Landino and Enrique Rojas, ESPN Deportes.
— 3:00-4:00 p.m.: Baseball at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, with Eric Campbell, GM, Team USA; Peter Kurz, GM, Team Israel; and moderator Matthew Casey, KJZZ.
Friday, July 23 — Malloy Conference, Day 1
Friday, July 23
7:00-9:00 p.m. EDT
The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference makes its virtual return in 2021 as part of the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series. Since 1998, the event has been the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination and promotion of Black baseball history.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 7:00-7:15 p.m.: Introduction by Larry Lester, SABR Negro Leagues Committee
— 7:15-7:45 p.m.: James Brunson, “Blues People: Music, Style, and Black Baseball, 1865-1910”
— 7:45-8:15 p.m.: Mark Aubrey, “The 1920 Knoxville Giants”
— 8:30-9:00 p.m.: Todd Peterson, “The Negro Leagues vs. Major Leagues”
— 9:00-9:30 p.m.: Emily Rutter, “Baseball and Beloved Community in the Memoirs and Poetry of E. Ethelbert Miller”
Saturday, July 24 — Malloy Conference, Day 2
Saturday, July 24
11:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m. EDT
The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference makes its virtual return in 2021 as part of the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series. Since 1998, the event has been the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination and promotion of Black baseball history.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of the morning/afternoon session on YouTube or click here to watch the Black Baseball Before 1920 panel discussion
- Schedule:
— 11:00-11:15 a.m.: Introduction by Michelle Freeman, Leon Day Foundation
— 11:15-11:45 a.m.: Eric Chalek, “Leveling the Playing Field: Combining Negro Leagues Research and Sabermetric Analysis to Expand Our View of Negro Leagues Players”
— 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Rich Puerzer, “Big League Baseball in a Small Town: The Negro Leagues Visit Metuchen, New Jersey”
— 12:30-1:00 p.m.: Katie Krall, “Celebration and Discrimination: Rube Foster and the Chicago American Giants”
— 1:00-1:30 p.m.: Milbert Brown, “The Colorful Life of Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, a Negro League Legend”
— 2:00-2:15 p.m.: Introduction by Lisa Alexander
— 2:15-2:45 p.m.: Bill Plott, “Anecdotal Highlights of Black Barons History”
— 2:45-3:15 p.m.: Steve Dittmore, “The Economic Market for Junior Gilliam in 1950”
— 3:15-3:45 p.m.: Leslie Heaphy, “The Martins and the Red Sox”
— 3:45-4:15 p.m.: Harriet Hamilton-Kimbro, “Honoring of Negro Baseball Leaguers Who Called Nashville Home”
— 6:15-7:30 p.m.: Black Baseball Before 1920, with panelists James Brunson III, Todd Peterson, John Thorn, and moderator Larry Lester
Sunday, July 25 — Malloy Conference, Day 3
Sunday, July 25
1:30-3:30 p.m. EDT
The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference makes its virtual return in 2021 as part of the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series. Since 1998, the event has been the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination and promotion of Black baseball history.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 1:30-1:45 p.m.: Introduction by Larry Lester
— 1:45-2:15 p.m.: Rodney Page, “Allen Page: An Unsung Portrait”
— 2:15-2:45 p.m.: James Forr, “Thomas Hayes, Owner of the Birmingham Black Barons”
— 2:45-3:15 p.m.: Jeb Stewart, “Birmingham’s Baseball Legend: Lorenzo “Piper” Davis”
— 3:15-3:30 p.m.: Concluding Remarks by Larry Lester
Tuesday, August 10 - SABR’s 50th Anniversary
Tuesday, August 10
7:00-9:30 p.m. EDT
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 7:00-8:00 p.m.: SABR AT FIFTY – Honoring our Past, Shaping our FutureOn the occasion of our organization’s fiftieth birthday, we will share the stage with six members who joined SABR at different points in our history (and stayed!) Each will share their thoughts on the organization as they first encountered it, the changes they’ve seen or been a part of, and the future they envision. Panelists include Tom Hufford (Founder, 1971), Pete Palmer (1971), Tom Shieber (1982), Anthony Salazar (1998), Emily Hawks (2008), and Donna Muscarella (2021).— 8:00-9:00 p.m.: IN CONVERSATION WITH HOWARD BRYANT – Baseball in the SABR Era and Beyond
SABR is thrilled to host award-winning author, sports journalist, and radio and television personality Howard Bryant in conversation on all things baseball. We will explore a range of topics including the game on the field, front office hiring, labor and financial issues, the analytics movement, the game’s changing demographics, and what baseball needs to do to remain viable, vital, and relevant going forward.
Friday, August 13 - Baseball Labor Relations
Friday, August 13
7:00-9:30 p.m. EDT
Baseball Labor Relations: With baseball’s collective bargaining agreement up for negotiation this offseason, SABR dissects current and historical labor relations.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 7:00-8:00 p.m.: Major League Baseball: 2021 CBA Update, with Anthony Gonella and Glenn Wong
— 8:00-8:45 p.m.: Curt Flood’s Hall of Fame Case, with Baltimore City College sports analytics program
— 8:45-9:45 p.m.: Curt Flood and the Reserve Clause, with Ed Edmonds, Nathaniel Grow, Lee Lowenfish, and moderator Daniel R. Levitt
Saturday, August 14 - Centennial Baseball
Saturday, August 14
3:00-6:00 p.m. EDT
Centennial Baseball: SABR’s Century Committee presents its research on baseball 100 years ago and memorializes the anniversaries of important milestones. We’ll look at the Negro National League in its infancy in 1921, along with baseball’s first radio broadcast, Babe Ruth and the Yankees’ rise to dominance, and the 100th anniversary of the Black Sox trial.
- Watch: Click here to watch the replay of this session on YouTube
- Schedule:
— 3:00-4:00 p.m.: The Lively Ball Era, with Donna L. Halper, Steve Steinberg, John Fredland, and moderator Sharon Hamilton
— 4:00-5:00 p.m.: The Black Sox Trial, with Bill Lamb, Don Zminda, Bruce Allardice, and moderator Jacob Pomrenke
— 5:00-6:00 p.m.: 1921 New York Giants vs. Chicago American Giants: A Simulation, with Phil S. Dixon, Ted Knorr, John Odell, and moderator Sharon Hamilton