Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter meeting recap – 1/14/2019
Nineteen hearty members and guests of the Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter dug themselves out of the weekend snow and gathered at the Sports Cafe on Monday, January 14, 2019, in in Bridgeton, Missouri.
Chapter president Rick Zucker called the meeting to order.
Once again it was announced that the chapter’s Hot Stove Luncheon will be held on February 2, 2019. It will be held at Favazza’s on the Hill (5201 Southwest Ave.) with the doors opening at 11:30 and lunch being served at noon. The cost this year will be $40 in advance and $50 at the door. Advanced reservations can be sent to Mark Stangl, 11683 Chandellay Drive, St. Louis, MO. 63146. Please make your checks out to the Bob Broeg SABR Chapter.
The roster of special guests had to be amended when former Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson unfortunately had to cancel his appearance. Taking his place will be former major-league third baseman Ken Reitz who played with the Cardinals, Giants, Cubs, and Pirates. Also on the program will be Marty Maier and Benjamin Hochman. Maier is a former minor leaguer with the Royals and Yankees organizations, a long time scout for the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Royals, serving as the scouting director for the Cardinals, and is currently an Assistant to the General Manager for the Cincinnati Reds. Hochman is a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The meeting dates for 2019 were announced and listed on the agenda once again: Regular monthly meetings at the Sports Café (all Mondays) will be January 14, March 18, April 15, May 13, June 10, July 22, August 26, October 14, November 18, and December 16. Fellowship meetings, which begin at 5:30, will be held tentatively at Lester’s Sports Bar and Grill, 9906 Clayton Road in Ladue on March 6, April 3, May 1, July 2(Tue), August 7, September 4, October 2, November 6, and December 4. The Rygelski Research Conference wiil be at Webster University on Saturday, September 21.
It was announced that the current slate of officers, Rick Zucker – President, Jeff Ecker – Vice-President, Mark Stangl – Treasurer, and Jim Leefers – Secretary were all willing to continue in their respective positions for the coming. If anyone else would like to be nominated please contact one of the officers prior to the Hot Stove Luncheon.
Items mentioned for this date in baseball history were: 1970 – Johnny Murphy, General Manager of the 1969 New York Mets and former Yankees ace reliever dies (It was mentioned that Murphy was the first reliever to be tagged as a “fireman”) 1981 – Frank Robinson is named manager of the San Francisco Giants becoming the first black manager in the National League. 1987 – Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to the Hall of Fame. 2008 – The Cardinals trade Scott Rolen to the Blue Jays for Troy Glaus.
Rich Applegate gave a book review on The Big Fella by Jane Leavy. The book, which Rich said was very well researched, chronicles a 1927 postseason barnstorming tour by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig with tangential anecdotes from Babe’s childhood, his major league career, and his final years. The review led to some good discussion about Babe and several in attendance shared some of their favorite stories about him.
Rick Zucker shared a printout of the 2019 team projections from the Fangraphs website, which shows the Cardinals and the Cubs sharing the National League Central Division title.
There was general discussion on the upcoming 2019 season, the free agents that are still unsigned, the CBA which ends after 2021, and whether Kyler Murray will play baseball or football.
Bob Tiemann gave a research report on the 1876 National League opener in St. Louis between the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago Whites on May 4, which was halted by rain, and the make-up game the following day. When St. Louis won 1-0 the newspaper headline said “Chicago Chicagoed”. Bob explained that a few years earlier a Chicago team had been shutout, which was a rare occurrence in early baseball and the term “Chicagoed” or a “Chicago defeat” was coined.
Bob Tiemann’s trivia quiz was titled “Olden Days – 1969-1993 (The First 25 years of Division Play)”. Jim Leefers was the winner with 31 out of 37 answers. He received a sepia toned poster of Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial.
The next event will be the Hot Stove Luncheon on February 2, of which the details are mentioned above. The next regular monthly meeting will be Monday, March 18, 2019, at the Sports Café in Bridgeton.
— Jim Leefers