Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter meeting recap – 10/23/2017
Sixteen members and guests of the Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter gathered at the Sports Cafe, located at 3579 Pennridge Drive in Bridgeton on Monday, October 23, 2017.
Chapter president Brian Flaspohler called the meeting to order. Items noted in “Today in Baseball History”: 1920 – The Chicago grand jury indictment adds the names of former featherweight boxing champ Abe Attell, Hal Chase, and Bill Burns as go-betweens in the 1919 World Series scandal. Ed Cicotte, Joe Jackson, Lefty Williams, and Happy Felsch sign confessions which they later recant. 1935 – Gabby Hartnett is selected by the BBWAA as the NL MVP, with Dizzy Dean the runner-up. 1945 – Branch Rickey announces the signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. 1985 – John Tudor hurls a five-hit, 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-1 lead in the World Series.
Mark Stangl led a discussion on the possibility of expansion, prompted by baseball commissioner Rob Manfred’s recent remarks about Portland, Oregon being a potential site for a franchise. Also cited was a recent column by Tracy Ringolsby in Baseball America where he mentioned the possibility of geographic realignment into four eight-team divisions and a reduced (156 games) schedule.
Brian Flaspohler recently received an e-mail from a gentleman in Ohio looking for information on semi-pro baseball in St. Louis, and in particular information on Dick Bates who appeared in one MLB game with the Seattle Pilots in 1969. Anyone that can help should contact Flaspohler at bkflash@charter.net.
Other topics of discussion were the playoffs, particularly the odd ½ inning that included, after two outs, an infield hit, an intentional walk, a strikeout with a passed ball, a catcher’s interference, and a hit by pitch; thoughts on the upcoming World Series; and the coaching changes by the St. Louis Cardinals earlier in the day.
Bob Tiemann’s trivia topic was “The Wild Card Error”. Mark Stangl was the winner with a score of 33 out of 53.
The next regular monthly meeting will be Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at the Sports Café.
— Jim Leefers