Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter meeting recap – 4/15/2019
Eighteen members and guests of the Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter assembled on Monday, April 15, 2019, at the Sports Cafe, 3579 Pennridge Drive in Bridgeton, Missouri.
Chapter treasurer Mark Stangl called the meeting to order.
On May 2, 2007, the chapter placed a ballpark marker near the ballpark of Harris-Stowe State University, designating it as the site of Stars Park, one of the few parks built specifically for a Negro League team. In a recent e-mail from Heather Bostic, Vice-President of Title III and Sponsored Programs at the university, it was revealed that this designation may lead to a gift to the institution that would allow them to make some needed improvements to the field and further recognize the historic relevance of the field. The potential donor has asked for approval to build a larger monument recognizing the history of the field that incorporates the plaque donated by the chapter. It was agreed at the last meeting to give our permission to allow the changes to occur.
Allison Levin, a candidate for the SABR Board of Directors, was in attendance. She stated some of her reasons for her candidacy. “We must bring in younger members and more diverse members. That is not to say we need to move away from what makes SABR great, but we need to find ways to attract these new members and retain them in our membership. In order to grow and thrive as an organization we not only need to be better at getting younger we must continue the efforts to increase diversity. Although programs exist there is still work to be done to ensure women and minorities feel welcome and accepted at all levels from local to national.” Deadline for votes to be received is 11:59 p.m. MST on April 23.
Items mentioned for this date in baseball history were: 1947–Jackie Robinson makes his historic debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. 1954-The Veeck-less Baltimore Orioles play their first game at Memorial Stadium, beating the White Sox 3-1. (Bob Giovanni shared a couple of stories from the Orioles first home game. “Outfielder Don Lenhardt said that the welcoming parade through the streets of Baltimore was so long that when they got to the ballpark there was no time for BP and they had to begin the game almost immediately.” Also, “Catcher Clint Courtney hit the first Baltimore Orioles home run and received a year’s worth of diaper service, which came in pretty handy with a little one at home.”) 1954-Hank Aaron collects the first hit of his MLB career in a 7-6 win over the Cardinals. 1958-The Giants and the Dodgers play their first games on the West Coast. 1998- The first-ever AL/NL day/night doubleheader as the Yankees are forced to come to Shea Stadium after a beam fell into the stands at Yankee Stadium on April 13. The Yankees defeat the Angels in the day game while the Mets defeat the Cubs in the night game.
Bob Tiemann presented research, which he will also present at the 11th annual Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, April 26-27, 2019 in Cooperstown, NY. It is titled “The Stagno Collection and the SABR National Association Box Score Project”. National Association data came originally from box scores collected by Michael Stagno and purchased by SABR. Tiemann, ably assisted by Bob Richardson, enhanced the Stagno collection considerably, including finding box scores for some of the handful of missing games. Tiemann said that by presenting this in Cooperstown, he hopes to revivify the project and that someone will want to take it and fill in the holes.
General discussion topics were about the Cardinals early season showing, the seemingly sudden influx of two-toned ball gloves in major league baseball and their legality, and the recent study by Boston University researchers on the efficiency of major league umpires calling balls and strikes.
Bob Tiemann’s trivia quiz was titled “October Dastards” (Players who have done Bad Things to the Cardinals in the Postseason). Mark Stangl and Jim Leefers tied with 34 out of 44 answers.
The next event will be the Fellowship Meeting on May 1 at Lester’s in Ladue. The next regular monthly meeting will be Monday, May 13, 2019 at the Sports Café in Bridgeton.
— Jim Leefers