Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter meeting recap – 5/22/2017
Thirteen members and guests of the Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter gathered at The Original Crusoe’s Restaurant in South St. Louis on Monday, May 22, 2017.
Chapter president Brian Flaspohler called the meeting to order. He reminded everyone of the chapter’s Baseball Location Project “Meet Me at the Musial Statue” and requested that members begin to submit to the committee members all the baseball related addresses/locations in the St. Louis area. Players homes, gravesites, locations of parks, tragedies, important events, businesses, publications, newspapers, and other sites deemed worthy are requested. The committee members are Brian Flaspohler (bkflash@charter.net), Mark Stangl (mwsbaseballdude@yahoo.com), Steve Gietschier (sgietsch@gmail.com), Jeff Ecker (eckjeffreya@gmail.com), and Craig Carter (craigscarter@charter.net). All members and some regular guests will soon be receiving, by e-mail, a survey to gather ideas on another venue and other ways to increase membership and improve the chapter.
Items noted in “Today in Baseball History”: 1968 – Willie Stargell hits three home runs, a double and a single as the Pirates defeat the Cubs 13-6. 1976 – St. Louis’ Reggie Smith hits three home runs, two right-handed and one left-handed and drives in five runs in a 7-6 win over the Phillies. 1977 – Boston and Milwaukee hit a combined 11 home runs in a 14-10 Red Sox victory at Fenway Park, tying a major league record. The Red Sox connected for six and the Brewers hit five in the first game of a doubleheader.
Rich Applegate spoke briefly about his recent trip to Cooperstown where he was able to participate in a “white glove” tour. He was allowed to hold one of Babe Ruth’s bats and Lou Gehrig’s glove among other artifacts. Applegate then gave a positive book review on Bushville Wins, by John Klima. The book chronicles the move of the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953, culminating in their 1957 World Series triumph over the mighty New York Yankees.
Jim Leefers talked about the current exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois entitled “The Rivalry: Cubs vs. Cardinals”. The exhibit will run through the end of this year. He recently attended the panel discussion at the museum “An Evening With the Creators” featuring state Historian Dr. Samuel Wheeler, Senior Curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tom Shieber, Curator of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum Paula Homan, and Vice President/General Counsel of the Chicago Cubs Lydia Wahlke.
Additional topics of discussion were the numerous injuries to the New York Mets, the Matt Adams trade, and the play of the Cardinal’s young prospect, Magneuris Sierra, which prompted further discussion on the call-up in 1959 of 17 year-old Tim McCarver.
Bob Tiemann’s trivia topic was “Jousting with Giants”. Mark Stangl was the winner with a score of 34 out of 36.
The Baseball First Wednesday Meeting will be at the Sports Café in Bridgeton Wednesday, June 7, 2017 starting at 5:30. The next regular monthly meeting will be June 20, 2017.
— Jim Leefers