Oklahoma Chapter meeting recap – 11/7/2021
On Sunday, November 7, 2021, the SABR Oklahoma Chapter held its final meeting of 2021 via Zoom.
Our guest speaker was author Jack Bales, who joined us to discuss his new book The Chicago Cub Shot for Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series. Jack’s book focuses on the shooting of Chicago Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges by his former girlfriend Violet Popovich and all the dominoes set in motion as a result of this tragic incident. His presentation included many photographs of both parties and newspaper clippings about the shooting and its aftermath both on and off the field, culminating in the 1932 World Series and Babe Ruth’s apocryphal called shot.
After Jack’s presentation, chapter members discussed the recent release of the 10-person ballots released by the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Early Baseball Era and Golden Days Era Committees. Much of the discussion revolved around the seven Negro League candidates and Golden Days Era nominees Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, and Gil Hodges. The consensus was that Kaat and Buck O’Neil were deserving and would most likely be voted in.
The meeting was wrapped up by discussing possible in-person meeting locations to commemorate SABR Day 2022. For more information about the SABR Oklahoma Chapter, contact Jesse Asbury at tennesseesooner@gmail.com or visit our website at hljsports.com.