This Week in SABR: April 22, 2011
Here’s an update of what we’ve been up to as of April 22, 2011:
SABR 41 Media Panel participants announced
Where will we get our baseball information a decade from now? Check out the Media Panel at SABR 41 to find out. The panel is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 7 at the Long Beach Hilton in Southern California.
Panelists will be:
- Dave Cameron, Managing Editor of FanGraphs.com, one of the most dynamic websites for analysis, statistical and otherwise, of contemporary baseball
- Sean Forman, Founder and Guru of Baseball-Reference.com, the premier site for baseball statistics, and a SABR member
- Bill Squadron, head of Bloomberg Sports, developing real-time analytic tools for the fan
- Russ Stanton, Editor of the Los Angeles Times, a mainstream publication that’s moving aggressively into putting its content on the web
For more information on SABR 41 — including a complete schedule of events, hotel booking, roommate matching, Southern California area attractions, and more — visit http://sabr.org/convention.
Negro Leagues Committee awards scholarships
The Negro Leagues Committee awarded $2,500 scholarships to two graduating high school seniors as a result of its third annual national essay contest.
The selection committee of educators Philip Ross (New York), Tom Garrett (Virginia) and Stephanie Liscio (Ohio) selected Annie Yang of Watchung Hills Regional High School in Warren, New Jersey, and Emma Murphy of Osbourn High School in Manassas, Virginia.
The contest was open to high school seniors planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution and carrying a minimum 2.5 GPA at the end of their junior year. Students had to write a 1,000-word essay answering one of the following questions: “What is the Legacy of Jackie Robinson?” or “What influence or impact did Rube Foster have on the African American Community by creating the Negro Leagues?”
1959 White Sox Biographies Now Online at the BioProject
Two years ago, back in April 2009, the work of many SABR members was published by ACTA in the book Go-Go To Glory: The 1959 Chicago White Sox, edited by Don Zminda. The book was largely a collection of biographies of the people associated with the team, though there were many other stories on the season, the pennant race, the ballpark, broadcasters and the World Series. You can purchase the book here.
As per SABR’s agreement with ACTA, BioProject director Mark Armour recently uploaded 48 articles from the book. They can be found here:
http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=l&br=cat&catID=6&sctID=78
St. Louis Chapter dedicates plaque
On April 20, an enthusiastic group of baseball aficionados braved the chilly morning air to witness the dedication of a standalone plaque commemorating the St. Louis Maroons’ Union Baseball Park of 1884 to 1886. The April date was chosen to coincide with the 127th anniversary of the first major league game played at the park that some call the “Palace Park of America.”
Leading up to the official unveiling, the crowd heard comments by Ballpark Marker Committee member Joan M. Thomas, property owner Nelson Reed, Ted Lucas, and Norm Richards, president of SABR’s Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter. Then, Richards directed Ted Lucas and his father, JBC Lucas III, in the official uncovering of the 24-inch-by-18-inch aluminum alloy marker.
JBC Lucas’ great-uncle, Henry V. Lucas, was the Maroons’ owner and builder of the Union Baseball Park. Moreover, JBC’s grandfather, JBC Lucas II, was president of the National Association’s St. Louis Brown Stockings of 1875, one of the city’s first major league clubs.
Looking back at Jackie Robinson’s signing, debut
As the baseball world celebrated the eighth annual Jackie Robinson Day on Friday, April 15, we shared a few stories from the SABR archives on the Hall of Fame pioneer.
Read C.E. Lincoln’s “A Conversation with Clyde Sukeforth” from Baseball Research Journal #16 in 1987 and “Jackie Robinson’s Signing: The Real, Untold Story”, written by John Thorn and Jules Tygiel in The National Pastime #10 in 1990.
In other recent SABR news:
- Tom Simon and Dick Leyman will discuss University of Vermont baseball at a plaque dedication ceremony on April 30
- Larry Granillo looks at how teams in the current NL Central integrated their ballclubs
- Nick Diunte talks to retired players about MLB’s new pension deal
- Peter Nash posts letters from a proposed “Ku Klux Klan Day” in Cincinnati in 1924
Originally published: April 22, 2011. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.