This Week in SABR: July 1, 2011
Here’s an update of what we’ve been up to as of July 1, 2011:
SABR 41 begins next week
This year’s national convention, July 6-10 at the Long Beach Hilton in Southern California, is shaping up to be one of our best yet. We’ve got five full days of research presentations, panel discussions, ballgames, and much more on the schedule.
Everything you want to know about attending SABR 41 can be found on our website here:
Please note that the SABR office staff will be in Long Beach beginning Monday, July 4. The office will be closed all week during the convention; normal office functions will resume on Monday, July 11.
REGISTRATION
Full and single-day registration rates are still available online at the SABR Store: http://store.sabr.org.
However, the deadline for purchasing tickets to special events (ballgames, Awards Luncheon, bus tour) was June 29. Because of schedule changes or cancellations, extra tickets to some events may become available during the convention, so please inquire at the Registration Desk if you are interested.
HOTEL
The Long Beach Hilton is at:
701 West Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90831
Phone: 562-983-3400
Website: http://www.hilton.com (search “Hilton Long Beach”)
As of Thursday, June 30, there are no more rooms available at the SABR group rate of $119/night at the Long Beach Hilton. Our original overflow hotel, the Renaissance Long Beach, is also sold out of the block of rooms set aside for SABR.
However, you can now book a standard room for $129/night or a deluxe room for $149/night at The Westin Long Beach (333 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90802) by calling (562) 436-3000 or 1-800-WESTIN1 and identifying yourself as a guest of the Society for American Baseball Research.
The Westin is 7/10-mile from the Hilton, and is closer to the restaurants and attractions on Pine Avenue. It also has easy access to The Passport Shuttle, which will take you past the Hilton and many other attractions at no cost. See http://www.lbtransit.com/schedules/pdf/31.pdf for a map.
AIRPORT SHUTTLE/PUBLIC TRANSIT
Information on how to get to the hotel from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Long Beach Airport (LGB) or John Wayne Airport (SNA) can be found here: https://sabr.box.net/shared/static/gl10jiqsp6.doc.
Information on getting to downtown Los Angeles or to other area attractions by bus or Metro can be found here: http://sabr.org/content/southern-california-public-transit.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
A complete schedule of events for SABR 41 can be found here:
http://sabr.org/content/sabr-41-schedule
This includes more details on committee meetings, research presentations, the week-long Film Festival, the historical ballparks bus tour, the Dodgers and Angels games, and the Lake Elsinore minor league game.
LIST OF ATTENDEES
A list of registrants for the SABR 41 convention, as of July 1, has been posted here:
https://sabr.box.net/shared/static/k2y7olg1epusseiyvat4.xls
AREA ATTRACTIONS
Check out our list of Southern California attractions while you’re in town for the convention:
http://sabr.org/content/sabr-41-things-to-do
REGISTRATION DESK
The SABR 41 Registration Desk will be staffed at the following times:
- Wednesday, July 6: 2 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
- Thursday, July 7: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Friday, July 8: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Saturday, July 9: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Please direct any questions about convention-related activities to the staff or volunteers at the Registration Desk. (All hotel-related questions should be directed to the front desk of the hotel.)
As in years past, you will receive chits for your game/event tickets along with your registration packet. Note: Chits for all game tickets MUST be redeemed no later than 2:59 p.m. Friday, July 8.
A look back at SABR 10: Los Angeles, 1980
Times sure have changed since the Society for American Baseball Research held its last national convention in the Los Angeles area.
The 1980 convention was the 10th annual gathering of SABR members across the country, and the first one held on the West Coast. SABR 10 was held July 11-13, 1980, at the Travelodge Hotel, a few blocks away from Los Angeles International Airport. The three-day event featured a panel of former players — and one former umpire — on Friday night, the annual business meeting, keynote banquet and a ballgame at Anaheim Stadium on Saturday, and nearly a dozen research presentations on Sunday morning. The attendance totaled 85; sixty-two of those were active SABR members.
As we prepare for SABR 41 next week, let’s step back in time and look at the 1980 national convention in Los Angeles — a time when the phrase “sabermetrics” had just been founded, the Angels were celebrating their second decade (not fifth) of American League play, and “Billyball” was taking Oakland by storm.
Catching up with Dorothy Seymour Mills
For most of her life, Dorothy Seymour Mills’ status as one of the world’s pre-eminent baseball historians was a secret to all but a few people. Her role as a key contributor to the classic three-volume Baseball series — originally published under the name of her late husband, Dr. Harold Seymour — was kept under wraps until her autobiography, A Woman’s Work, appeared in 2004.
On June 24, we sat down with Dorothy before she spoke at the Association for Women in Sports Media national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can listen to her speech at the AWSM convention by clicking here: https://sabr.box.net/shared/static/j6ix8xuyt9me6ughd0r0.mp3.
A portion of our interview with her can be found by clicking here: http://sabr.org/latest/catching-baseball-author-dorothy-seymour-mills.
Project COBB seeking British baseball researchers
Britain’s national newspaper repository at Colindale, which is an institution for amateur historians in Britain, is set to close by the end of next year so that the decaying materials can be better preserved and eventually digitized where possible.
Joe Gray, co-chair of SABR’s Project COBB chartered community, is trying to pull together baseball researchers in Britain to make the most of their last off-season to do baseball research using the microfiche and old newspapers there.
Joe says, “I already have a number of projects in mind, including filling gaps in the national champions archive. To discuss one of the potential projects or — better still — to suggest your own idea, please get in touch by using the contact form here.”
For more information on Project Cobb, visit its website at http://www.baseballgb.co.uk.
Seven new BioProject essays posted
The Baseball Biography Project is up to 1,621 published biographies, after seven new entries were posted this week at http://bioproj.sabr.org:
- Dave Danforth, by Steve Steinberg
- Leon Day, by Tom Kern
- Doc Gautreau, by Bob Brady
- Tommy John, by Michael Fallon
- Johnny Mize, by Jerry Grillo
- Dino Restelli, by Stephen McPherson
- Syd Smith, by Nancy Griffith
SABR chapter meeting recaps:
Upcoming events:
- July 7: “Baseball During the Civil War,” a talk by Gary “Pops” O’Maxfield (New Haven, CT)
- July 9: SABR Quebec Chapter meeting (Quebec City, QC)
In other recent SABR news:
- Members of the Nineteenth Century Committee are assisting the Grafton (MA) Historical Society with research on a recently discovered 1800s ballground
- Juan C. Rodriguez details the Florida Marlins’ historic freefall (Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel)
- Gabriel Schechter tells the story of his proudest moment at the Hall of Fame: writing Andy Cooper’s plaque (Seamheads.com)
- Brian Turner and Larry McCray’s article on the profusion of American “safe haven” ballgames was published at John Thorn’s “Our Game” blog (MLBlogs.com)
- Jon Frankel’s research on early batter strikeouts reveals who was best at avoiding Ks (Batter Strikeout Blog)
- Ted Leavengood defends the legacy of longtime Washington owner Clark Griffith (Seamheads.com)
- Cyril Morong responds to Goose Gossage’s comments by comparing him to Mariano Rivera (Cybermetrics)
- Brian McKenna examines Charles Comiskey and the American League’s ride into Chicago (Glimpses Into Baseball History)
- Cliff Blau takes a look back at the 1882 Baltimore Orioles of the American Association (Seamheads.com)
Originally published: July 1, 2011. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.