From Flame Delhi to Roland Hemond: A History of Arizona’s SABR Chapter
JULY 1, 2022 — The history of the Hemond AZ SABR Chapter is a long and stellar one celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Re-named in 2017 in honor of lifelong MLB executive Roland Hemond, SABR’s Hemond AZ Chapter was formerly known as Arizona’s Flame Delhi Chapter. Originally founded in 1992 as “The Arizona Society for American Baseball Research,” the name was amended to “Society for American Baseball Research-Arizona/Flame Delhi Chapter” in 1995 in recognition of the State’s first native-born major leaguer, William Lee “Flame” Delhi, in 1997.
Delhi was born on November 5, 1892, in the mining town Harqua Hala — 93 miles northwest of Phoenix — and enjoyed his “Moonlight Graham” cup-of-coffee moment hurling three innings in one game for the Chicago White Sox in 1912.
Bill Suphan and Rodney Johnson, tailgating at Phoenix Municipal Stadium as part of AZ SABR’s involvement in the Diamonds in the Desert International Baseball Conference in March 1998 at Arizona State University.
Chapter Founding
Founded in 1992, the first iteration of the Arizona SABR chapter was assembled by Scottsdale accountant Bill Suphan. The first chapter meeting was held at Scottsdale Stadium on November 8, 1992, in the inaugural season of the Arizona Fall League. Listen to Charlie Vascellaro’s 2016 interview with Roland Hemond about the history of the AFL.
Attended by 15 original members and their guests, the first meeting of the newly formed “Cactus League” regional at Scottsdale Stadium included pregame research presentations. In notes published in the February 1993 edition of the SABR Bulletin:
Cheryl Adam spoke on her research for an upcoming book on Christy Mathewson. Jim Vail and Rodney Johnson presented information on Lee William “Flame” Delhi, believed to be the first Arizona-born major leaguer (his MLB career consisted of 3 innings pitched for the Chicago White Sox in one game on April 16, 1912). Chuck Johnson won the trivia contest.” Delhi allowed six runs on seven hits, walking three and whiffing two.
Foreshadowing a long-standing relationship, after the meeting the group attended an Arizona Fall League game in which the Sun City Rays defeated the Scottsdale Scorpions.
When the chapter was founded in 1992, there were 51 SABR members residing in Arizona. At last count, that number has grown to about 170 by 2022.
Original Arizona chapter members, pictured from left: David Skinner, Bob Flynn (obscured), Al Gwinnell, and Charlie Vascellaro at a 1997 SABR chapter meeting.
In 1993, AZ SABR began publishing The Hot Corner newsletter four times a year edited by former chapter president Rodney Johnson. The newsletter included coverage of chapter gatherings and notifications of upcoming events, chapter briefs concerning the activities of members and regional baseball news and schedules, notes on chapter meetings, as well as book and movie reviews written by chapter members.
AZ SABR produced its first Arizona Baseball Journal in 1997; a 68-page compilation of research papers on Arizona baseball history written by chapter members, including Lynn Bevill, Joe Naiman, Jim Odenkirk, David Skinner, Charlie Vascellaro, and Rodney Johnson, who also edited the publication.
Some of the writing was later published in Mining Towns to Major Leagues: A History of Arizona Baseball, which served as the official program for the 1999 national SABR Convention hosted in Phoenix.
Much of AZ SABR’s activity in the chapter’s formative years revolved around minor league baseball in both Phoenix and Tucson, with many chapter meetings and gatherings taking place at Phoenix Firebirds games at Municipal and Scottsdale Stadiums, and occasional field trips to see the Tucson Toros at Hi Corbett Field.
A particularly memorable occasion was the Firebirds’ Final Flight Farewell Game played against the Toros on August 28, 1997, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. AZ SABR members gathered for a tailgate party in the parking lot, which was fittingly obliterated in signature regional fashion by a monstrous dust storm, or “haboob,” rolling over the facility like a tidal wave, causing everyone in the parking lot to scamper to their vehicles for safety. The start of the game was delayed but it wasn’t over until the “fat lady sang,” when an opera singer in a Viking-inspired horned helmet, illuminated by a spotlight, sang “Auld Lang Syne” from short center field at the conclusion of the game.
On the Move
SABR’s national office relocated from Cleveland to Phoenix in 2011 and to Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in 2015. According to former Executive Director Marc Appleman, the impetus for the move was because “Phoenix is a place where SABR could be more involved with the baseball community. … Phoenix has long been a western capital for baseball, hosting major league spring training, the AFL, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and so much college baseball. It was also beneficial to have access to the universities in Phoenix and Tucson. MLB also had its western office in Phoenix at the time.”
Having the national office in Phoenix has given the local Arizona chapter access to SABR headquarters and its research library. SABR’s chief executive Scott Bush, executive vice-president Scott Carter, and director of editorial content Jacob Pomrenke are all members of the AZ SABR chapter.
Annual spring training breakfast meetings, Cactus League exhibition game excursions, Arizona State University, and AFL games have long been focal points of AZ SABR activities.
1999 National Convention
A highlight of the only SABR convention to be held in Arizona to date was the first no-hitter hurled at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) by St. Louis Cardinals starer José Jiménez against Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson. The future Baseball Hall of Famer reached the 2,500-strikeout milestone in the Cardinals’ 1-0 victory. Johnson would finish with 4,875 strikeouts, the most by a left-hander in MLB history, and second overall to Nolan Ryan’s 5,714. He also recorded 306 wins, the last pitcher to reach the 300 plateau in 2009.
Many community activities were on the schedule: SABR Day at Scottsdale Stadium included a cookout, a clinic with members of the MLB Players Alumni Association and a “vintage” game; also a SABR/MLBPAA golf tournament and a tour of Cactus League spring training parks. The Yankees’ “Old Reliable,” Tommy Henrich, was the keynote speaker. The panels included a baseball fiction discussion with authors Mark Harris and Andy McCue.
The Flame Delhi Chapter hosted its fifth annual Spring Training Breakfast on March 16, 1997, at San Marcos Resort in Chandler, Arizona.
Honoring Roland Hemond
The chapter was re-named in Hemond’s honor in January 2017 for his many accomplishments in the industry, including being acknowledged by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award. The AFL also presents an award named in his honor recognizing baseball executives who have provided at least 15 years of outstanding service to professional baseball and served the Fall League in a leadership capacity.
Hemond was the first front office hire in Diamondbacks history, serving as senior executive vice president from 1996 (two years before the team took the field) to 2000 and again from 2007 to 2017.
He was co-founder, with Dennis Gilbert and Dave Yoakum, of the now defunct Professional Scouts Foundation, and Baseball America’s Roland Hemond Award is annually presented to the person who has made major contributions to scouting and player development.
Hemond was an MLB general manager for 23 years — 15 with the Chicago White Sox from 1971-85 and eight with the Baltimore Orioles from 1988-95. He returned to the White Sox as senior advisor from 2001-07 and had the same position with the Diamondbacks from 2007-19. During his latter tenure in Chicago, the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. He was also assistant scouting director for the Milwaukee Braves when they won it all in 1957.
Hemond was a three-time recipient of The Sporting News Major League Baseball’s Executive of the Year award, twice with the Chicago White Sox in 1972 and 1983 and once with the Orioles in 1989.
The White Sox present their own Roland Hemond Award to someone who is dedicated to bettering the lives of others through extraordinary personal sacrifice.
SABR’s Roland Hemond Award goes to the executive who has displayed great respect for scouts. Hemond was the inaugural recipient of both the Baseball America and SABR awards.
Roland Hemond with his 2001 World Series ring. (Courtesy of the Arizona Diamondbacks)
Celebrating Baseball for Three Decades
From 2009 to 2019, AZ SABR hosted an annual Arizona Fall League Conference. The 2019 conference focused on women in baseball and was co-hosted by the International Women’s Baseball Center, featuring three days of panel discussions from prominent and pioneering women in the baseball industry.
Longtime baseball scribe Barry M. Bloom was elected vice president of AZ SABR under Rodney Johnson and assumed the president’s position in 2017 when Johnson resigned due to health concerns.
The AFL has played a major role in Hemond AZ SABR Chapter activities over the years, giving the local chapter a professional baseball platform and venues not available in any other part of the country during what is generally considered MLB’s offseason.
Our chapter celebrated Roland Hemond’s 90th birthday in conjunction with the AFL championship game on October 26, 2019, at Salt River Fields, home of the Salt River Rafters within the Salt River-Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Hemond threw out the ceremonial first pitch that day.
In the chapter’s three decades, many members have contributed to the success of the organization by writing papers, making research presentations, and attending meetings and get-togethers. Bloom has interviewed numerous former players at SABR events, including Barry Bonds, Andre Dawson, Ed Lynch, Eric Gagné, Larry Bowa, Terry Kennedy, and Sandy Alderson.
Located in one of baseball’s hotbed regions, the Hemond AZ SABR chapter counts many baseball lifers among its ranks. Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall is a long-standing member of the local chapter. Former Diamondbacks general manger and current special advisor Joe Garagiola Jr. has been a member and speaker at local AZ SABR lunches.
San Francisco Giants pre-game radio host Marty Lurie has been a member of the AZ SABR chapter for years. A frequent attendee and participant in panels and presentations, Marty has also been a guest speaker at the chapter lunches, joining national and local baseball writers, players such as Ed Lynch, Bobby Grich, and Bob Lacey, organist Bobby Freeman, and former scout Bernie Pleskoff.
Noted baseball historians and authors, Jeremy Beer, Bill Staples Jr., and James Overmeyer are all active members of the Hemond AZ SABR Chapter. Beer won the 2020 Seymour Medal for his biography of Negro Leagues legend Oscar Charleston. Staples Jr. has written extensively on Japanese American and Negro League history and their intersections, most notably in his extensive collaboration Gentle Black Giants with Japanese sportswriter Kazuo Sayama.
Tucson-based writer Jim Overmeyer has authored biographies of Negro Leagues team owners, including Cum Posey of the Homestead Grays and Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles.
Baseball lifer John Dittrich has spent more than five decades in the industry, working for six major league organizations as well as the Texas League office and Minor League Baseball headquarters. He can be found working as gameday staff for spring training games in Goodyear and the Arizona Fall League. Lifetime BBWAA member Tony DeMarco is a former chapter vice president.
Serving for three decades as Arizona’s baseball brain trust and research repository, the Hemond AZ chapter continues to make its contribution to the state’s historically rich baseball region.