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SABR - NEGRO LEAGUES COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER
October 1997
@SABR - NEGRO LEAGUES COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER
October 1997
(Portions reprinted with permission of the editor.)
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Editor: Dick Clark
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CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS
What an exciting two month period we have just experienced. Celebrations continue;
please be a part of them, and spread the word.
NEGRO LEAGUERS AND THE HALL OF FAME
Willie Wells entered the hallowed Hall on August 3, 1997. This was another grand day
for all Negro League baseball enthusiasts. Hopefully, there will be more than just
two remaining celebrations as there easily remain 10-15 more Superstars outside the gates.
Charlie Tiano recalled the day he was fortunate enough to go 5 for 5 against the Brooklyn
Royal Giants in a game for Kingston NY. After his fifth hit, a double, Willie Wells
sauntered over and said to Charlie "what are you doing in a hick town like
this?". Since Charlie was also the local sports editor and making good money,
Willie understood. Charlie was just thrilled that Willie spoke to him.
We have plenty of articles.
JET 8/18/97 "Willie Wells Inducted"
SCD 9/5/97 "Nearly 15,000 gather at HOF inductions:
SCD 9/12/97 "HOF Induction Weekend is magical time for fans"
THE RECORD (Hackensack, NJ) 8/4/97 "This Eagle lands in Hall"
NEW YORK TIMES 8/4/97, "In Cooperstown, time stops for a moment,"
THE INFIELDER 8/8/97, "Lasorda, Niekro join Hall of Fame"
ANNUAL PROGRAM
I see in the SABR Centennial Survey voting for the top baseball star born in 1897, Lefty
O'Doul and Ed Rommel outpolled Biz Mackey. We will have to vote in greater numbers
if we wish to offset the lack of education of many SABR members. Effa Manley was 7th
and Oliver Marcelle was 9th. The Hall of Fame Exhibit PRIDE AND PASSION: THE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN BASEBALL EXPERIENCE is outstanding and well worth going to Cooperstown to
view. A lot of terrific memorabilia, photos jerseys, gloves, posters make up wonderful
displays. This represents a great job by the Hall of Fame and Library staff.
THE NEGRO LEAGUES BOOK
Joe Lee passed along some 1939 Atlanta Black Crackers articles.
We seek any info on former?? KC Monarch Dale F. Douglas We may be able to print a small
quantity of updated Registers from the book
for a reasonable price. Let us know if you would be interested in purchasing a
copy. One of the recent changes will feature Luis Padrone and Juan
Padrone.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Judy Johnson Night on August 16th was fun and very successful. Gregg Truitt and Ted
Knorr attended from the NLC. Although Buck O'Neil was unable to attend due to his
wife's illness, Loretta Bruton (Judy's daughter) Geraldine Day, and Mamie Johnson-Goodman
were joined by Gene Benson, Jimmy Dean, Mahlon Duckett, Toots Ferrell, Wilmer Fields, Josh
Gibson Jr, Stanley Glenn, Harold Gould, Wilmer Harris, Larry Kimbrough, Warren Peace, and
Hudson Baker. The teams wore replica Monarch and Grays uniforms. It was an
outstanding evening. THE (Wilmington) NEWS JOURNAL 8/17/97 "Female honoree
cheered" On August 12th the General Assembly of North Carolina issued a joint
resolution honoring the memory of Jackie Robinson and recognizing Walter Fenner
"Buck" Leonard. On September 5th the family of Buck Leonard
and the City of Rocky Mount held a birthday celebration for Buck Although Buck no
longer signs autographs and is slowing up he had a wonderful time at the event.
Thanks to Jim and Dottie Riley for getting us a copy of the program.
BUCK LEONARD BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Invitation. 1pg.
Larry Lester piece.
On a beautiful and bright August 23rd THE LEON DAY PARK was dedicated. Mayor Kurt Schmoke
and Oriole Eric Davis were among a large crowd including Todd Bolton, who passed along
some great pictures, a program and articles. Leon would have had a great time. THE
SUN 8/24/97 "Take me out to the Leon Day Park." Promotional
handout - Leon Day poster.
Future Special Events
The annual John Henry "Pop" Lloyd Awards Program and Lecture will be October 12,
1997 at the Asbury United Methodist Church in Atlantic City, NJ. Honorees will be Sam
Lacy, Fay Vincent, Monte Irvin, and Redenia Gilliam Mosee. The lecturer will be
Robert Peterson. Larry Hogan, Mike Everett, Max Manning will be involved Jim and
Dottie Riley and myself are confirmed attendees. We hope to see more NLC folks
there. A full report in December's Newsletter. Continuing The Legacy Of
"Pop" Program and overview & petition
to get Pop Lloyd into NJ Hall of Fame. I should be able to have definitive
information on the availability of BEFORE YOU CAN SAY JACKIE ROBINSON Documentary and also
a commemorative packet, which includes a commemorative booklet of text and photos; A Negro
League reading list; Lloyd Committee brochure; Pop Lloyd official Hall Of Fame card signed
by Max Manning. Packet $25 and video $40. Complete details in December
Newsletter. A Negro Leagues case is one of 35 covering all sports that will be on display
at the new National Sports Gallery in Washington DC. NLC member Jeff Eastland is
Assistant Collections Manager for the Gallery and is in charge of the NL case.
Initially it will have a Leon Day signed glove, autographed baseballs, the 1925 World
Series panorama photo, a fabulous Josh The Basher photo, the 1932 Crawford team picture
and lots more. Jeff is looking for authentic items to be loaned for this and future
showings. Please help.
The APBA Game Company and the NLC of SABR are participating in a project with two urban
high schools in the Harrisburg area (Harrisburg High & Lancaster High). The
project combines APBA's baseball simulation game utilizing Jim Riley's Negro League teams
with the NLC's academic efforts and the local school district's history, math and English
departments. The APBA Game Company has donated software and other products to both
schools. The
NLC authors are being asked on a strictly volunteer basis to donate a set of their works
to both schools. Youths in both schools will participate in sporting and academic
(biographies, reports, statistics) competition. All participating youth will be
honored at the awards banquet in Harrisburg next July. If you are interested in
participating please send donated copies of your work to Ted Knorr, 47 Oak Drive,
Lancaster, PA 17603. For additional information, call Ted at (717) 872-7151 or at Papabell@aol.com Thanks to all who have already
indicated a willingness to join in this endeavor.
INTELLIGENCER-JOURNAL 8/30/97 "Baseball Expert sings praises of Negro
Leagues" & "Area Negro League team recalled by baseball historian at
Crispus-Attucks " (Ted Knorr).
And speaking of Harrisburg.........
The Negro League Committee of SABR will convene its annual conference at Harrisburg, PA in
July, 1998. The gathering will take place at the Downtown Ramada Inn on dates to be
announced as soon as the Eastern League schedule is finalized late this Fall. The
two day conference will feature research presentations, a publication, trivia, Negro
League players, an Awards Banquet, keynote speaker, and more. The December
Newsletter will include information on conference registration, hotel reservations and
presentation abstract submission. Contact Ted Knorr (see above) for questions or
Sammy Miller (606) 525-1619 if interested.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
For this newsletter, I have decided to add an additional section which will be devoted to
explaining a new program that Larry and I are starting. We thought that it was time
that members of the NLC were recognized for their work and have decided to award special
certificates to individuals for their
achievements in Negro Leagues research. The Tweed Webb Lifetime Achievement Award
honors a person who devoted his entire life to preserving Negro Leagues history and
educating the public. Award winners will be of the same ilk.
The John Coates Next Generation Award will go to the generation who have carried on the
ideals of Negro League research as did John Coates, a prolific interviewer and researcher
who tragically died in a car accident at 21 years of age in the '70's. The Robert
Peterson Recognition Award will be presented annually and perhaps quite often to people
who have increased the knowledge and/or awareness of the Negro Leagues. Please pass
along to me anyone you feel maybe qualified to win these awards. We will be covering
this in more detail in a future newsletter. The Awards will be presented at the
National SABR Convention and the Harrisburg NLC meeting.
COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS
We are saddened to pass along the deaths of the following; Frank Pearson died August 11th
in Memphis at 77. MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL 8/14/97.
Robert Abernathy died 9/2/97 in Nashville. Amos Watson passed 9/19/97 in Winter
Haven, FL at 71.
THE DIAMOND ANGLE will be doing a special issue on Jackie Robinson in November.
Editor James Floto is asking for your thoughts on (1) What Jackie meant to the game (2)
what he meant to you (3) what he means to the world at large The issue will have a
Roberto Clemente section. Contact TDA at PO Box 409, Kaunakaka, HI 96748.
Samples are only $3 to NLC members. He will alsocopy JR & Clemente articles for
postage, copying and $1. TDA is an excellent
publication that always has Negro League material.
Anyone who may be interested in future interaction with Strat-O-Matic Fan Magazine for
potential Negro League teams, let me know.
I have copies of Jan Finkel's presentation at the SABR Convention, DREAMS DEFERRED,
DREAMS DASHED: THE NEGRO LEAGUES AND THE HALL OF FAME.
Sammy Miller reports wall paper featuring the Pittsburgh Crawfords and their team bus.
Negro Leaguers will be doing shows November 21-23 in Chantilly, Virginia.
A slew of players were in Raleigh, NC, August 22-24 and Charlotte September 12-14
. Gene Benson, Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn, and Max Manning
joined in the Tribute to Wilmer Fields, September 27, 1997.
Recent auctions saw unreal prices paid for Negro League memmorabilia. Pop Lloyd
19200's Havana Cuban premium $484 Autographs, Lloyd $5600,
Charleston $4500, Gibson $6500, 2 large 16x20 Photos of Gibson $4000 & $7000.
An original Sol White Guide for $15000. The William Yancey and Webster McDonald
collections went on the market. It is too bad that the NLC will probably never see
these great items.
ONLINE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS
New Email addresses for Bill Dunstone whdstone@family-net.org
Paul Matthew matpaul@statcan.ca Ronda
Smalley rsmalley@family-net.org The Negro
Baseball Leagues site at Majorleaguebaseball.com was awarded 'Best Of The Net'.
Congratulations to all connected and especially Larry Lester
for his great work.
Contact Paul Debono at pdebono@indy.net he is
offering his book to NLC members for $25 postpaid.
THE NEGRO LEAGUES AUTOGRAPH GUIDE is in final preparation. Over 110 player bios plus
600 additional signatures. More in December Newsletter or contact The Negro Leagues
Collector's Page at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/spaige
Rob Edelman is researching a book BASEBALL ON THE WEB. Be sure to let him know of
your site at kupfer@klink.net
8/14/97 "Lowell Spinners to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson"
Short piece on Mamie Johnson & Toni Stone
NEGRO LEAGUES RELATED ARTICLES
NEW YORK TIMES 8/3/97 "A tip of the cap from a grandson" (Rickey)
SUNDAY PUNCH (Miami,FL) 5/6/84 "Just born to be a ballplayer" (Tommy Brown)
THE VINTAGE & CLASSIC BASEBALL COLLECTOR July/August, 1997, article on Willie Wells Sr
and autographs.
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER 8/8/97, "Mural lends a larger-than-life look at
legend's legacy," (JR).
THE DIAMOND ANGLE Larry Lester piece "The Wrong Time for the Wright Man"
(Bill) & "Before Jackie" by David Marasco.
THE SUNDAY RECORD (Hackensack,NJ) 9/7/97 "Law renames Route 120 for baseball's Larry
Doby."
THE JOURNAL July, 1997, "Japan's Pioneer Pro."
JACKSON (MS)ADVOCATE 8/14-8/20,1997 "Negro Leagues Honored August 22th.
THE DAILY SUN 8/28/97, "Baseball great honored."
MACON TELEGRAPH 8/28/97 "Hometown road named for baseball great Robinson."
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE 8/24/97, "Sam Lacy real star of Baltimore sports." THE
CHAPEL HILL (NC) NEWS 8/29/97, "Star search:town clerk scores in hunt
for Negro League statistics."
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER 7/23/97, Claudia Perry article "They're Talking Baseball,"
(SABR Convention).
AMERICAN STATESMAN 8/25/97 "A tale of baseball, murder, mystery," (Dave Brown).
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 5/18/97 Jackie Robinson Special Section.
JET 8/4/97 pictures from Negro League Wall of Fame celebration and Anderson Monarchs (kids
travel team).
BERGEN COUNTY SHOPPER 9/10/97 "Larry Doby Exhibit at the Paterson Museum."
Passaic NJ HERALD & NEWS 9/21/97 "Paterson Museum celebrates Larry Doby."
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 9/19/97, "Baseball Hero Ernie Banks recalls Dallas
roots."
THE KANSAS CITY STAR 8/8/97 "Tours and Politics fill Gore visit."
SCD 10/3/97 "Baseball's shameful color line shortchanged Negro League players....and
collectors too."
THE WASHINGTON POST 9/7/97 "Wild Pitch" (Eddie Klep).
BECKETT VINTAGE SPORTS October, 1997 "Lasting Impression" (O'Neil)
AP 7/15/97 "Capitol Hill steals Robinson coin proceeds away from poor kids"
Touching Home Celebration Luncheon Program from 6/28/97 event in Atlanta. We are very
grateful to Bob Dolgan for passing along the latest of his articles from THE CLEVELAND
PLAIN DEALER; 7/21 Don Newcombe; 7/28 Mudcat Grant; 8/4 Forgotten duo in class
of '47; 8/10 Josh Gibson; 8/18 Hank Aaron; 8/26 Artie Wilson; 9/4 Sam Jones; 9/9 Sam
Jethroe.
CURRENT AND FUTURE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
Larry Lester is looking for game accounts and box scores, if available, of games between
the Dizzy Dean All-Stars and the Kansas City Monarchs that were played on October 22 in
Columbus Ohio and October 23 in Pittsburgh in 1934. Please send information and invoice to
Larry Lester PO Box 37046 Kansas City, MO 64138.
David Skinner would appreciate any info on John Ford Smith 1939-48 (Negro
League) 1949-54 (Minors) 1949-50 Cuba, call David at (520) 432-3995.
Scott Allen is researching the St. Louis Giants and Stars with special
emphasis on the Giants-St.Louis Cardinals 1920-21 series. Any help call Scott at
(618) 288-7185.
Lyle Wilson is researching the Butte Colored Giants and other teams and games that were
played in Montana.
William McNeil, who wrote the excellent KING OF SWAT, is working on a new book, BASEBALL'S
GREATEST ALL-STARS, which will discuss the greatest players in Negro League history.
Bill Plott is working very hard to come up with 1932 Negro Southern League averages.
Good luck, as this is the hardest of all years in which to find stats.
Larry Lester seeks all players elected to the Dominican Republic Hall of Fame and years
selected.
Dennis Benoit is researching Canadian players in the Major Leagues and Negro
Leagues. Any info is appreciated.
Gerard J. Jozwiak 309 Sycamore Square, Midland, MI 48842, (517) 496-3862 has been
researching Black clubs in Michigan and seeks assistance and exchange of info.
THE MARKETPLACE
I got a copy of Paul Debono's terrific THE INDIANAPOLIS ABCs:
HISTORY OF A PREMIER TEAM IN THE NEGRO LEAGUES from McFarland & Co. 240 pages with
lots of
great photos plus 3 appendices; Player Bios; Stats & Rosters; Game Scores
1902-1932. OUTSTANDING, highly recommended.
Jim Overmyer's outstanding EFFA MANLEY AND THE NEWARK EAGLES will be out in paperback this
February with a redesigned cover and a price of $16.95; look for it.
Look for a CD from Jeff Campbell DIAMOND CUTS. It includes Negro League songs among
all it's baseball tunes.
SCD 9/26/97, "A swell Jackie Robinson video" & "Ben Chapman: Jackie
Robinson's worst nightmare," & "Sales of Robinson coins
sluggish."
Quality Autographs AD
Mister Sports Collectibles AD .
Review of video KINGS ON THE HILL by Rob Ruck from TDA. Also, review of
ONLY THE BALL WAS WHITE & FAIR DEALING AND CLEAN PLAYING in TDA issue #56.
Looking for replica NL Pennants and team logo pins? contact SANDLOT LEGENDS
(330) 929-3281.
I'm looking for the Eclipse Negro League Card Set.
FINAL REMARKS
The next newsletter will be December's. Please get all material to me
before the last week of November. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Dick Clark & Larry Lester
NLC Co-Chairpeople
www.blackbaseball.com