Society for American Baseball Research
Rogers Hornsby Chapter
Central and South Texas
Annual Report, June 2014 – May 2015
By Gilbert D. Martinez
Chapter Commissioner
Rogers Hornsby Chapter
The Rogers Hornsby Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research in Central Texas continued its consecutive meeting streak, reaching 102 straight months with a meeting in May 2015.
The chapter’s Ninth Annual Winter Meeting in January 2015 was the highlight of the year. Thirty-five members and guests met at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and heard from Wally Moon, the 1954 National League Rookie of the Year and three-time World Series Champion, and MLB.com national correspondent Alyson Footer on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.
Also at the winter meeting, new Hornsby Chapter member Jim Kenton talked about a successful program in St. Louis called the Baseball Reminiscence League in which volunteers spend time helping Alzheimer’s patients by discussing baseball players and games from earlier in their lives. Kenton is working with local groups who help Alzheimer’s patients in Austin in hopes of creating something similar and recruiting volunteers.
Through the rest of the year, chapter members met for BBQ in downtown Austin, watched Round Rock Express games at the Dell Diamond and gathered to watch the World Series in October at a chapter member’s home. In addition, the chapter met to celebrate the chapter’s 100th consecutive month with a meeting in March 2015, and met for lunch on SABR Day.
For the fifth consecutive year, Hornsby Chapter member Monte Cely covered the Caribbean World Series, which in 2015 was held in Puerto Rico. Cely posted updates, summaries and photos on the Hornsby Chapter website, chronicling Cuba’s first Serie del Caribe since 1960 and eighth overall.