Southern League: A True Story of Baseball, Civil Rights, and the Deep South’s Most Compelling Pennant Race
by Larry Colton, 321 pages, published-2013
As a sabermetrician examines statistics in context, author Larry Colton examines baseball and civil rights in the same way with his well researched book on The Birmingham Barons’ 1964 season. This was a particularly critical time in the history of our nation. It’s one thing to be in the midst of the pressure of an exciting pennant race. But if you were of Latin or African-American descent during 1964, playing baseball in the deep south, then that takes on quite a different dimension of pressure. The players of color weren’t only targeted by the fans, but by other players, the police, politicians, and business owners. After baseball had been disbanded there for two years for reasons directly related to segregation, Birmingham was granted a AA franchise by The Kansas City Athletics. With the Civil Rights movement as a backdrop to baseball (or is it baseball as a backdrop to the Civil Rights movement?), the reader can view a turbulent time in American history through the eyes of the players, manager, and owner.
Many of the "players" are well-known. You will, of course recognize the names ‘Blue Moon’ Odom, Tommie Reynolds, Paul Linblad, Haywood Sullivan, Campy Campaneris, Ken Sanders, Charlie Finley, The 16th St. Baptist Church, The KKK, Bull Connor, and George Wallace. Others such as Albert Belcher and Hoss Bowlin are not not so well known, but pivotal characters in their own right.
The book by Larry Colton, who made his own barely-brief big-league appearance, is a quick read. Anyone with any interest in minor league baseball and how the game affected and was affected by the social climate of those times will enjoy learning about these subjects through the eyes of those who lived them.
The August chapter meeting will return to the friendly confines of …. Iron Works BBQ in downtown Austin (were you expecting Wrigley Field?) on Tuesday, August 26 starting at 6:00 p.m. No need to RSVP. Just come along and bring your appetite for barbeque and baseball.
If SABR 44 were a baseball game, you could say that members of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter were deeply involved in all facets of the game as they had a hand in nearly all aspects of the convention.
A team made up of mostly Hornsby members were runners-up in the trivia contest; two members snagged foul balls at the Astros game; one member gave a very interesting talk about the Houston Eagles; and several members had the winning bids in the silent auction, including such items as Diamond Club seats behind home plate at the Astros game, a Jose Altuvé game-used, cracked bat and a piece of the original Astrodome turf.
Though no official count was taken, it appeared that the Hornsby Chapter had the largest representation at the convention, and we made our presence felt. The Larry Dierker Chapter, led by Bob Dorrill and Marsha Franty, hosted and coordinated the convention and were greatly assisted by the Hornsby Chapter.
The conference was filled with research presentations and panels on the history of the Houston Colt .45’s and Houston Astros.
Both the Houston Astros and Sugar Land Skeeters played a big part in the convention. Tal Smith, former Astros president and current special adviser to the Skeeters, spoke at the convention and hosted members at Constellation Park. The Astros president Reid Ryan and general manager Jeff Luhnow spoke on panels and fielded questions from the audience. More than a dozen former Astros and Colt .45 players were featured on panels, including Larry Dierker, Art Howe, Alan Ashby, Roger Clemens, Enos Cabell, Jose Cruz, Bob Watson, Bob Aspromonte, Hal Smith and Jimmy Wynn, among others. There was also a media panel consisting of longtime Astros broadcaster Bill Brown; Alyson Footer, national correspondent with MLB and former social media director with the Astros; Evan Drellich, Astros beat reporter for the Houston Chronicle; Buck Martinez, former player and current broadcaster with the Toronto Blue Jays; and Brett Dolan, radio broadcaster formerly on the Astros broadcast team.
In addition to a walking tour of old baseball sites around Houston, there were outings to Constellation Field to watch a Sugar Land Skeeters in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, and to Minute Maid Park for a Blue Jays-Astros game.
In fact, both games had SABR members buzzing about what they experienced and saw – and what they nearly saw. The Skeeters’ starting pitcher Clint Everts came within two outs of no-hitting the Brideport Bluefish, giving up two hits and one walk through 8.1 innings.
On Saturday, Aug. 2, the Astros game featured several interesting tidbits: Jon Singleton had a thrilling inside-the-park home run that resulted after replay review overturned an out call at home; Jose Altuvé had two more hits, adding to his Major League hits total, and scored from first base after two errant throws; highly touted Astros prospect Mike Foltynewicz had his Major League debut; and the roof was open for an uncharacteristically cool August night. In fact, Minute Maid Park had its roof open at game time in August for the first time since 2004. In addition, Hornsby Chapter director Jan Larson and C. Paul Rogers III of the Banks-Bragan Chapter both won the auction for Diamond Club tickets. In the second inning, Raeanne and Gilbert Martinez joined them in the Diamond Club after receiving a surprising upgrade from their regular season ticket seats (check out a screen-grab from the television broadcast of Jon Singleton’s mighty swing; Gilbert and Raeanne can be see behind the umpire). In addition, chapter members Michael Hammon and Ryan Pollack caught foul balls while sitting with 500 of their closest SABR friends along the first base line.
One of the most popular attractions at any SABR convention is the trivia contest, and this year was no exception. The Hornsby +1 team consisted of Bill Gilbert, Jan Larson and Tom Thayer plus David Kaiser of the Lajoie-Start Chapter. In addition to the usual trivia questions one might expect, the contest also featured physical demonstrations of gestures by baseball players, including batting stances of Stan Musial and Hunter Pence. The Hornsby +1 team lost to a team from New England that called themselves the Misspelled Tulowitskis. For more about the trivia contest, click here.
In the research presentations, Hornsby’s own Eric Robinson gave his presentation on the brief life of the Houston Eagles, the only Negro League team to be based in Texas. His presentation, like many at SABR 44, was well received.
For more details about the convention schedule and summaries, please click here.
Many thanks to all the Hornsby and Dierker chapter members for volunteering and giving up some time to staff the chapter and silent auction tables and monitor the presentation rooms. Also, a special thanks to all SABR staff and interns for helping make SABR 44 one of the best conventions ever.
SABR 45 will be in Chicago next year from June 24 to 28. Upon the conclusion of SABR 44 in Houston, a number of SABR members took to social media to start counting down the days to Chicago.
Seventeen members and guests enjoyed the Sunday, July 20 game between the Iowa Cubs and Round Rock Express at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. Most of the group enjoyed a pre-game meal in the Intel Club and were then joined by the others for desserts, snacks and soft drinks in the air conditioned comfort of suite #29. The suite featured a flat screen television with the game feed and the piped in radio broadcast featuring the play-by-play of Express’ broadcaster, Mike Capps.
The game was a tight contest that was tied 2-2 at the end of nine innings. As the hour was becoming late and a work week loomed in the not-to-distant future for many attendees, some were forced to call it a night before the contest came to conclusion. The hopes of the home fans were dimmed when the visiting Cubs took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 11th inning but a leadoff home run by Lillibridge in the bottom of the frame enabled the game to continue. Only four of the original 17 were present to see the Express complete the come from behind win by pushing across a run in the bottom of the 12th inning to win 4-3.
Next on the agenda for a number of chapter members is the SABR convention beginning on July 30 in Houston. The date and time of the August chapter meeting will be announced at a later date.
Title: Lost in the Sun, Roy Gleason’s Odyssey from the Outfield to the Battlefield
Author: Roy Gleason as told to Wallace Wasinack with Mark Langill
Published: 2005 by Sports Publishing LLC; 242 pages; ISBN – 1-58261-944-1; $24.95 new, used from $1.00
This book is the amazing true story of Roy Gleason, an LA Dodgers "bonus baby" who was a September, 1963 call-up for the pennant- and World Series-winning Dodgers. Gleason appeared in eight games, primarily as a pinch-runner, scored three runs and hit a double in his only plate appearance. He never appeared in the majors again, but his story doesn’t end there. He is subsequently drafted, served in combat in Vietnam, and was wounded. Gleason claims to be the only player that, after playing in the majors, saw combat duty in the Vietnam War.
Gleason’s story reads like part Roy Hobbs (The Natural) and part Crash Davis (Bull Durham). He was a promising high school and minor-league baseball star, was signed for $55,000 in 1961, but had difficulties breaking onto the strong ’60s Dodger rosters. After serving in Vietnam and recuperating from serious injuries sustained in combat, he was making progress on a baseball comeback. But then, he was hurt again in a car accident, effectively ending his baseball career.
A quote from the Roy Hobbs character in The Natural certainly applies to Gleason: "My life didn’t turn out like I’d planned." But the book does have a feel-good ending of sorts. SABR members would enjoy reading about it.
Author(s) background: Roy Gleason was born in Illinois and grew up in Los Angeles. This is his first book and he has written several articles for newspapers and online. Wally Wasinack is a business writer, educator and consultant. Mark Langill was publications editor and team historian for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Published: 2014 by Sports Illustrated Books; 341 pages; ISBN – 978-1-61893-096-5; $26.95 new, from $11.88 used
This is a balanced, objective and lively account of Pete Rose’s life and career. It portrays Rose as a man of contradictions, obsessed with winning, gambling, and making money; capable of kindness, engaging with fellow players and fans, and yet lacking of any moral compass. Rose comes across as not a bad nor mean person, but lacking in compassion and basic sensitivity for the feelings of others.
Rose’s upbringing is explained and the reader will see how his "win at all costs" attitude came to dominate all other aspects of his personality. His bitter war with baseball’s hierarchy is explored in depth; as well as his relationship with wives, girlfriends, and children. A quote is illustrative of his insensitivity to his family — he returns a call that his wife had placed to his hotel room during a road trip, responding, "Karolyn, I knew it was you calling earlier, but I had a girl with me in the room."
The author ends the dust-jacket summary with the following: "Where has his improbable saga landed him in the redefined, post-steriod world? Do we feel any differently about Pete Rose today? Should we?" SABR members will enjoy this book and exploring whether or not their opinions about The Hit King might change.
Author background: Kennedy is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated. His most recent sports book is 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, a New York Times best-seller and winner of the 2011 Casey Award.
Ten members of the Hornsby SABR Chapter met Thursday evening, June 26 at IronWorks BBQ in downtown Austin.
A broad range of baseball topics were discussed and debated, including: Tim Lincecum’s recent no-hitter; the seeming "parity" among MLB teams this season; 2014 Cy Young contenders; among many other topics.
Gilbert Martinez reminded chapter members of the upcoming SABR National Convention to be held in Houston the last week of July. If you are planning to attend, and are interested in volunteering to help at the Convention, please contact Gilbert at gmartinez46@austin.rr.com.
Jan Larson reminded chapter members of the upcoming Hornsby July chapter meeting to be held Sunday July 20 at Dell Diamond. We are planning to rent one of the suites at Dell Diamond, with the cost being $45-50 per attendee. If you want to attend, Jan will need a firm commitment by July 7. Jan can be reached at jan.a.larson@gmail.com .
Although Bill Gilbert was unable to attend, he emailed in a "quick quiz". The two questions were:
1. Who are the four active pitchers who have thrown two no-hitters?
2. Who are the five active players (not counting A-Rod) with 400+ home runs and 2,000+ hits?
The reader will be left to work out the answers via Baseball-Reference.com.
The Rogers Hornsby Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research in Central Texas continued its consecutive meeting streak, reaching 90 straight months with a meeting in May 2014.
The chapter’s Eight Annual Winter Meeting in January 2014 was the highlight of the year. Fifty-five members and guests met at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and heard Eddie Robinson recount his time in baseball, including as a member of the 1948 World Series Champion Cleveland Indians and later as a scout and general manager. He was also in the Houston Colt .45s front office as head of player development when the team signed future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. Robinson signed copies of his book, “Lucky Me: My Sixty-Five Years in Baseball,” and was joined by co-author C. Paul Rogers III, professor of law and former dean of Southern Methodist University School of Law. Rogers is also the chair of SABR’s Ernie Banks-Bobby Bragan DFW Chapter in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Also at the winter meeting, former major leagurer Matt Kata shared his experiences as a member of the 2003 “Baby Backs” of Arizona and the local AAA Round Rock Express. Members also heard from Mike Capps, director of broadcasting for the Express, and active chapter members Jan Larson, who talked about a recent trip to Cooperstown, and Chuck Kaufman, who shared his experiences watching baseball games in Cuba.
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.
For the fourth consecutive year, Hornsby Chapter member Monte Cely covered the Caribbean World Series, which in 2014 was held in Venezuela. Cely posted updates, summaries and photos on the Hornsby Chapter website, chronicling Mexico’s second consecutive championship.
Where Nobody Knows Your Name follows a cast of baseball players, managers, and an umpire through the 2012 AAA International League season. Feinstein captures the excitement and frustrations of participants at the AAA level, many of whom have some major-league experience and all of whom are expecting that call (or recall) to “The Show.”
The book is full of quotes from the minor-leaguers themselves, as well as the author’s observations of life “one step from the big time.” Although there are feel-good moments, much of the book mirrors the frustration of playing at AAA. The reader gets a good feel for the travel grind and ever-prevalent career uncertainty of those toiling in the “minors”. The challenges faced by a minor-leaguer’s family is also a prominent theme.
The cast of characters is:
Players – Scott Elarton, Jon Lindsey, Nat McLouth, Scott Podsednik, Chris Schwinden, and Brett Tomko.
Managers – Charlie Montoyo and Ron Johnson.
Umpire – Mark Lollo.
This book is a revealing, objective, well-told look into minor league baseball. It also has insights into minor-league operations and player contractual considerations. The book should be an enjoyable and worthwhile read for SABR members.
Here are the key statistics:
Book: Where Nobody Knows Your Name; Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball
Author: John Feinstein
Author’s Credentials: Feinstein is a columnist for The Washington Post, Golf World, and Golf Digest. He also hosts or contributes on CBS Sports radio and TV, as well as the Golf Channel. He has written many sports books, including A Season on the Brink (NCAA basketball) and A Good Walk Spoiled (PGA tour).
Published: 2014, Doubleday; ISBN 978-0-385-53593-9 Length: 368 pages
Price: Retail list – $26.95; Online – from $13.01 + shipping.
Eleven members and guests of the Rogers Hornsby chapter enjoyed BBQ at the Salt Lick and baseball at the Dell Diamond on Saturday evening May 3, 2014. We welcomed chapter member Mike Lassman who made the drive to Round Rock from San Antonio.
Mike dutifully filled out a scorecard throughout the Express’ 5-1 loss to the New Orleans Zephyrs. Several members disagreed wtih a couple of decisions by the official scorer which awarded hits to Zephyr players when most observers thought that errors should have been charged to Express fielders. Despite the loss by the local nine a good time was had by all.
We will return to Iron Works for our June meeting on a date to be determined.
