Art Schott, Committee Member, in the News

SABR and Minor League Committee member Arthur Schott was the subject of an article in the New Orleans Time-Picayune earlier this month. Congraulations, Art!

Arkansas State League and Arkansas-Missouri League

The Northwest Arkansas Times recently published a story on Jerry Hogan, who is researching the history of the Arkansas State League and the Arkansas-Missouri League. He will give a presentation about his research on May 3, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Fayetteville, AR. There will also be a exhibit there on the history of minor league baseball in northwest Arkansas that runs through July 26.

Research Assist: West Texas-New Mexico League

Minor League Committee member Patrick R. Park is looking into thoroughly researching the West Texas-New Mexico League (1937-1955) for an eventual book. He is seeking information on anybody else currently working or planning to research this topic. He is also looking for tips and advice, as this would be his first endeavor into research, and anything helpful (sources/guides/etc) on the WTNL League. Please contact Patrick if you can be of assistance.

Minor League Bookshelf: Cradle of the Game: Baseball and Ballparks in North Carolina

This looks like an interesting book about one of the historical hotbeds of minor league baseball, North Carolina. From the publisher:

Baseball in North Carolina today and its glorious history are richly detailed in Cradle of the Game: Baseball and Ballparks in North Carolina, by Mark Cryan. The comprehensive 400-page volume exploring minor-league and leading college ballparks – large and small – will entertain readers interested in Tar Heel state baseball history, and serve as a guide to visitors of today’s ballparks.

Book author Mark Cryan has many years of North Carolina baseball experience, starting out in the business by working for legendary minor league executive Miles Wolff. Highlights of the book include interviews with Wolff who talks about his involvement in making the ultimate baseball movie - Bull Durham, and with legendary manager Jack McKeon reflecting on life in the game.

Wolff wrote the forward for Cradle of the Game where he commented, “Mark Cryan’s book will give the reader a great picture of baseball in the Tar Heel state.”

“I’m thrilled to be able to share my love for baseball in this great state with the readers of this book,” said author Mark Cryan. “There’s no place in the entire country that has such a depth of history, significance to the game, and such great stories and people. That’s what makes baseball in North Carolina so special.”

Cryan was instrumental in setting up the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League and is a former General Manager of the Burlington (NC) Indians. He currently works as Athletic Director for the Burlington Recreation & Parks Department, and serves as an adjunct professor at Elon University.

As Wolff noted in his forward, baseball has been woven into the fabric of North Carolina for well over a century. This smartly illustrated book offered by August Publications can serve as a travel guide, but offers far more by bringing to life the unique qualities of baseball in North Carolina.

Cradle of the Game is a 6 x 9 paperback, 400 pages, and costs $18.95. It is available through August Publications' website or call 877-343-5207. It is also available through Amazon.com.

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame Class of 2008

National Baseball Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel headlined the 2008 class of Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame inductees, announced Thursday by the League.

Wheezer Dell and Dolly Gray, two of the circuit's greatest pitchers, along with beloved long-time Oakland Tribune sports cartoonist Lee Susman, are also being recognized for their distinguished service during their careers in the PCL.

Nationally recognized for his ingenuity and off-beat personality, Charles "Casey" Stengel, managed the Oakland Oaks for three seasons and compiled a 321-236 record, winning a Pacific Coast League Championship in 1948. The following season, the "Old Perfessor", a nickname from his playing days when he was known as a jokester on the field, signed on to manage the New York Yankees where Stengel went on to win seven World Series titles, including five straight. Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 by the Veterans Committee, Stengel managed over 30 seasons in professional baseball, winning more than 2,300 games in his vaunted career.

A highly successful right-handed pitcher in the Pacific Cost League, William "Wheezer" Dell played for Vernon and Seattle from 1918-1924. Dell compiled a 138-94 record with a 3.13 ERA and 802 strikeouts in his seven seasons and helped Vernon win back-to-back PCL titles in 1919 and 1920. During the 1921 season he won a league high 28 games with a 2.95 ERA. Prior to playing in the PCL, Dell pitched for six seasons with Brooklyn and St. Louis in the National League.

William "Dolly" Gray was another highly successful pitcher during the early years of the Pacific Coast League. Gray pitched nine seasons for Los Angeles, Vernon, and Oakland from 1903-1913 and won four league titles with Los Angeles in 1903, 1905, 1907, and 1908. He won 155 games in his nine seasons including a league high 34 in 1907 for Los Angeles and tallied 1,021 strikeouts.

Leland "Lee" Susman was a Sports Cartoonist for the Oakland Tribune, a position he held for more than 35 years. His famous "Little Acorn" mascot was introduced for the Oakland Oaks and his work would expand to other franchises and be featured on the covers of programs for the Sacramento Solons & San Francisco Seals. At the time, and even more than fifty years later, Lee's artistic contributions have come to symbolize the Post-World War II Pacific Coast League, and a simpler time in America.

The 2008 inductees to the Hall of Fame were selected by the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame Committee, a blue-ribbon panel composed of Minor League Baseball, Coast League, and National Baseball historians. More information on the PCL Hall of Fame can be found on the League's web-site: www.pclbaseball.com

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame

2008 Inductees:

Wheezer Dell (inducted as a player)

Dolly Gray (inducted as a player)

Casey Stengel (inducted as a manager)

Lee Susman (inducted as an executive)

About the PCL Hall of Fame: The Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame was created in 1936 by the Helms Athletic Foundation located in Los Angeles, California, which at the time also operated Halls of Fame for Major League Baseball, Golf, College Basketball, Tennis, Swimming, Auto Racing, Professional Football, Track and Field, and College Football. In 1952, the PCL Hall of Fame ceased operation, but was brought back in conjunction with 2003's Pacific Coast League Centennial Celebration. The Hall currently consists of 74 members and includes such luminaries as Joe DiMaggio, Lefty O'Doul, Steve Bilko, Casey Stengel, and Tommy LaSorda.

Baseball in Hagerstown and Washington County, Maryland

SABR member Bob Savitt has written an essay on the history of baseball in Washington County, Maryland that's posted on the Western Maryland Regional Library website. It also includes a link to scanned pages from the Hagerstown Braves' 1952 program.

Thank you to John Zajc for sending the link.

Reminder: Southern Association Conference, April 12th

Committee member Skip Nipper sends the following pertaining to the upcoming Southern Association Conference:

Each year the Friends of Rickwood, an organization that maintains Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, holds a conference that alternates between Birmingham and another former Southern Association city. This year, the Fifth Annual Southern Association conference will be held in Nashville, TN.

The event will begin on Friday night with the Nashville Sounds' PCL home opener vs. Iowa on April 11th at 7:00 PM. On Saturday, April 12th, the conference will take place at the Metro Nashville Archives in Green Hills after beginning with coffee and donuts at the old Sulphur Dell site in downtown Nashville.

Presentations by baseball historians Bill Traughber, Kevin McCann, Skip Nipper, and Derby Gisclair will be a part of the program, along with a panel discussion with former Nashville Vols players.The cost to attend is $50.00; for more information and a schedule of events contact David Brewer, Friends of Rickwood, at david@rickwood.com or Skip Nipper at skip@sulphurdell.com

Minor League Database update, March 31

The SABR Minor Leagues Database is currently updated once a week, usually on Mondays. Most weeks, the updates are routine, so there won't always be a post announcing the updates; the front page at http://minors.sabrwebs.com will always tell you when the last update occurred. This week there are a few developments worth highlighting.

Gord Brown has generously donated his extensive collection of information on minor league ballparks, which he, Ted Lukacs, and many others have collected over the years. This update features the initial rollout of some of this data, with Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Delaware represented. In the coming weeks expect to see more states come on-line. We also have some nifty features planned for this data, including Google Maps links where possible. Thanks go out to Tim Rusk and Patrick Park for helping to get the ball rolling on this new feature.

Also, 2008 is upon us -- Happy New Year, everyone! During the season, it will be our goal to include in the database rosters of players who appear for each team during the season, and, relatedly, assign IDs to players as they make their pro debuts. These rosters may be incomplete or a bit out-of-date as the season rolls on, but we will try not to get too far behind. We do not plan on posting statistical data during the season, however, because that can be easily obtained from other sources.

If you are interested in helping improve the database, contact us at sabrmilb@gmail.com.