I have posted an obit for Bobby Bragan on the Baseball in Wartime Blog

http://baseballinwartime.blogspot.com/2010/01/bobby-bragan-dies-at-92.html

Gary Bedingfield
Baseball in Wartime (Founder and Editor)
Website: www.baseballinwartime.com
Blog: http://baseballinwartime.blogspot.com
Email: gary@...

--- In BaseballNecrology@yahoogroups.com, Rod Nelson <rodericnelson@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks Dave..  What a great baseball man.  Good friend of SABR, too.
>
> http://www.star-telegram.com/local/story/1913036.html
> http://www.baseballinwartime.com/player_biographies/bragan_bobby.htm
> http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bragabo01.shtml
> http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=bragan001rob
>
>
> Rod Nelson
>
> On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 12:50 AM, <hapchase@...> wrote:
>
> > Former player, Manager and President of Minor League Baseball Bobby Bragan
> > passed away today, 01/21/2010, Fort Worth, Texas.
> >
> > Dave Chase
> > Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
> >
> >
>

Dewey Gray, who played in the St. Louis Browns organization, died on  January
20, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/ydnsnhl

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=gray--001dew

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Laverne "Joe" Jenks, who played two seasons in the minors sandwiched around duty
in World War II, died on January 18, 2010 in Torrance, CA.

http://tinyurl.com/yb6fctk

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=jenks-001lav

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Edward Stephen Polak, who played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, died
on January 19, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/ydacow2

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=polak-001edw

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Marvin "Lefty" Jones, who played for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1954-1955,
died in Dearborn, Michigan on January 19, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/y8t8chj

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

I have two memories of Bobby Bragan, the manager.  They are from 1956.

1.  He had Dick Hall analyze the effect of batting position (e.g. leading
off, batting second) and the number of plate appearances.  He thus had his
best hitter, bat first.  I cannot recall how long that lasted.

2.  The time he argued with an umpire.  Bobby came out of the dugout
sipping a carton of orange juice.  He was quickly ejected.

Steve Boren

On Fri, January 22, 2010 12:07 am, Rod Nelson wrote:
> Thanks Dave..  What a great baseball man.  Good friend of SABR, too.
>
> http://www.star-telegram.com/local/story/1913036.html
> http://www.baseballinwartime.com/player_biographies/bragan_bobby.htm
> http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bragabo01.shtml
> http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=bragan001rob
>
>
> Rod Nelson
>
> On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 12:50 AM, <hapchase@...> wrote:
>
>> Former player, Manager and President of Minor League Baseball Bobby
>> Bragan
>> passed away today, 01/21/2010, Fort Worth, Texas.
>>
>> Dave Chase
>> Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
>>
>>
>

Check out Bobby Bragan at The Baseball Necrology - Live:

http://www.thebbnlive.com/

Bill Lee

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

He was a teammate of SABR member Ed Mickelson with the 1950 Lynchburg
Cardinals.

Steve Boren

On Fri, January 22, 2010 8:10 am, morrisjvm wrote:
> Edward Stephen Polak, who played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization,
> died on January 19, 2010.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/ydacow2
>
> http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=polak-001edw
>
> Jack Morris
> East Coventry, PA
>
>

Remembering Curt Motton

By Roch Kubatko
MASN.com

I have the unfortunate task of passing along some sad news. The Orioles lost
another member of their family when former outfielder Curt Motton died last
night at age 69.

Only a year ago, Motton appeared to be in good health. Friends were shocked when
he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and his courageous battle ended last
night.

Motton played eight seasons in the majors, seven of them with the Orioles. He
was a part of the 1969, '70 and '71 World Series teams.

Motton also served as a coach under Frank Robinson, and he later scouted for the
Orioles.


"He was just one of the nicest guys you ever wanted to meet," said former
Orioles pitcher and current MASN broadcaster Dave Johnson. "His nickname was
'Cuz.' He treated you like family. A super guy."

"I just saw a guy in the store a few days ago and he was so nice, so friendly,
and I thought to myself, 'Man, he reminds me of Curt Motton,'" said hitting
coach Terry Crowley.

"Cuz was at the top of the list for teammates. We had similar roles. He was
basically the right-handed pinch-hitter and I was basically the left-handed
pinch-hitter. And we won the Series together in '70.

"He was a really good player. Terrific minor league numbers. And like so many of
us, when he got to the big leagues with the Orioles, the starting lineup was
basically an All-Star team. There was no free agency and positions were pretty
much locked down. But he always did a good job. Sometimes, with a guy like that,
you wonder what he could have done if he was on a team that wasn't that good and
he could have played more.

"He could tell it like it was, too. That was one of the things I liked most
about him. Pure honesty. An honest, honest soul. A great guy. And as honest and
pure a person as you'd ever want to know."

I met Motton during his time as a scout, and I completely understand what
Crowley and Johnson are saying. Everybody loved the man. And he remained close
to the organization through the years by making various appearances and
participating in clinics, even as his health was failing.

Motton's passing comes five months before the Orioles hold a reunion for the '70
world championship team. We've also lost Elrod Hendricks, Johnny Oates, Dave
McNally, Mark Belanger, Mo Drabowsky, Chico Salmon, Roger Freed, Jim Hardin,
Marcelino Lopez and coaches George Bamberger and George Staller.

Hal Manders the cousin of Bob Feller died yesterday. He was a pitcher with the
1941-42,and 1946 Detroit Tigers, and 1946 Cincinnati Reds.  Looks like there was
some WWII service in between?

I got the following note sent to me via "Baseball Player Passings" Group on
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=238999221854&ref=mf



Harold Manders passed away Friday (1/22/2010). Played with the Detroit Tigers
briefly. Cousin to Hall of Famer Bob Feller.
From Scott Havick who works for Bob Feller in Iowa running his Museum.
http://www.facebook.com/l/3b91f;www.bobfellermuseum.org.

Hal's Record at Retrosheet - http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmandh101.htm

Will ask for an obituary when available

----- Original Message -----

From: David Lambert

To: BaseballNecrology@yahoogroups.com ; bbxpert@...

Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 9:13 AM

Subject: [BaseballNecrology] Hal Manders (1917-2010) RIP

 

Hal Manders the cousin of Bob Feller died yesterday. He was a pitcher with the 1941-42,and 1946 Detroit Tigers, and 1946 Cincinnati Reds. Looks like there was some WWII service in between?

I got the following note sent to me via "Baseball Player Passings" Group on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=238999221854&ref=mf

Harold Manders passed away Friday (1/22/2010). Played with the Detroit Tigers briefly. Cousin to Hall of Famer Bob Feller.
From Scott Havick who works for Bob Feller in Iowa running his Museum. http://www.facebook.com/l/3b91f;www.bobfellermuseum.org.

Hal's Record at Retrosheet - http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmandh101.htm

Will ask for an obituary when available

An Obituary has appeared in the Des Moines Register for Hal Manders who
died this week.

*http://tinyurl.com/yjm3j9l*

Educator, Ex-Daisies Pitcher Dies

Link:  http://snurl.com/u69dj

FROM:  The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette ~
By Angela Mapes Turner

Lenna B. "Sis" Arnold, a longtime Fort Wayne
educator and professional women's baseball
player, died Friday. She was 89.

Arnold, a pitcher, played with the Fort Wayne
Daisies in 1946, part of the All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League that was
popularized in the movie "A League of Their
Own," with Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.

Arnold was also a teacher for 35 years for Fort
Wayne Community Schools, family members
said. She was Millie Gerdom's physical
education teacher from 1952 to 1956 at Central
High School, and the two became lifelong
friends. Gerdom said Arnold was the mentor
she needed, taking her under her wing and
including her on motor-home trips around the
U.S.

"She was a marvelous lady," Gerdom said.
"There was nobody that said they didn't like Sis
when she taught there."

She was likable, but tough: Gerdom recalls a time
when she lit a cigarette in front of Arnold while
bowling.

"She looked at me, she said, 'You better put
out that cigarette or you're going to be
eating it,' " Gerdom said.

Arnold spent summers on Rome City's Sylvan
Lake or motoring around the country, often
taking her niece and nephew or other guests.

Nephew John Arnold III of Fort Wayne recalls
a great American road trip to Disneyland, Mount
Rushmore, the Grand Canyon and countless
other sights. His sister, Rosemarie Bouman of
Illinois, recalls how her aunt taught her - and,
it seemed, everyone on Sylvan Lake - to water
ski.

"She was tough, but she was a lot of fun,"
Bouman said. "I credit her with my sense of
adventure."

Arnold is also survived by special friend
Fran C. Nash, two great-nephews and
a great-niece.

Bouman and her brother said they don't recall
their aunt talking much about her time playing
baseball. But she was on baseball cards that
she took with her to a nursing home after
a stroke last fall.

"In rehab, she was autographing the baseball
cards at 89," Bouman said. "She just had
a zest for life."

Frank Mech, who played in the Chicago White Sox and New York Giants
organizations, died recently.

http://tinyurl.com/yz4lcmg

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=mech--001fra

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

George Alan Byam, who played eight seasons in the minors and, according to his
obituary, participated in two Little World Series, in Exeter, NH, on January 13,
2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yk8jlg9

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=byam--001geo

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Edward Joseph Sheffield, who played in the Detroit Tigers organization, died on
January 21, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yh2q9qd

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=sheffi001edw

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

The Grim Reaper was busy last week.  Check out Bobby Bragan, Hal Manders and
Curt Motton on The Baseball Necrology - Live:

http://www.thebbnlive.com/

Bill Lee

Mel Silva, who played in the Boston Red Sox organization, died on January 16,
2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yhg6byd

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=silva-001mel

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

John E. "Jack" Esrang, who played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, died
on January 25, 2010 in Tamaqua, PA.

http://tinyurl.com/y9eckfq

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=esrang001jac

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

James E. Smith, who played briefly with the Joplin Miners before called to
service during World War II, died on January 25, 2010 in Effingham, IL.

http://tinyurl.com/yev3p3k

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=smith-021jam

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Andrew P. Jarusinski Jr., who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, died
on January 25, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA.

http://tinyurl.com/yb72a4u

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=jarusi001and

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

Kenneth Rogers "Ken" Walters, who played two seasons with the Philadelphia
Phillies and one season with the Cincinnati Reds, died on January 26, 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/y9ar2d3

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walteke01.shtml

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA

NY Times
January 31, 2010

Jane Jarvis, who brought a jazz sensibility to unlikely places as an
organist for the New York Mets and a programmer for Muzak, died on
Monday at the Lillian Booth Actors' Home in Englewood, N.J. She was 94.

Her death was confirmed by her son, Brian. She had lived at the actors' home
since shortly after being forced out of her Upper East Side apartment, the
result of an adjacent building's destruction in a crane collapse in 2008.

Ms. Jarvis's career was bracketed by jazz, which she considered her
first love: she formed a jazz band in her native Indiana as a teenager, and she
worked steadily as a jazz pianist, mostly in New York, from her mid-60s into her
90s. But for more than two decades she was best known as a ballpark organist.

After eight years playing for the Braves at County Stadium in Milwaukee, she was
a fixture at Shea Stadium from 1964 to 1979, performing a repertory that mixed
jazz staples like Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From the Apple" with more
conventional fare like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "Meet the Mets."

Few Mets fans knew that Ms. Jarvis had begun her career as a jazz
pianist. Even fewer knew that she had a day job with the Muzak
Corporation.

Muzak was synonymous with soothing background sounds piped into
elevators when Ms. Jarvis was hired for a clerical job there in 1963,
not long after she moved to New York and roughly a year before she
joined the Mets. She worked her way up to vice president in charge of
programming and recording; when she began supervising sessions, she
hired Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry and other jazz musicians. The result was
canned music considerably more swinging than the Muzak norm, much of which the
musicians, including Ms. Jarvis, composed themselves.

Nearing retirement age and wanting to engage the public more directly, Ms.
Jarvis left her job at Muzak in 1978 and the Mets a year later (she was not
replaced) and, at 64, began looking for work as a jazz pianist.

By the mid-1980s she was a fixture at the West Village nightclub and
restaurant Zinno, where she worked with Milt Hinton and other top-tier jazz
bassists. She recorded her first album as a leader in 1985, the year she turned
70.

Luella Jane Nossett was born in Vincennes, Ind., on Oct. 31, 1915, the only
child of Charles and Luella Nossett. Her father was a lawyer, her mother a
schoolteacher; they were both killed in a road accident when she was 13.

She began picking out melodies on the piano at 4, and a year later her parents,
impressed, arranged for her to study classical piano at
Vincennes University. She went on to study at several conservatories in Chicago.

Ms. Jarvis was married and divorced three times. In addition to her son, she is
survived by a daughter, Jeanne, and several grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.

She began her professional career at 11 on a radio show in Gary, Ind., that
featured child entertainers. Within two years she was the house pianist at a
radio station in Chicago, accompanying nationally known performers like Ethel
Waters and Sophie Tucker.

In 1954 Ms. Jarvis was playing piano and organ in nightclubs and on
television in Milwaukee when she was approached by the Braves, newly
transplanted after a half-century in Boston, and offered the job of
organist.

"I wasn't a sports fan, and I was uncertain about doing it," she told
The New York Times in 1984. "But money overcame my worries." By the time she
began her long tenure with the Mets, 10 years later, she had become a
knowledgeable and enthusiastic baseball devotee.

Despite health problems, Ms. Jarvis continued to perform and record into the
21st century, both as a bandleader and with the Statesmen of Jazz, an ensemble
consisting mostly of musicians over 65. She was the only woman in the group.

"I figure I've got another 25 years," she told The Indianapolis Star in 1999.
"At least I've got 25 years booked out."

William Earl Gilbert, who played in the Seattle Pilots(!) organization, died on
January 28, 2010 in Pascagoula, MS.

http://tinyurl.com/yfefdk3

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=gilber001wil

Jack Morris
East Coventry, PA