Retrosheet Board Meeting

June 22, 1997

Announcements from David W. Smith, President/Chair

Several of these announcements cover points that were in the most recent issue of The Retro Sheet, but are included here for those who did not receive that issue.� Anyone who wishes to obtain a copy can contact me,

1.�������� The state of Retrosheet is excellent.� We continue to computerize games at a tremendous pace, averaging over 35 per day during the last year.� We have also received a great deal of favorable publicity through our interactions with teams and reporters, including mentions on the internet.

2.�������� We continue to acquire more game accounts, although it is unlikely we will ever again get a huge number at one time, that is thousands of games, since we have exhausted these sources, most of which were the archives from the teams.� The focus will increasingly be on photocopying accounts from microfilmed newspapers, a source which has yielded about 10,000 games so far and which almost certainly has another 30,000 or so available.� The problem which is arising is the lack of time and volunteers to complete the copying.� It is hard to imagine that we will run out of games to process, but we have computerized over 38,000 games so far and have "only" about 22,000 remaining untouched in the vault.� The other source which has been fruitful is the collectibles industry.� Mostly due to the efforts of Luke Kraemer, who purchased some scorebooks via auction, we have come into possession of several hundred games in the last few months.

3.�������� Everyone is reminded that Retrosheet's address has changed, since I moved in early May.� It is now: 20 Sunset Rd, Newark, DE 19711.� My phone number remains 302-731-1570.

4.�������� Our web presence continues to expand.� Thanks to the generosity of Total Sports, we now have the URL we always wanted: www.retrosheet.org.� Mark Pankin continues his fine work as webmaster, for example by the prompt posting of our newsletters.� Of course, a major purpose for having a web page was the public posting of game accounts.� I am happy to report that we now have two complete seasons proofed and posted: 1982 and 1983, along with the 1967 AL that Luke Kraemer did a few years ago.� The 1980 and 1981 seasons have been entered and are currently under active proofing.

5.�������� One project that we initiated at the request of a team is the complete computerization of all Orioles games (that is, the current version beginning in 1954, not the 1901 AL charter member).� The Orioles are interested in being able to track a variety of team and individual records and we have nearly finished the task, with only 1956 and about half of 1958 remaining to be done.

6.�������� We are very close to the data entry for all games for two franchises: the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays.� The last handful of 1977 games for each team will be completed this summer by Greg Beston, bringing us to a remarkable landmark.

7.�������� The last item is my apology for not completing the assignment I received from the Board last year, which was to complete our application to the IRS for a status which will allow donors to Retrosheet to claim the donations as tax deductions.� This application is important and I promise to fulfill this obligation as soon as possible.

I am sorry that I cannot be with you today and I thank everyone for attending.