Status of Retrosheet

Report prepared by David W. Smith, June, 1994

1. Retrosheet became a non-profit corporation in the state of

Delaware on March 25, 1994. The corporation is represented by

Nancy Doughten of Cooch and Taylor, a Wilmington, Delaware law

firm.

2. Retrosheet has also retained the services of an accountant and

tax advisor, John H. Gil, a CPA and Accounting Professor at

the University of Delaware. Mr. Gil is donating his services

to Retrosheet.

3. Retrosheet has obtained the requisite Employer Identification

Number from the IRS. This identifying number is required even

if the corporation has no employees.

4. The status of Retrosheet as a tax-exempt charitable

corporation is still undecided. The statement of

incorporation categorizes Retrosheet as a 501(c)(6)

organization (this is the IRS regulation number). The IRS

description of a 501(c)(6) organization is:

Business Leagues, Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate

Boards, etc.

This categorization does not permit donations to the

corporation to be tax-deductible to the donor. In order to

have donations be tax-deductible, Retrosheet must be approved

as a 501(c)(3) organization. The IRS description of a

501(c)(3) organization is:

Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary,

Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or

International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention

of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations.

The application for this status is daunting (the IRS estimate

is some 8 hours for its completion). A draft of the

application is in preparation and will be distributed to the

Directors by the end of June, 1994 for their comments before

it is submitted.

5. The incorporation procedure required that two of the five

Directors be appointed for three year terms, two for two year

terms and one for a one year term. David Smith and Sherri

Nichols were selected for the three year appointments, Luke

Kraemer and David Vincent for the two year appointments, and

Ron Rakowski for the one year term.

6. There are currently 65 people working as translators for

Retrosheet, although the level of activity is extremely varied

among this group. There are 19 people working as inputters at

this time, 15 of whom are also translators.

7. As of June 16, 1994 approximately games have been entered

into the computer for Retrosheet. In addition there are some

800 games which have been translated and await computer entry.

8. Retrosheet has received two very positive reviews in recent

publications. Baseball America had an article about the

organization in its "Extra Innings" section in its June 12

issue. STRAT FAN, a quarterly magazine "for and by Start-O-

Matic fans" covered our group in its Summer 1994 issue along

with a very nice article about Luke Kraemer and his 1967 AL

work.

9. In the last two weeks, Retrosheet has benefitted greatly from

the assistance of Gary Gillette, President of the Baseball

Workshop. Largely through Gary's consistent pursuit, the San

Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to let us

copy their scorebooks. The Padre work will begin immediately

with a San Diego member of the Baseball Workshop providing the

labor. The Brewers require that we wait until the conclusion

of the current season.

10. There are now only two teams which have not yet agreed to

allow us to copy their scorebooks: Detroit and Toronto. Many

contacts have been made in Toronto, and a new approach has

recently been initiated, although the situation is still

unclear. We do not have a close relationship with the Tigers,

but Gary Gillette has turned his attention to them.