St. Louis Browns Fan Club Announces Annual Luncheon May 25, 2011

Fans gather to honor the Browns; Over 200 fans expected

St. Louis, Missouri ,  February 8, 2011 - The St. Louis Browns fan club announced its annual luncheon set for May 25, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Viking in Sunset Hills in St. Louis County. Former Browns pitcher, Ned Garver, will be one of the featured speakers on this year’s program. Several other former Browns players will be on hand and announced pending confirmation.

Club president, Bill Rogers, said “It may be difficult to top last year’s program with Tommy Lasorda and Bob Costas but were working on a few surprises.” The Browns fan club is in its 27^th year of operation preserving the history and memory of the St. Louis Browns.” The Browns were in the American League and played in St. Louis for more than 50 years. They left after the 1953 season and play today as the Baltimore Orioles.

The Browns were the owners of Sportsman’s Park and shared it with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than 30 years. The stadium was located on North Grand Ave. where the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club stands today.  According to Rogers, “Just like any baseball team, the Browns have their hard-core fans – even today. While the teams had many losing seasons, the players were not losers.”

For reservations, send check for $29 payable to the St. Louis Browns Fan Club and mail to Rick Stamper, 509 S. Geyer Rd., Kirkwood, MO  63122. Last year’s luncheon drew over 155 persons and is expected to draw more this year.

About St. Louis Browns Historical Society

The mission of the St. Louis Browns Historical Society is to preserve the history and memory of the St. Louis Browns baseball team. The Browns played in St. Louis from 1902 through the 1953 season. The historic society is the only one in St. Louis for any sports team which moved from the area. The fan club was organized in 1984 and has more than 315 members today.

To learn more about the Browns, visit their Internet sites at:

http://www.thestlbrowns.com

http://thestlbrowns.blogspot.com

http://brownsmuseum.blogspot.com

Contact

Bill Rogers, President/COO

St. Louis Browns Fan Club

P.O. Box 510047

St. Louis, MO  63151-0047

Telephone:  314-892-8632

E – mail: STLBrowns@SWbell.net

The Name is Almost the Same: Gaedele or Gaedel

Living history was played out this past summer at Warner Park in Madison, Wisconsin. The Mallards right fielder is Kyle Gaedele, the great-nephew of Eddie Gaedel. He changed the spelling of his last name to have it pronounced correctly.

On August 19, 1951, Gaedel became the shortest player to bat in a major league game, taking four pitches in a Bill Veeck stunt for the St. Louis Browns. Gaedel was 3 foot seven and wore number 1/8.

Kyle Gaedele is 6 foot 4 inches and wears the number 48. And he finished second in the North Woods League All-Star home run derby.

I don’t get tired of talking about my great uncle,” Gaedele said during a clubhouse interview recently. “I’m proud of it. I knew about him ever since I can remember. In 2001, we went to the national baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown when they did a re-enactment of the whole situation. I was 11 years old. It was awesome.”

Gaedele’s off-season home is Arlington Heights, where his parents live. His father owns the historic bat. It’s likely he will bring the bat back to Madison before the regular season ends. “It’s smaller than a miniature bat you can get at a professional baseball game,” Gaedele said.

Kyle Gaedele is a Chicago native who attends Valparaiso University. He brought the Gaedele bat to college for a show and tell. His coach is former major leaguer, Tracy Woodson. He isn’t sure about where he got his height. He also weighs 225 pounds. “My dad is about 5’ 11”, my mom is 5’ 7”, my older brother is about 5’ 10” and here I am at 6’ 4” Gaedele said.

Attorney Rips off STL Browns Historical Society

The St. Louis Browns Historical Society in St. Louis, Missouri says a Skokie, Illinois attorney, Irving Funk, ripped them off. The Society says Mr. Funk purchased a replica St. Louis Browns baseball jersey from them, but has now refused to pay or return the merchandise. Society President, Bill Rogers, said the jersey was purchased through their website which included photos of the product. Funk said the jersey delivered was “not as advertised.”

“We’ve sold a number of these Jerseys and have not had a single complaint. Mr. Funk sent us threatening e-mails from the very start. He rejected the billing on his credit card and has refused to return the merchandise,” according to Rogers. “We’re willing to take it back but we’re being ripped off.”

You can see the replica jersey in question at http://brownsmerchandise.blogspot.com/.