History of the Scoreboard
After the devastating Major League Baseball Players Association strike that ruined the 1994 baseball season, “Baseball Weekly” polled baseball fans to determine what, if anything, baseball management could do to lure its fans back to the game. I read the fans’ responses, many of which centered on the theme of promotional items. “I’ve got plenty of beach towels, mouse pads, coffee cups, and baseball caps,” I thought. “Wouldn’t it be nice if baseball organizations gave something back to their fans in the way of a unique, practical, useful, truly baseball-related giveaway item?”
Here’s where I got the idea. During the 1991 California Senior League baseball season, I was asked by a good friend of mine, Byron Martin Kemp (but everyone called him either “BK” or “Biff”), to keep score for his team, the California Expos. Biff, by the way, had played in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system for a number of years, but he never made it to “The Show.” On the other hand, I had no real organized baseball experience beyond Babe Ruth League, but I had enjoyed keeping score in my youth. Add that to a chance to sit in a dugout during a real baseball game with a uniformed baseball team and eat sunflower seeds and spit hulls and other things on the ground like a real player—well, I couldn’t resist the offer. So I did my research on scoring symbols and dressed in my own Expos uniform jersey with STATMAN and .05 (my uniform number—long story there) on the back, and I was ready.
It was a terrific 1991 season. I honed my scorekeeping skills, and every once in a while I got to take batting and fielding practice with the team. Unfortunately for me, “no stick, good glove, weak wing” was penciled next to my name in the team book. My dream of being the only remaining live body on the bench in an extra inning game (two outs, bottom of the inning, bases loaded, down by one run) when a pinch-hitter (PH on your scorecard) was needed never came true. But, even without me in the lineup, the Expos managed to go undefeated during the season (perhaps with the help of our ringer, Rudy Law) but lost in the final game of the 1991 Senior League World Series held in Phoenix, Arizona.
I, along with the members of the Expos, was looking forward to the 1992 season with a chance to “repeat,” but unfortunately for the team and for everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him, Biff was killed during a robbery March 29, 1992. He was returning home after collecting dues from Expos players for the 1992 season and stopped at an EXXON gas station/convenience store on the corner of Crenshaw and Adams in Los Angeles. A young thug grabbed some money from a customer and, to escape, ran down an alley bordering the store. Biff jumped in his car and drove down the alley after the thief. Sadly, the thief’s partners were there lying in wait, and Biff was shot—murdered for a few lousy bucks. A senseless tragedy that defies explanation.
So, in 1995, I introduced the Scoreboard to major and minor league baseball teams for use as a giveaway item. The board is a combination of things. It’s my attempt to answer “Baseball Weekly’s” challenge—here is a baseball-related giveaway item that is unique and has practical value to baseball fans. The board is even manufactured in the United States by the Claflin Company, located in Hudson, Ohio. And the board is a tribute to the memory of Byron. It may seem like a coincidence, but the “BK” for scoring a “Balk” is really on the board in the Scoring Symbols section in honor of Biff, along with his uniform number 2 for his position as second baseman. Who knows, maybe the Pittsburgh Pirates organization or EXXON Oil will read this and want to establish a scholarship fund in Biff’s honor at his Alma Mater, Virginia State University. If any of you reading this have connections in either of these organizations and can help, please contact me. A scholarship would be a wonderful tribute to a truly unforgettable person who so loved the game of baseball.
If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for bearing with me and reading this, and the next time you’re at a ballgame, keep score. That advice is especially for those of you who are parents. If you are looking for some “quality time” with a child, score a baseball game. Scoring a baseball game is entertaining, educational, and it really keeps your head in the game. Best of all, a score card at a ball game is probably the cheapest thing you can buy. (Bring your own pencil, though.)
Warmest regards, John Timko
P.S. For any of you who are interested in the history of scoring a baseball game, check out “The Joy of Keeping Score” by Paul Dickson.
