Roland Hemond, 1929-2021
Roland Hemond is one of the most remarkable front office figures in Chicago baseball history.
He worked for White Sox owners John Allyn, Bill Veeck, and Jerry Reinsdorf. As White Sox general manager in December 1971, he traded pitcher Tommy John to the Los Angeles Dodgers for slugger Dick Allen, which saved the Chicago franchise. After a lousy 1971 White Sox season Allen enchanted the south side in 1972 while hitting 37 home runs and winning the American League MVP.
Hemond spent 70 years of his life in baseball.
He died last December at the age of 92.
I’ve weathered the [...]
Mark Hamburger (Courtesy of the St. Paul Saints)
ST. PAUL, MN.—It was opening night of another renegade season for the St. Paul Saints. The Saints were celebrating their 25th anniversary as a franchise in baseball’s independent leagues, a place where there is still a flicker of light between nearly closed doors.
On May 18 a sell out crowd of 8,294 filled CHS Field in downtown St.Paul in 52- degree weather. Fans were motivated in part by a Mary Tyler Moore tam giveaway. Moore, who died in January, played a Twin Cities based television news reporter the hit television series “Mary Tyler Moore.” The show’s theme [...]
