Death of a baseball researcher

Who devotes their life to researching little-known facets of a game most consider just a "pastime"? An obituary on the web site of SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research, gives us a look at one such man. Here's an excerpt:

"John Pardon, one of the 16 founders of the Society for American Baseball Research, died Sunday, Oct. 19 of cancer. He was 70.

"Born in East Meadow, New York, John was a former sports writer in Ossining and Asheville, North Carolina. John loved to be punny as possible. After he had a portion of his colon removed to combat his colon cancer, he enjoyed talking about having a semi-colon.

"A life-long bachelor, John held many leadership positions in SABR, including vice-president, secretary and director. He chaired the Minor League Committee. He was named as a Bob Davids Award winner in 1998 and was a recipient of the SABR Salute in the 1997-98 SABR membership directory. He was also awarded the Casey Stengel Chapter's Meritorious Service Award in 1995.

"John was a strong proponent of SABR's archives, always insisting that SABR's historical papers be preserved. He also kept tabs on SABR's Endowment, contributing something to it on an annual basis. A member of SABR's Legacy Circle, John made provisions for SABR in his estate planning.

"He attended 32 SABR conventions.

"Minor league baseball research was John's main focus and expertise (he and Jerry Jackson put together "The Cities of Professional Baseball"), but he also was a member of a dozen other research committees.

"John will be missed."