Passing of Ron Gabriel--Pres. Brooklyn Dodgers Fan Club

[Flatbush Flock]

I'm sorry to say that Ron Gabriel, Founder and President of the Brooklyn Dodgers Fan Club passed away last week. Ron helped to keep our memories alive--he was good friends with the widows of Clem Labine and Cal Abrams and had visited Dotty Reese in Kentucky a couple of years ago.

Here is part of the death announcement:

Well-known throughout the media for nearly 30 years as a baseball historian, Ron Gabriel was a charter elected member of the Brooklyn Dodger Baseball Hall of Fame, has been the Vice President of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), and was the founder and President of the Brooklyn Dodger Fan Club. He was instrumental in establishing the Washington Metro Chapter of SABR, the largest chapter in the organization.

If any of you knew Ron, please e-mail me at marciapaul@comcast.net

[Melottfan]

Over twenty five years ago, I saw an article in Inside Sports on baseball nuts and their collections. One of those profiled was Ron Gabriel. One thing led to another and I joined the Brooklyn Dodgers fan club. I enjoyed getting his newsletter every time. Photos and information on certain games and players I'd always looked foreward to. Several years later, He vacationed in New Orleans where I was living at the time. He made it a point to visit a good friend of ours, Arthur Schott, and myself.
When he came over to visit. He took one look at my New York Yankee Collection of photos and the like and thought he was in the wrong place. We had a good laugh. I told him I appreciate the history of New York Baseball, Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, the rivalries of the World Series with the Dodgers/Yankees, or the Giants/Yankees. He seemed to appreciate that. I was a member of his club for about 15 years. But sadly, things do fall by the wayside, getting married, etc.
The last time I saw Ron was at the SABR convention in 1995. He was wearing his Brooklyn cap. We saw each other and talked a long time. Sorry for his passing. SABR lost a good person.

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

Sorry to hear of Mr. Gabriel's passing. We can ill afford to lose a great baseball fan. RIP