The Society for American Baseball Research (or SABR for short), which is the world’s leading organization for historical baseball research, has recently accepted Project Cobb (the Project for the Chronicling of British Baseball) under its umbrella as a Chartered Community. This important step for Project Cobb not only enhances its reputation as a group of research collaborators, but also helps to extend its reach.
The Chartered Community concept is a very new one, being established at the end of 2009. Baseball Think Factory members Chris Dial, Mike McCullough, and Paul Brewer made the excellent suggestion – at SABR’s 2009 national convention in Washington, DC -  for the organization to accept virtual chapters to “recognize the impact of the Internet and other technologies on the way in which SABR members interact,” as described in this press release. Baseball Think Factory was the inaugural Chartered Community, while Project Cobb becomes the fifth group to attain this status and the first that has a primary focus away from the game in North America.
I am very glad to welcome Josh Chetwynd alongside me as co-chair of the Project Cobb Chartered Community. While he is sorely missed from our TV screens, we can take solace in his persisting passion for British baseball.