April 2013 - Tribute to Jim Muldrow - South Piedmont Community ...

FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE FRIENDS REMEMBER JIM
February 5, 2013
SPCC Foundation for the Jim Muldrow Scholarship
680 US Hwy. 74
Polkton, NC 28135
Dear Foundation Director,
On behalf of about 20 friends and acquaintances of Jim
Muldrow's from across the United States and Canada, I'm
writing to offer condolences over Jim's passing and to
provide the enclosed group donation of $325 to the South
Piedmont Community College Foundation for the Jim Muldrow Scholarship.
I'm writing on behalf of the members of the International Baseball Association, a fantasy baseball league
that Jim joined in 1982. As you may know, one of Jim's great passions was baseball. Those of us in the
IBA shared his love for not just the sport and for Major League Baseball, but also for the baseball board
game made by Strat-O-Matic, a game company in New York state. We in the IBA use Strat-O-Matic
baseball to simulate our games, using the company's annual set of player cards that reflect the
performance of actual big-league players from the most-recent season.
As a longtime IBA manager, Jim was our standard-bearer for integrity – a trait that's critical for our
league, since our managers are scattered across North America and each manager plays his home games
based on instructions received from the visiting team's manager. Ask anyone in the IBA what they recall
about Jim, and without a doubt they'll mention his enthusiasm for the sport – and, more importantly, his
sportsmanship and cordial nature. One manager recalled a story from several years ago about having to
replay some playoff games between his team and Jim's club because of a mistake. This manager felt bad
about the error, since it essentially gave him an advantage over Jim's team. But Jim assured him that this
wasn't a problem and to simply redo the games and enjoy his playoff experience.
A good number of us, including myself, had the pleasure of meeting Jim in person at occasional summer
gatherings at big-league stadiums. Since joining the IBA in 1997, I've been to games with Jim at Miller
Park in Milwaukee, Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago. He also took the time to drive to
the Atlanta area and play Strat-O-Matic baseball games face-to-face with several leaguemates there.
These experiences allowed us to appreciate Jim as a genuine individual with a great sense of humor and
a warm, inviting spirit.
On behalf of Jim's IBA leaguemates, I ask you to please know that this letter is written with sorrow over
Jim's passing. We offer our sympathies and prayers over the passing of a friend who was a man of
character and integrity, and we will miss Jim. However, we in the IBA are honored to provide this
donation as a tribute to the kind of man Jim was. It is our hope that this donation will support a young
person who's working hard to make life better for those around him or her – just as Jim did.
Very truly yours,
Junu Kim
Remembering Jim