It started with twenty people and it came down to one game. And what a game it was!
Last Saturday, at the Prairieland 3 APBA Baseball Tournament in Springfield, Illinois, Joe Schall’s 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers fended off Kyle Daniels’ 1928 Philadelphia Athletics in hard fought championship game by the score of 12-8. Both teams kept scoring runs but Joe’s Dodgers seemed to get on base when they needed… every inning.
Joe’s ’51 Dodgers must have been in a tight division. He managed to advance to the playoffs with a 6-4 record. To make it to the final, he defeated Earle Shamblin and his 1957 Chicago White Sox. Earle had the best record in regulation play with a nifty 8-2 mark.
Kyle faced off with Eric Berg and the 1930 Washington Senators. Both the ‘Nats and Kyle’s 1928 A’s came away with a formidable 7-3 record.
Some numbers from the tourney:
- 20 participants from
- 6 home states (Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma)
- 5 decades represented (Bob Spatz even took the 1960 White Sox)
- 4 teams from 1930 (Yankees, Cubs, Senators and Phillies)
- 3 teams from 1954 (Braves, Dodgers, White Sox)
Numbers can’t quantify the fun that we had though. I think everyone had a blast. It was good to see the veterans of Prairieland as well as meeting some new folks. I was happy to play Earle Shamblin who came all the way from Oklahoma (even though he swept me both games). Hoosiers Dave Chestnut and Scott Dike accompanied John Roels and me for lunch. We were all treated to John’s hilarious impression of Harry Caray.
Congratulations Joe!! Treat that trophy well!
The 1951 Dodgers are hot! They won the Old Dominion APBA tournament in Richmond, Virginia three weeks ago.
When is the 2019 Prairieland tournament? I plan to bring a carload from Jacksonville.