Interview: Jim Saska, co-organizer of the Chicagoland APBA World Series Tournament

Some of us APBA baseball players are gearing up for the 2nd Chicagoland APBA World Series Tournament.  A couple weeks ago, I posted an interview with Doug Schuyler who is helping organize the event.  Doug certainly isn’t working alone, though.  Co-organizer Jim Saksa from Woodstock, Illinois has been an integral part of the first tournament earlier this summer as well as working hard to plan the one in November. 

Last week, I got a chance to chat over email with tournament co-organizer, Jim Saska.  I found out about who he is and how the planning is going for the upcoming event.

The APBA Blog:  Tell us a little about yourself.  Outside of the game of APBA, who is Jim Saska?

Jim Saska: I was born in Oak Park and lived in Morton Grove until I was eight years old when my family moved to Richmond, Virginia due to a job transfer for my father. I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University (go Rams!) and moved back to Illinois (South Beloit) in 2000 with my wife and daughter.

I work in downtown Chicago as a Senior Treasury Analyst for an Energy Consulting firm, commuting daily by train from my home in Woodstock. My other interests besides APBA include following Major League Baseball(Cubs fan-third generation), reading, history, and model railroading. I also played vintage Base Ball (spelled appropriately with a space between Base and Ball) for seven years for the Midway Museum and Village Center in Rockford, Illinois. Although I no longer regularly play, I did participate in two games this last summer between the McHenry County Historical Society team versus the Grayslake Historical Society team.

TAB:  What about your APBA history?  How did you find APBA and what games do you currently play?  Are you involved in any projects right now? 

JS: I didn’t really get interested in baseball until I was twelve and started following the Cubs during the exciting 1977 baseball season. I made up my own dice baseball game that summer. I first encountered APBA that following Christmas when a neighborhood friend received the game as a present. I was instantly impressed with the realism and the fact that there were individual player cards, unlike the game I invented. Another friend gave me his old Longball baseball game which was very similar to APBA. I played that for a couple of years and then purchased a Statis Pro baseball game that I found in a local toy store. I played this game for three years. But I grew tired of the small player cards and really liked the look of the larger APBA cards. I purchased my first APBA baseball game in 1985 due to the success of the 1984 Cubs. I purchased the football game in 1985 but sold it about ten years ago. Although I found it fun to play against another opponent, I never found it to be successfully played on a solo basis like the baseball game.

I also owned the computer baseball game for a while but missed the feel of the cards and dice. Some day I’d love to try the saddle racing game if I ever have the chance. I have been replaying the 1977 baseball season off and on for the past 15 years. I am currently in mid-May of that season using actual starting lineups. I played in one of the APBA tournaments held in Lancaster back in 1998. I believe Scott Lehotsky organized it. He did a great job and everyone had a wonderful time. I remember the Assistant General Manager of the New York Mets came and gave us a presentation that Friday night about running a major league ballclub. Another gentleman did a presentation on the history of baseball board games, about which he had written a book. The next day, there were some more presentations and of course, a tournament. I brought the 1972 Cubs and defeated my first round opponent, the 1993 Texas Rangers. However, I lost in the second round, ironically to another fellow who was managing the 1972 Cubs. The difference was that his Billy Williams had a better game than mine did. But the real highlight was the opportunity I had to have a one-on-one discussion with former major leaguer and manager Billy Hunter. That was really special! I also have held my own small one-day tournaments with other players in my home over the years.

TAB:  What gave you the idea of a Chicago-based APBA Tournament when you organized the first one this past summer?  Did the participants seem to enjoy themselves?

JS:  Doug Schuyler actually came up with the idea of a Chicago area tournament. I suggested holding it in Woodstock since I knew that our local library has a couple of good sized meeting rooms and would be a good venue to hold it in.

Everyone seemed to have a really good time and before we left that day, everyone agreed they’d like to continue doing this on a regular basis.

TAB:  This second time around, there seems to be quite a response from a lot of APBA fans around the Midwest.  Do you think the Chicagoland Tournament is filling a demand for fans of the region to just simply get together and meet in person? 

JS:  Oh, most definitely. You know, the economy is still struggling and people are definitely watching their spending with all of the uncertainty. I think that for a lot of Midwest APBA fans, this is a great opportunity to meet other APBA fans in the area and have some fun playing the game we love.

TAB:  I was able to get a sneak preview of the Tournament rules.  How did you and Doug come up with a fair set of rules that were both fair and hopefully simple across the board at the same time?

JS:  Both of us worked on this together and a fair number of the rules for the CL Tournament are repeats from our July tournament. However, with the tournament scheduled for one day only, we wanted to ensure that the flow of play is maintained smoothly and efficiently to enable us to get it all in.

Doug and I emailed one another several times and talked on the phone a few times before we agreed on the final version. There was a lot of give and take on both sides, but Doug is a great guy and very easy to work with.

TAB:  In your view, what would make this upcoming Chicagoland Tournament a success? 

JS:  If everyone who attends enjoys themselves and has the opportunity to get to know other fans in the area.

TAB: Finally, the important question… what team are you playing in the tournament and why?

JS:  Mmmm….good question. I am currently working on narrowing down my short list and hope to select one soon.

Thanks to Jim Saska for his time! 

For more information on the upcoming Chicagoland Tournament on November 16th, check out the complete rules or read my earlier interview with Doug Schuyler.