It’s fun to see a future Hall of Famer’s APBA card before they made it big. Sometimes they start off slow with a poor card and then find their groove. In other cases like this 1953 Ernie Banks card, you get a quick snapshot of what is to come. Banks…
Okay, I grew up with the idea that Don Kessinger was a typical leadoff man. I suppose in the sixties, he sort of was. I’ve gotten past this of course but I’ve never forgotten the Kessinger-Beckert duo that lead off so many Cubs games. Before Don K. got to the…
Here an old one from the archive that Tom Zuppa sent in. It’s Claude Raymond from the 1963 set. From the looks of it, this is from the original set too. In 6 plate appearances, 5’ 10” reliever Raymond (DX*) doubled twice. In addition, he drove in a run and…
The question came up in The APBA Blog’s comment section about how customizable the APBA Baseball Game (aka Baseball for Windows) was. I knew from my experience in Shawn Baier’s Boys of Summer APBA League that it had to have the capability to customize to your liking but I didn’t…
Yesterday, I posted an overall recap of my basic game NL 1966 replay as of June 15. Before I start rolling again, I thought I’d post a few interesting but perhaps irrelevant stats. While some don’t always include the stars of 1966, you might get a feel for 1966 NL…
I’ve reached the June the June 15 mark in my 1966 NL replay! I’m really excited and don’t look now but the All-Star Game is less than a month away! A lot has changed since I reported in. First, a look at the standings: At the beginning of the month,…
There is something about APBA that brings people together. Whether it is the basic game league I’m in, the Illowa APBA League which is now going on its 43rd year or forums like Between the Lines or Facebook APBA Baseball group (which I hear is now at 2,400 members), APBA…
I don’t award Monster Cards on fielding ratings too often. Ryan Morrison wrote me. He says… Here’s a card I know you will appreciate because you and I know very well how big a role he played in the Cubbies’ run to the World Series last year. It’s a solid…
Tom Johnson and Phillip Silvis get ready to face off in the final game On Saturday, August 5, Chicagoland crowned its ninth champion. At the Chicagoland Summer APBA Tournament, Tom Johnson and his 2005 Houston Astros defeated Phillip Silvis and the 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates to win the tournament championship. John…
Thanks again to Ryan Morrison for suggesting another card this week. There’s nothing too odd about the actual numbers on this card of “Fred Rivers” except for perhaps the single column ‘2’. The strange thing is that his name is not really Fred Rivers. It belongs to a player named…