Gary Lindley and the 1972 A’s top the Chicago Retro World Series APBA Tournament

Twenty-two APBA fans gathered in Grayslake, Illinois on Saturday for the Chicago Retro World Series Tournament but only one could claim the championship.  After the dust settled, it was Gary Lindley and his 1972 Oakland A’s who remained standing after defeating Bradd Romant’s 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers. 

As per tournament rules, the teams that participated were all from the 1970s and 1980s and were divided into two leagues and with divisions each.  Each team played two games against each team in their division and the top team and the second place (the wildcard) went on to the playoffs. 

The 1972 Oakland A’s managed by Gary Lindley (left, photo credit Doug Schuyler) were tough. I know because he was in my division.  Reggie, Bando, Rudi not to mention pitcher Catfish Hunter who by the way, pitched a no-hitter during the tournament. 

I lost both of my games to Gary’s formidable A’s.  I did however, go 5-5 in regulation play which was much better than I thought my 1979 Kansas City Royals would fare.  Just consider that the 79 Royals had no pitcher graded better than a C (I had to start Rich Gale, a DYW twice).  They also only had only two hitters on the whole roster with a single column one (George Brett and Darrell Porter). 

Our aptly named George Brett division race was close.  Very close.  When we were done with regulation, we had a four-way tie for second place after Gary Lindley and his ‘72 A’s.  It was division captain Kevin Burghardt’s job to figure out who had the best head-to-head record.  I was a little surprised when he looked at me and dubbed me the wild card winner.  Whew! 

Larry Eichman and his 1987 A’s won the Nolan Ryan Division outright and he was my next opponent.  Unfortunately, his A’s took care of my Royals just like Gary’s did.  Dave Stewart allowed just one run while Dennis Leonard couldn’t rein in ironically, Mark McGwire in the one game playoff game (McGwire had been my long time firstbaseman on my IAL team).  

Action shot of Doug Schuyler rolling in the AL-NL All-Star Game

Organizer Doug Schuyler is inserting new ways to keep things different in these tournaments.  To break things up, we had a two inning All-Star game using representatives from our teams.  The rules were simple.  One player from each team was chosen by each manager, each team bats six players then the inning is over, D pitcher is assumed.  As a bonus, we were able to use the fantastic stadium dice roller that Kevin Burghardt brought with him from home. 

Don Smith’s “Duck call heard ‘round Grayslake”

The All-Star game was a blast!  It didn’t take a lot of time from tournament play and it was a fun break.  The best part was that Don Smith took the National League to the cleaners with Doug DeCinces’ homerun! The duck call was heard! 

With this tournament, I think we “old-timers” are beginning to form long-lasting bonds.  At the same time, I got to meet new people too!  Those included Rob Spatz, Shawn Witt, Kurt Bergland, Dick Butler as well as the father and son team of Joel and Matthew Pike.

Organizer Doug Schuyler keeps the tournament orderly and on time

Doug Schuyler gets a lot of kudos for his efforts and creativity in organizing this tournament.  I’ve already seen comments like “Great time” and “Best one yet!”.  Doug has a knack for promoting these events and more importantly, keeping them relevant and exciting.  No doubt, Eric Berg and I were paying attention since we have our own tournament coming up next April in Urbana.

You can see all my photos from the Saturday’s tournament here. 

Thanks to Doug and congratulations to Gary!  See you all next year!