To honor our deserved veterans, APBA fans participated in a Veterans Day APBA Baseball Tournament this weekend. Even the theme of the tournament was based on Veterans Day.
Rob Wyks describes the theme and recaps the tournament below:
At the inaugural Veteran’s Day APBA tournament in Leesburg, VA, 20 teams in five divisions faced off. Teams were selected from the Cold War, 1946-1991 plus adding a military veteran from the franchise. This event was in honor of Captain John Scalzo, a Navy veteran that served his country well.
Even though it was a cold day outside, 13-year-old Tyler Wyks’ dice were hot and he managed the 1953 Dodgers and military veteran 1918 Grimes to a championship. He defeated the 1979 Pirates with 1964 Clemente managed by Walt Shinsky.
Notable Veteran added to a team was Captain Eddie Grant (Ed Reiner), he died in WWI trying to save the lost Division by an artillery shell. Best player was Hank Greenberg (Jim Saska), he had 11 home runs in 10 games. Ford (John Scalzo) and Grimes (Tyler Wyks) both pitched no hitters during the day. $125 will be donated to the Disabled American Veterans. Thanks to everyone that made it a success.
Division Winners
- 1953 Dodgers with 1918 Grimes (Tyler Wyks) 7-2
- 1951 Dodgers with 1920 Grimes (Aaren Schulz) 6-3
- 1972 Pirates with 1949 Kiner (Amy Wyks) 7-2
- 1975 Reds with 1947 Blackwell (Ken Wyks) 6-3
- 1969 O’s with 1922 Sisler (Tim Rounds) 6-3
Wild Cards
- 1948 Braves with 1959 Matthews (Ken Schulz) 5-4
- 1979 Pirates with 1964 Clemente (Walt Shinsky) 5-4
- 1984 Tigers with 1938 Greenberg (Jim Saska) 7-2)
1st Round single elimination
- 1953 Dodgers beat 1948 Braves 6-0
- 1951 Dodgers beat 1972 Pirates 7-2
- 1979 Pirates beat 1969 O’s 4-1
- 1975 Reds beat 1984 Tigers 5-1
- 2nd Round single elimination
- 1953 Dodgers beat 1951 Dodgers 9-4
- 1979 Pirates beat 1975 Reds 3-2
Final Round Best of 3
- Gm 1 1953 Dodgers beat 1979 Pirates 4-1 with 9 extra base hits
- Gm 2 1953 Dodgers beat 1979 Pirates 11-7 with another 9 extra base hits
Congratulations to Tyler Wyks! Great job by Walt Shinksy, too.
Thanks to Rob for sending this recap and some photos (even a video too!). This was an excellent idea for a tournament!
Bonus thanks to Jim Saska for putting me in touch with Rob.
