Alex Dunning’s 1911 Giants best Chicagoland; Fun had by all!

Saturday was quite a day! Fifty APBA fans from all over the Midwest region congregated at the Am-Vets Post in Wheeling, Illinois to see who would come out ahead.

It’s hard to believe that the first Chicagoland tourney was just a few guys getting together and playing some APBA. Now, it’s a well-oiled tournament capable of producing some fun for fifty guys.

This is thanks to Rob Spatz who puts everything he has into the Chicagoland APBA Tournament. I see the work he does in lieu of playing at the tournament. It is well-appreciated, Rob!

Chicagoland’s theme this year was “Winners (and losers), use the door!”. Teams that played in the World Series from 1905-1993, 1995- 2023.”

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

So what were the results? Alex Dunning and his 1911 New York Giants came out the victors of Chicagoland. Alex faced former Chicagoland champion Bob Eller and the modern day 2002 San Francisco Giants in the final.

Bob Eller is a Chicagoland veteran so he is an old friend.

As for Alex, I remember him from 2022, the last time I attended. This year, Alex and I faced off. He is a gregarious and fun guy to play APBA against. He emulated John McGraw and beat my 1983 Phillies but we both had fun time with banter back and forth.

This is one of my favorite photos from Saturday. Alex is on the left and is facing off against Larry Eichman, another Chicagoland veteran in the first round. APBA just makes people happy!

Congratulations, Alex!

There was woop during tourney play and word of a no-hitter! I don’t have confirmation of which pitcher did it so if anyone knows, leave a comment!

Troy Glaus had quite a tourney. Not only did he hit eight homers for Bill Popko’s Anaheim Angels but seven of them were in playoff action.

Some acknowledgments

Thanks to Tom Johnson who is one of the nicest guys in APBA. Tom hosted the Friday evening event in his own house. I wasn’t able to attend but heard that folks had a blast in his wonderful abode.

I hear Stray Corrado deserves some thanks for making Chicagoland go digital. According to Rob, the software he used made things go a lot easier. And Stray wasn’t even a participant! Thank you, Stray!

Kathy Spatz probably does not see Rob much in the weeks leading up to Chicagoland and when she does, he might be a little anxious. Kathy, on behalf of the APBA community, thank you! You have a wonderful man!

Personally, I would like to to thank these two guys. Alex Auerbach and Clark Eichman gave me rides to and from the CTA which made my life so much easier getting to the bus station.

I remember Alex from 2022 but this is the first time I got to know him. Great guy! I’ve known Clark since 2014 when he was runner-up in the second Chicagoland Tournament. He is such a outgoing fellow.

Kurt Bergland was there with his wares. I was tempted to buy a couple 60s teams and even the 1981 set (lots of monster cards in that set!). Kurt also posted a YouTube video about Saturday’s tournament.

Check out Kurt’s video and while you’re there, like and subscribe!

And yes, I took plenty of photos! Feel free to browse the gallery.

Overall, I guess my favorite part of tourneys like this is seeing everyone. On an APBA level, I especially like to observe how each person plays their game. How they roll, how they keep score, even how they announce the result (some like me, state the result. Others will “broadcast” it like an announcer).

It’s very interesting since we all get set in our ways in how we individually play the game. Even in a league, we tend to acclimate to one particular culture of APBA play. Attending tournaments opens my eyes in how APBA can be played.

Overall, it was a great time!

Thank you, Rob! You have outdone yourself.