Robert Henry Memorial Baseball Tournament

Thirty-four APBA Baseball players descended upon the Best Western Plus in Bensalem, Pennsylvania for a day of fun. Sixteen attendees were from the Bridesburg Boys and Girls Club (10 youth members, 4 junior counselors, and 2 adult counselors) and 16 senior APBA gamers). The event started just past 9 am and saw each participant play 7 games. A break at lunchtime offered Subway subs, chips, soda, and cookies. As the day came to a close the finals featured Club Member Dylan Holszhu and his 1988 Mets against Senior APBA Player Brian Demler and his 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates. In the end Brian's 1902 Pirates prevailed in the Championship Game. Both Brian (Tournament Champion) and Dylan (Highest Finishing Club Member) were awarded trophies. All participants left better for attending the event. A special thanks goes out to John, Rebecca, Pete, Dusty, Brian, and for all those attending for making this very special event possible.

 

Chicagoland Baseball Tournament

The ninth addition of the Chicagoland APBA Tournament was a total of 36 participants on a quest for, as former champion Bill Lilley has so eloquently described it, the Holy Grail of regional APBA Tournaments - ownership of the coveted Chicagoland Travel Trophy. While many came from the Chicagoland area, Wisconsin, Iowa, Southern Illinois, Indiana, the Kansas City area, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were all well represented. Four nine team divisions battled to be one of the top two in each division to move onto the playoffs. The theme, teams with a .556 or lower winning percentage evened out the field somewhat, providing some excellent teams while avoiding the monster teams from running wild over the division.

 

The first division, the Neil Cotts division saw a total of three former tournament champions battle it out. It was a three team battle with each game being of extreme importance as the winner of the individual matchup would prove to be the tiebreaker winner. Curt Bartell was the only former champion of the three (including the last two champions in Vince Bianco and Bill Lilley, who lost the tie breaker) to move on with the 2001 San Francisco Bonds, I mean Giants. The team to edge out Bill was Tom Johnson and the aforementioned 2005 Astros. The other division in the Smokey Burgess League, the George Bell division, saw two teams be the exception and not the rule as the both went 8-1 to sew up the division early. Chet Wazio and the 1974 Oakland Athletics won the division, with Dave Rueck sewing up the second spot with another Astros team, this time the 2015 version.

 

The Sammy Sosa division of the Goose Gossage League was an enigma, as the team that made the most noise failed to move on. Ken Schulz had three games for the ages, scoring double digits and then some - including 26 in a game against the 1995 Seattle Mariners - but fell short with his 1977 Cincinnati Reds due to a tie breaker loss to the youngest participant in the tournament, 10 year old Phillip Silvis going to the playoffs with the 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates and identical 6-3 records. Winning the division was Larry Eichman, who skippered the 1963 San Francisco Giants to an impressive 7-2 division winning record. Last, but not least, was the Ron Santo Division. A fast start by last fall's only undefeated division play participant Eric Berg saw a fall to reality with his 2008 Minnesota Twins. Eric finished 6-3; a game out of the playoffs. The division was won by two of the best to ever roll in the Chicagoland tournament. The man who always comes dressed for the occasion in full garb, Grand Rapids own John Roels, led the 1929 New York Giants to a number two seed for the division with a 7-2 record. Who won the division? The man I can only describe as the Lou Holtz of the tournament. In taking the 1977 California Angels, Don Smith said he had a team with "Two A pitchers, Bobby Bonds, and not much else." Perhaps it was Karma for his continual taking of Angels teams that had less than stellar records, maybe it was a case of the dice finally rolling right, or you can even call it destiny, but Don saw his Angels muster an 8-1 record, to seal up the first seed for the Ron Santo Division.

 

The playoffs saw Dave Rueck's '15 Astros taking on the Mighty '01 Giants of Curt Bartell. At the end of the day, it was Houston moving on 7-4 for an all-Astros Smokey Burgess League Championship as Tom Johnson led the 2005 Astros who had just enough hitting to prevail 3-0 over Chet Wazio and his 1974 Oakland Athletics 3-0.

In the Goose Gossage league, Sammy Sosa winner Larry Eichman lost to Santo runner up John Roels in a battle of Giants, with the 1929 version shutting down the 1963 version 2-0. In what was a battle that was just awesome to watch, Don Smith and his "Miracle" Angels just could not answer the Boy From Pennsylvania, as young Phillip Silvis and his 2014 Pirates came back to score three in the 9th to take the last opening round game 4-2 over the 77 California squad. Don was contrite in retrospect, saying how after the win Phillip did not jump up and celebrate, but was very grown for his age in simply telling Don how it was a good game that was played.

The semifinals saw an epic battle of back and forth between two epic Astros squads. Tom Johnson and his 05 squad had a no hitter going until the only hit given up for (I believe) 8 innings was a three run shot to tie the game at 3 each against Dave Rueck's 15 squad. At the end of the day, it was Tom Johnson moving on to the finals and claiming the Burgess title 4-3 in 13 innings. In the Gossage championship, it was Phillip Silvis winning going away, 15-1 over John Roels , leading to once again a first time champion to be crowned in the first ever best-of-three championship.

 

Game one saw Roger Clemens at his best, and worse, as Russel Martin must have done something to anger the Rocket, as he was hit not once, not twice, but three consecutive times. That was the only hits the Pirates managed as Clemens cruised to a two-hit shutout, and Lance Berkman and Adam Everett homered to win 3-0. Game two saw Andy Pettit and Vance Worley pitch their hearts out. The only run to be scored was off a solo homer by Series MVP Lance Berkman, giving the 2005 Houston Astros the 1-0 win and the Chicagoland Crow Congratulations to Tom John and his 2005 Houston Astros ; champion of the 2017 Summer Chicagoland APBA Baseball Tournament Series Championship.

 

The APBA Regional Tournament schedule through March 2018 is as follows:

 

Saturday September 16, 2017 - 3rd Toledo Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament, Toledo, Ohio.  Contact Ron Emch at [email protected] 

 

Saturday October 7, 2017 - APBA Wisconsin Baseball Tournament, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.  Contact Kurt Bergland at [email protected] or call Kurt at 262-955-9135.  Theme is the 1960's.

 

Saturday October 7, 2017 - The Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament, Maple Grove, Minnesota.  Contact Jim Fraasch at [email protected].

 

Saturday October 14, 2017 - The Capital of the Confederacy Tournament, Richmond, Virginia.  Contact Jim Saska at [email protected] or call 804-629-5307 (NEW CONTACT INFORMATION).

 

Saturday October 28, 2017 (DATE CORRECTION)- RollAPBAlooza Baseball Tournament, Davenport, Florida.  Contact Tony Stevens at [email protected] or call 352-600-0974 (date change and neKimw contact information).

 

Saturday and Sunday January 27-28, 2018 - APBA Master Game Baseball Tournament,  Fairlawn Heights, Ohio a superb of Akron, Ohio.  Contact Bill Lilley at [email protected] or call 330-801-3613.

 

Saturday March 3, 2018 - The 4th Annual Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament (GMABT) will be held on Saturday March 3, 2018.  Contact Rich Zawadzki at [email protected].

 

If your tournament is not mentioned above and you are planning a Regional APBA Tournament please forward me your tournament and contact information at [email protected] and I will be sure to promote your event in APBA's company electronic newsletter.  Remember all APBA game tournaments are welcome.  Have a great week everyone.

 

APBA LEAGUE INFORMATION

 

MDTL League Opening - The MDTL is in it's 45th season. We have one manager that has announced that he is leaving the league at seasons end due to time constraints. We also just had another manager pass away after a long illness. Therefore, we are looking for replacement managers to take over the ownership of these two fine franchises. Players on the teams include Murphy, Odor, Belt, and Lester on one team. The other team includes Bradley Jr., G Sanchez, Donaldson, and Grienke. The league is a 20 team league with 25 man rosters. We use the basic boards with a few modifications. We also use the basic pitching grades. This is a very solid league with a competitive but friendly membership. If you are interested in joining our league please email me at  [email protected] with your gaming history and any questions you may have.

 

League Openings - A face-to-face Master Game league in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area is advertising for new managers in a well-established league.  The 12-team league, playing a 99-game season mostly on "League Nights" in one of the manager's homes, has been in existence since the early 1970s and has included notable managers, such as Thatcher Longstreth and David Eisenhower.  Most of the managers live along the "Main Line", though one commutes from Reading and another lives in southern New Jersey.  In addition to the 12 active teams, there are 2 inactive teams that are available to new managers.  It is a keeper league, using the new card sets.  Draft occurs in late January (probably later next year), and the season begins shortly thereafter, winding up in October with playoffs and "World Series".  If interested, please contact Dusty Welsh at  [email protected].

 

League Opening in TABL - The APBA Baseball League  (TABL) is looking for a new member!   Currently in our 50th season, we are seeking an APBA player  (Master Game or computer player)  to take over  an established team,  current playoff contenders who look to be just as strong next season.  TABL has 20 teams, continuous ownership, 42-man rosters, and realistic usage limits.  84-game regular season schedule, eight-team playoff structure.   The regular season starts in April,  the playoffs start in October.   TABL first played games in 1969 - we were inventors of the TABL Superchart, the Unusual Play Card, and the Error Distribution Card, facsimiles of which are currently in widespread use.  At least two of our original members are now in the APBA Hall of Fame.  Interested?   For more info, contact  Alan Speidel  at my email address:    [email protected].

 

League Opening in TALL - The APBA Lifers League (TALL) has an opening in their 24 team league.  TALL has been in existence since 2001, and is in its 17th season.  A player keeper league using the current APBA disk with no salary.   We just completed two thirds of 162 games in the season.  The open team is the North American Sabres who is fighting for one of the Division playoff spots.   Contact the TALL Commish sterog'at'comcast'dot'net  if you are interested .  TALL constitution and career leaders in TALL are at our web site:  http://www.strovel.com/TALL/

 

Looking for a League - To all MAINE-iacs: Looking to form or play in an existing league. I desire cards & dice face-to-face play. Winter league to pass the time with some baseball.  Contact Dr. Bill in Dresden, Maine 04342 or e-mail [email protected].

 

Looking for a League - Timothy Zack (Yes the brother of APBA HOFer Ed Zack) is retired and looking to participate in a F-T-F League in Western New York.  You can contact Tim at [email protected] or call him at 716-472-9781.

 

Looking for a League - Mark Dergarabedian looking to find a face to face league to play in; master baseball, master football or master golf.  Mark lives in Sammamish, Washington; a suburb of Seattle.  Mark would even would form a league if there is enough interest.  Mark can be contacted at [email protected] or at 425-891-3354.

 

I hope this column is bringing many APBA players together be it in tournaments or league play.  Please let me know if you make a connection so I can remove your advertisement from the League Information section of the newsletter.  Everyone have a great week.

2018 CONVENTION NEWS

If you have ever thought about attending a convention, add it to your bucket list.  The 2018 Convention will begin Thursday morning June 21st at 10:00 AM.  Hope to see you all there.

You can now reserve your hotel room for next year's convention.  I strongly recommend reserving your room as soon as possible.  The hotel hosts several travel baseball and softball teams this same weekend.  This year we used our entire allocation of rooms plus some.  The sooner you reserve your room, the sooner we can get add additional rooms to the APBA block.