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APBA Games

For 60 years APBA has been the unchallenged King of quality sports simulation products. APBA dates back to the 1930s and a bunch of high-school buddies in Lancaster, PA. The boys played a baseball simulation game invented by one of them, Dick Seitz. His game was loosely based on an old tabletop baseball game called National Pastime. But unlike any previous board game, it combined the randomness of dice with the on-field performances of individual players. The boys called themselves the American Professional Baseball Association. That appellation soon was whittled down to its essential form: APBA. So while APBA is still an acronym for that first baseball simulation league, the word has taken on a meaning of its own. The game is APBA, and the word is pronounced “App’Bah” – a term as slick and condensed as the game. Seitz’s original game went with him to war in the 1940’s. He printed player cards on his own printing press, typed out play charts and played APBA with three comrades in the barracks at Fort Eustis, VA. After the war, Seitz worked as secretary to Lancaster’s mayor and a purchaser for a trucking company, all the while refining APBA and playing the game with a league of friends. The plot twist that took APBA from a handmade diversion to a nationwide phenomenon comes courtesy of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies. The Whiz Kids captured the fancy of Seitz and his wife, Jean, and got them so baseball crazy that they resurrected the game. It played so smoothly that in 1951, Seitz decided to share his creation. The original game offered 20 player cards for each of the 16 major league teams and two play charts. The whole shebang set you back $10. The 150 games sold encouraged Seitz that there was a market for his game so he produced new versions annually from 1952-56. That steady increase in sales encouraged Seitz to quit his job in 1957 to make APBA a career. Year by year, APBA’s fan base grew. As more gamers played exponentially more games, innovations like dual pitcher ratings and double hitting columns were incorporated – but innovations were allowed only to a point. APBA has always trod a fine line between realism and playability, and Seitz stood resolute against wrinkles or gimmicks that would add a smidgen of realism to the game at a cost of five minutes more per played game. As a result, the APBA baseball game played today is not much different than the 1957 version – one played millions of times by players worldwide. APBA changes with the times not only by changing, but by the rolls of the dice.

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Volume 10, #9 "Great Teams Spice Prep Play, League of the Month, NABA Flourishing"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

June 1977

Volume 11, #11 "Football First, APBA Issues 1955 Season, Try Try Again"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

June 1978

Volume 11, #12 "The Return of the APBA, Second Existence, Flip Rhoads"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

July 1978

Volume 11, #2 "NEL's Meyer the Flyer, Playing Outfield Close,

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

September 1977

Volume 11, #3 "Fan Writes Turner Story, New Football Set Analyzed, Replay Section"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

October 1977

Volume 11, #4 "A Stable Mail League World, Raleigh Rally Scheduled, 1977 Final Unofficial Statistics"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

November 1977

Volume 11, #5 "Putting Together The Dream Teams, Formula Focus, AC Pulse"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

December 1977

Volume 11, #8 "Winter Meetings Provide Relief, APBA Baseball Through the Years, Flip Rhoads"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

March 1978

Volume 11, #9 "1977 APBA Baseball Season, Editor's Corner, Pitching Theory Validity Questioned"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

April 1978

Volume 12, #1 "Journal Begins Twelfth Year, The Trading Game, Football Q&A"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

August 1978

Volume 12, #10 "Crisis in APBAland, APBAlone, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

May 1979

Volume 12, #12 "APBA Attracts National Media, Designing League Logos, APBALand"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

July 1979

Volume 12, #3 "Kotkin on Master Football, Computers, Old Athletics Were One of History's Greatest"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

October 1978

Volume 12, #4 "Will Guidry Get the Rare A&B?, Remembering the Bucs, Realism in a Face-to-Face League"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

November 1978

Volume 12, #6 "Catchers Throw Ratings, Looking Back at 1908, Inventors Forum"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

January 1979

Volume 12, #8 "GuidryRice Highlight, New Baseball Card Set, Detroit's Tyger"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

March 1979

Volume 12, #9 "Blueprints for APBA Stadium Builders, Watching for Great Plays, Trading Rundown for 1908"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

April 1979

Volume 13, #10 "Spotting Some Undervalued Young Talent, Linn On Leagues, APBAlone"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

May 1980

Volume 13, #11 "A Close Look at APBA's ATA Team, Linn on Leagues, The Stuff Mail Leagues Are Made Of"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

June 1980

Volume 13, #12 "The Home Field Advantage in APBA Baseball, All Time XB Team, Q&A"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

July 1980

Volume 13, #2 "Pleasant Baseball Adventure, How to Trade for Dave Parker, APBAlone"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

September 1979

(notated)

Volume 13, #3 "Shomo Finds the Ultimate APBA Performer, The Scourge of Leagues, Adding Long-Term Injuries to the PIC"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

October 1979

Volume 13, #4 "Master Games Ideas from Inventors Forum, Charting Shots for APBA Fun, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

November 1979

Volume 13, #5 "Year of the Hitter, APBALand, APBAlone"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

December 1979

Volume 13, #6 "Vinyl Jackets Protect Cards and Picures, Contest Results, An End to Innocence"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

January 1980

Volume 13, #7 "More on Batting Order Controversy, Master Game Suggestions, APBAland"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

February 1980

Volume 13, #8 "New Baseball Card Set Analyzed, Rating the Rookies, New Numbers"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

March 1980

Volume 13, #9 "Analyzing the 1980 Pitching Grades, APBAlone, Bowling"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

April 1980

Volume 14, #1 "AJ Begins 14th Year, Cuban Winter League 1958-59 Replay, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

August 1980

Volume 14, #10 "Football Innovations, Linn On Leagues, An AJ Interview with APBA President"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

May 1981

Volume 14, #11 "Undervalued Players Scouting Report, Great Baseball in 1934, Calculators Simplify Stat-Keeping"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

June 1981

Volume 14, #12 "Replays Showcase APBA Accuracy, Research for Realism, Return of The APBA Scene"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

July 1981

Volume 14, #2 "Shortstop Ratings for APBA Managers, Linn on Leagues, APBAlone"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

September 1980

Volume 14, #3 "Historic Baseball Competition, APBA Football Card Record Book, Q&A"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

October 1980

Volume 14, #4 "Guessing Fielding Ratings for New Bosox, The Master Game, Pitcher's Control Ratings Revisited"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

November 1980

Volume 14, #5 "APBA Tourneys Held in New Hampshire, New Products From APBA, Pitcher Grading System"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

December 1980

Volume 14, #6 "1980 Batting Predictions, The Great Annual Expectation, Instant Pennant Races Spice Replays"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

January 1981

Volume 14, #7 "A Peak at the Pitching, Rating the Thirdbasemen, Colleges and APBA Football"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

February 1981

Volume 14, #8 "Outstanding Prospects Among New Rookies, Realistic Passing Receptions, The Baseball Analyst"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

March 1981

Volume 14, #9 "Hitters and Runners Prolific in 1980, Player Restrictions Revisited, Everybody Loves A Loser"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

April 1981

Volume 15, #1 "Have They Spoiled the Fun in Eighty-One?, Impact of Strike on '81 Cards, The APBA Scene"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

August 1981

Volume 15, #10 "Golden Age, Bargain Basement Browsing, Master Gaming With the Stars"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

May 1982

Volume 15, #11 "The Future of APBA's Offerings, 19-Inning Finale in the New England Tourney, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

June 1982

Volume 15, #12 "Reliving That First Baseball Game, Gameco - Where to Go from Here, 1922 Transactions"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

July 1982

Volume 15, #2 "1908 - The Wild One, Great Team of the APBA Era, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

September 1981

Volume 15, #3 "Pre-1900 Seasons Error-Plagued"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

October 1981

Volume 15, #4 "APBA Displayed at Smithsonian, One Man's League, The Baseball Analyst"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

November 1981

Volume 15, #5 "Great Team of the APBA Era, Original Franchise All-Stars, The Baseball Analyst"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

December 1981

Volume 15, #6 "1930 - Pitchers Beware, Moore Wins Contest, Football Q&A"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

January 1982

(cover notated)

Volume 15, #7 "How to Hit .438, Indexing the Offenses, When Marv Really Was Marvelous"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

February 1982

Volume 15, #8 "Valenzuela Head Rookie Crop, Probing Injury Frequencies, Fake Kicks and a Pisarcik Memorial"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

March 1982

Volume 15, #9 "Enjoying APBA's Special Set, OFAS Bits and Pieces, New Card Set Analyzed"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

April 1982

Volume 16, #1 "Expanding the Baseball product Line, Quarterback Scrambling, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

August 1982

Volume 16, #10 "APBA Unveils Revamped Football Game, Saving Some Second Column Rolls, The Baseball Analyst"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

May 1983

Volume 16, #11 "A Special Peek at the New Football Game, A Half-Season of OFAS, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

June 1983

Volume 16, #12 "Trading the OFAS, 1941 - APBA's Unloved Season, Linn on Leagues"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

July 1983

Volume 16, #2 "AF Quarterback Injuries, Cook Wins New Hampshire Meet, The Joy of APBA"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

September 1982

Volume 16, #3 "Pitcher's Control Ratings, General Shomo, The APBA Scene"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

October 1982

Volume 16, #4 "General Shomo, Grading the Pitches, Pitching Passes"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

November 1982

Volume 16, #6 "1982 Baseball Card Predictions, Inventor's Forum, Kwit's Korner"

By: APBA Games

Product Line: APBA Journal

January 1983