I agree, advertising is everything. In the early 70s Sports Illustrated produced a tabletop baseball game, with truly exciting ads in the magazine describing how “You can be the manager!” My mom listened to my pleas and ordered it.
It was a great, 3 specialty dice game. There were beautiful 30-outcome colored charts for each team (batters vs. LHP and vs. RHP on front, pitchers and pitchers batting on back) green for hits, red for outs, blue for strikeouts, yellow for walks. And the topper, a couple paragraphs of journalism on back below the pitchers charts entitled, “Sports Illustrated Analysis.” I memorized each team’s. (“Who said there are no more wooden Indians? Just look at the 1971 version in Cleveland. At least Ken Harrelson was driving balls 600 feet… after he quit baseball and joined the PGA Tour…”)
In addition to the ‘71 season, the game created magnificent “All Time All Star” charts for each franchise (ex./ Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics). You could compare Mantle, Maris, Ruth, Combs, et. al’s 30 outcomes right there on the same page, and factor in their fielding ability for decisions on starting lineups.
But then for the 1972 season Sports Illustrated converted to lifeless small individual player cards with no coloring at all, and needless to say no journalism. APBA cards were a veritable parade of colors in comparison. Oh well, it was a brief glorious run. It provided multiple entertaining All Time All Star tournaments for me through the years.
Image is everything, especially to a kid. What turned me off to APBA from the baseball yearly's was the cards lacking statistics and results I could identify with. This is something SOM had. Pursue the Pennant stood out as well with ballpark inserts and color. You should have written the ad, way too much print like you mentioned.
If you go to the Baseball Replay Association website, you will find Jack Kohn's contact information. He would be a good source. He and John Brodak were very close. I think they may have been partners in either Replay Baseball or one of John's /Jack's publications. I know that Jack's league switched from the Replay game to Diamond Mind in about 2000 (or possibly earlier). I thought the demise of Replay Baseball was related to John's death.
I had the 1985 and 1987 seasons of Replay. The biggest problem I had was that it didn't come with a playing field/diamond. What was I supposed to do, buy one from APBA?
Game itself was pretty accurate, at least with the '87s. I got about 3/4 through a league with 8 teams before giving it up (family, work obligations).
I loved the first couple of seasons of Replay. They struck the right balance of playability and realism. Then they began to tinker with it by adding things that made it more difficult for a solo replayer to stay interested. So I gave it up.
I agree, advertising is everything. In the early 70s Sports Illustrated produced a tabletop baseball game, with truly exciting ads in the magazine describing how “You can be the manager!” My mom listened to my pleas and ordered it.
It was a great, 3 specialty dice game. There were beautiful 30-outcome colored charts for each team (batters vs. LHP and vs. RHP on front, pitchers and pitchers batting on back) green for hits, red for outs, blue for strikeouts, yellow for walks. And the topper, a couple paragraphs of journalism on back below the pitchers charts entitled, “Sports Illustrated Analysis.” I memorized each team’s. (“Who said there are no more wooden Indians? Just look at the 1971 version in Cleveland. At least Ken Harrelson was driving balls 600 feet… after he quit baseball and joined the PGA Tour…”)
In addition to the ‘71 season, the game created magnificent “All Time All Star” charts for each franchise (ex./ Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics). You could compare Mantle, Maris, Ruth, Combs, et. al’s 30 outcomes right there on the same page, and factor in their fielding ability for decisions on starting lineups.
But then for the 1972 season Sports Illustrated converted to lifeless small individual player cards with no coloring at all, and needless to say no journalism. APBA cards were a veritable parade of colors in comparison. Oh well, it was a brief glorious run. It provided multiple entertaining All Time All Star tournaments for me through the years.
Image is everything, especially to a kid. What turned me off to APBA from the baseball yearly's was the cards lacking statistics and results I could identify with. This is something SOM had. Pursue the Pennant stood out as well with ballpark inserts and color. You should have written the ad, way too much print like you mentioned.
If you go to the Baseball Replay Association website, you will find Jack Kohn's contact information. He would be a good source. He and John Brodak were very close. I think they may have been partners in either Replay Baseball or one of John's /Jack's publications. I know that Jack's league switched from the Replay game to Diamond Mind in about 2000 (or possibly earlier). I thought the demise of Replay Baseball was related to John's death.
Would you happen to have a link to the website? I’d love to write to Jack. I found him on LinkedIn, but I’m not sure how frequently he goes on there.
https://clevelandrocks287.wixsite.com/baseballreplayassoc
I had the 1985 and 1987 seasons of Replay. The biggest problem I had was that it didn't come with a playing field/diamond. What was I supposed to do, buy one from APBA?
Game itself was pretty accurate, at least with the '87s. I got about 3/4 through a league with 8 teams before giving it up (family, work obligations).
I loved the first couple of seasons of Replay. They struck the right balance of playability and realism. Then they began to tinker with it by adding things that made it more difficult for a solo replayer to stay interested. So I gave it up.
Can you explain the difference between the original version and the current version of Replay, as I have never played either.