A Pilgrimage at Lunch Time

“The pilgrimage has gained momentum,
take a turn (take a turn),take a turn (take a turn)”
R.E.M.,1983

There are two camps of baseball simulation players from the 1970′s:APBA and Strat-0-Matic. Ask anyone who played a card-and-dice baseball game as a kid “which game did you play?”and one of those two companies is the likely answer. I spent two summers of my adolescence with APBA baseball cards and dice. In early adulthood,I returned to the computer version of APBA,and years passed by before I saw those cards and dice again. That is,until last Friday.

I stopped for a moment beside my car in a parking lot. I had completed my morning business and set out for every day errands —a trip to the bank and whatever else —or for an afternoon of more work. But a recollection erased the laundry list that was forming in my mind. The APBA Game Company had announced this summer they were leaving their long-standing home of Lancaster,Pennsylvania for a suburb known as Alpharetta,Georgia. Not too far from where I now stood. A few clicks and swipes on my phone revealed I now stood a mere twelve minutes by car from APBA Games. The chores and cares of every day were cast aside,and I turned the car in an opposite direction for a pilgrimage to honor those summer days.

I pulled up to the one-story office complex of brick and glass. A cardboard sign hung on a glass door with the familiar APBA Games logo. I hesitated. I had no plans to purchase,just to pay my respects. Surely,I was not the first person to do so,maybe here,but I had read about people dropping Lancaster,PA to visit APBA. So I went in. I surmise I was not the unannounced visitor as I was warmly greeted by John and his staff. John realized the nature of my visit and offered to give me the two-cent tour. He walked me back to their warehouse area and loading dock. Cartons of APBA Baseball,Golf,and Saddle Racing games were stacked along the shelves and walls.  We discussed the labor of a cross-state move of a business,and he gladly answered questions that I had wondered for years. The lawsuit twelve years ago over the use of players’names and stats wherein Miller Associates and other companies were named defendants;Miller’s subsequent decision to walk from Baseball for Windows;the possibility of BBW 6.0 (possible,“time frame depending on programmer’s schedules”);and individual competitors to the card game. I chuckled as he pronounced the game the correct way as “APP-bah”as my friends and I have always incorrectly called it “A-P-B-A”. In fairness to John,I’ll keep the details of the conversation private as I was not there for an interview,just for my personal curiosity,which I decided later to share. For an actual interview with John,visit APBA Blog.

For more on the history of the computer game,the APBA.zip site has a detailed story. I’m glad Greg has that site still up and active. It was one of the first APBA web sites I discovered 15 years ago. I recommend anyone with a APBA past to visit the new Alpharetta location. Their web site,APBAGames.com,now states “If you are in the neighborhood,please stop by.”The more common refrain down South would be “Y’all come by now,ya hear?”but you can’t expect everything from a Pennsylvania transplant. Seriously,thanks again to John and his staff for their hospitality,and I wish APBA continued success.