STRAT-O-MATIC J' REVIEW

Devoted excu1sive1y to the Strat-O-Matic game fans, with the consent of the Strat-O-Matic Game Co. I Vol. 1-5 July 1971 35¢ I

Rams Nip Raiders In Opener

Strat-O-Matic Kicks Off '71 Grid Season Editors note: The following is an account of Strat-O- Matic's annual football game between the first two teams off the presses for the new year which, as in the past, traditionally "kicks off" the new table football game season. The following was sent to the Review by the Str~t-O-Matic Game Co. In accordance with company policy, Strat-O-Matic Game Co., Inc. commenced the football season with a game between the first two teams "off the press"--Oak1and Raiders and Los Angeles Rams. The Raiders were coached by Steve Barkan and the Rams by James Williams. . Winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the Rams started off as if they meant to bury the Raiders from the start. Oakland's kickoff was downed in the end zone for a touchback and the Rams started out on their own 20-yard line. Nine plays later, the Rams scored after an aO-yard drive highlighted by Roman Gabriel's four-for-four passing, with an 11-yard toss to Jack S~ow accounting for the score. David Ray's kick was good and Rams led 7-0 after three and a half minutes. The Raiders took the ensuing kickoff, but after three plays had lost two yards and then punted from their own 16. As Mike Ei~he\ddropped back, the Rams put the rush on and blocked his punt. The Raiders recovered on the five-yard line, but the Rams had first and goal. Gabriel twice called on Larry Smith, but the line held to stop him for a loss of a yard and then the Raider pass defense batted away a pass intended for Billy Truax. Dave Ray came in to get the 14-yard field goal. which gave the Rams a 10-0 lead after only 5:30.of play. The Raiders took the kickoff but were again stopped without a first down and Eischeid exchanged punts with Pat Studstill. After getting their initial first down Oakland had to punt again, with the Rams taking over on the Raider 49-yard line. With a key third-and-seven situation, Gabriel Jack Snow with a 30-yard bomb and, two plays later, hit Les Josephson for a 12-yard TD strike. Ray's ~ick was good and with one minute to go in the first quarter the Rams led 17-0. 2

Once again the Rams held Oakland without a first down, but could not capitalize as Les Josephson lost a fumble on the Oakland 28. The Raiders, starting their first sustained drive of the day with their backs to the wall, scored 13 plays later on an 8-yard pass to Ray Chester. In the drive, Charlie Smith caught two passes for 18 . yards and ran three times for 19 yards, getting first downs on three occasions. George Blanda's extra point try was good and Oakland cut the margin to 17-7. It appeared, however, that Los Angeles would score again as it got to the Oakland 39 before Gabriel, on a third down play lost eight yards attempting to pass and Studstill had to punt to Alvin Wyatt, who called for a fair catch on his own eight-yard line. Deep in his own territory, Lamonica hit Fred Biletnikoff for 60 yards to get to the Ram 32, then hit Warren Wells with a 32-yard bomb for the score, cutting the LA lead to 17-14 with three minutes to go in the half. Faced with a fourth-and-four on the Raider 43, and :45 on the clock, LA elected to go for the first down and made it as Larry Smith gained nine around end. A pass was knocked down, then Dave Ray made a 41-yard field goal, giving the Rams a 20-14 lead at halftime. Taking the second half kickoff, Oakland started another drive to paydirt, aided by two 13-yard, third down pass completions, one to Pete Banaszak and one to Ray Chester. The drive stalled on the Ram 20, .then George Blanda came in and missed a 27-yard field goal. The Rams cou'l d only get five yards following the missed field goal and punted to the Oakland 36-yard line. Oakland was stopped cold, then Eischeid boomed a 52-yard punt that Haymond lost five yards on and more important, fumbled away. The Raiders recovered and had first and goal on the Ram seven-yard line. Dixon lost a yard, then Lamonica hit Ray Chester for an eight-yard touchdown pass and Blanda's kick gave the Raiders the lead for the first time, 21-20. Alvin Haymond then personally got the lead back by taking the following kickoff back 82 yards for a Ram touchdown; LA back in front 27-21. An exchange of punts found LA's Pat Studstill punting from his own 13-yard line as Oakland had put them in the hole. Studstill kicked the ball to Alvin Wyatt, who returned it 52 yards for the touchdown. Blanda's kick gave the Raiders a 28-27 lead after three quarters. The Rams, buoyed by a 28-yard completion to Wendell. Tucker, began to move, but a pass to Billy Truax was intercepted by George Atkinson. The Raiders quickly picked up 30 yards and were down to the Ram 22 when Charlie Smith lost a fumble. Three plays later, Willie Ellison fumbled the ball back to Oakland on the 30-yard line, but on the next play, Lamonica was intercepted. Taking over on their own 20-yard line, LA was stopped and punted to Oakland's 38, where they were stopped and punted back to the LA 19, where Haymond took it out to the 31. The Rams then went to work, with Gabriel hitting Truax on a key third-and-seven play for 12 yards to the Oakland 23 from where, with 4:15 left in the game, Dave Ray kicked a field goal putting the Rams back in front 30-28. Alvin Wyatt took the following kickoff out to the 25 where Oakland started a drive to pull out a victory. Hewritt Dixon gained five yards in two plays. Then on third and five, Dixon ran around end for one yard. With two minutes to go and fourth and four, Lamonica tried to hit Chester with a pass, but it was knocked down. Three plays later, Dave Ray kicked a 29-yard field goal giving LA a 33-28 lead with 1:00 left. George Atkinson took the kickoff to the Oakland 31 with :30 left. A pass to Chester fell incomplete. then a long pass to Wells was intercepted as the game ended. In what had started as a runaway. then developed into a see-saw game, LA had held on for a 33-28 victory. In the individual statistics. Gabriel was 15 for 29 for 165 yards and two touch- downs. Les Josephson carried the ball 18 times for 74 yards and Larry Smith had 11 for 62. Billy Truax caught five passes for 37 yards and Jack Snow had five for 82 yards and a touchdown. Alvin-Haymond had four kickoff returns for 161 yards. For Oakland. Daryle Lamonica hit 12 of 30 for l45·yards and three touchdowns. His leading receivers were Chester •.who caught four for 33 yards and two touchdowns,and 3

Warren Wells who had two for 38 yards and one touchdown. Hewritt Dixon had 74 yards in 17 carries and Charlie Smith 12 for 50 yards.

Gaylord Perry - A Shutout Whiz Richard Rogerson Edmonton, Alberta, Canada During my replay of the 1969 , Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants tied a Strat-O-Matic record by shutting out the opposition 13 times. Perry, winner of the , picked up 24 victories while losing but three for the National league's best team. The Eastern Division champs, the New York Mets, were eliminated from the playoffs in three games. Team Standings: (130-game schedule used) EAST WEST Team Wins losses GBl Team Wins losses GBl New York 8'8 42 San Francisco 79 -5-1- Pittsburgh 80 50 8 Atlanta 73 57 6 Chicago 76 54 12 Houston 69 61 10 St. louis 56 74 32 Los Angeles 57 73 22. Phi1ade1phia 51 79 37 Cincinatti 56 74 23 Montreal 41 89 47 San Diego 52 78 27 HOME RUNS RBIs WINS INNINGS Aaron - 51 Aaron - 128 Perry - 24 Dierker - 262 Jenki ns - 238 McCovey - 41 McCovey - 114 P. Niekro - 21 Jenkins - 250 Dierker - 210 Bench - 37 Bench - 100 Seaver - 20 Perry - 247 Selma - 209 Jenkins - 20 Dierker - 20 PERCENTAGE AWARDS PLAYOFF SCORES Perry - .888 (24-3) Cy Young - Gaylord Perry (18)* SF-2 NY-l MVP - Hank Aaron (13)* SF-5 NY-3 Best Rookie - Richie Hebner (9)* SF-2 NY-l (*-first place ballots) Playing Tip Frank Fortin For those who have found it especially hard to keep records over a long season, I will pass along the method in whi ch I record: Using 8 x 11-1/2" un1ined paper and holding it lengthwise, one can separate boxes to record the statistics he wishes to carry. In order to hold these records, use small hash marks, and record at the end of every game or series diligently. I use a local printing press to produce my sheets for the sake of uniformity and lack of time. A good way to keep track of streaking and slumping players is to take a 3 x 5 index card and write the rotation and other players' names in ink. Then in pencil, write in the current ERA or average for each player. Averages should be in penci;, so that you may erase them when outdated. "Averages at a Glance," offered by Strat-O-Matic, is an excellent source for quick and easy figuring of both battling and earned averages, ' 4

Hitting Rules Old.Timer League' Doug Roil St. John's, Newfoundland 1- have just completed a schedule using the 1950 and 1960 series Old-Timer teams plus the 1941 Dodgers and 1946'Cardina1s. The two biggest surprises, aside from indi vidual performances, were the utter coll apse of the, powerful 1961 Yankees and the dominance of a weak pitching team, the 1953 Dodgers, of a league where pitching was hardly scare. In conclusion, I would like to state that of all the baseball games which I have played (which are quite a few), Strat-O-Matic'has to be tops in excitement, realism and player individuality. STANDINGS WON LOST GB AVERAGE l. 1953 Dodgers 92 70 l. Avila, '54 Indians .347 2. 1941 Dodgers 86 76 6 2. Snider, '53 Dodgers .345 1954 Giants 86 76 6 3. Furillo, '53 Dodgers .342 4. 1960 Pirates 84 78 8 4. Medwick, '41 Dodgers .332 5. 1954 Indians 83 79 9 5. Mays, '54 Giants .328 1957 Braves 83 79 9 \ 7. 1950 Yankees 80 82 12 HOME RUNS 8. 1950 Phillies 78 84 14 l. Maris, '61 Yanks 46 9. 1961 Yankees 71 91 21 2. Snider, '53 Dodgers 44 10. 1946 Cardinals 67 95 25 3. Mays, '54 Giants 43 4. Camilli, '41 Dodgers 40 Aaron, '57 Braves 40 RBI WINS ~ Mays, '54 Giants 154 -l.-Erskine, '53 Dodgers, 26-10 2. Snider, '53 Dodgers 147 2. Antonelli, '54 Giants 22-12 3. Camilli, '41 Dodgers 122 3. Wyatt, '41 Dodgers 22-13 4. Aaron, '57 Braves 116 4. Garcia, '54 Indians 20-13- Berra, '50 Yanks 116 5. Roberts, '50 Phils 19-17 ERA STRIKEOUTS ~ Liddle, '54 Giants 2.38 l. Ford, '61 Yanks 238 2. Davis, '41 Dodgers 2.41 2. Erskine,- '53 Dodgers 234 3. Haddix, '60 Pirates 2.51 3. Raschi, '50 Yanks 201 4. Garcia, '54 Indians 2.64 4. Reynolds, '50 Yanks 186 5. Wyatt, '41 Dodgers 2.72 ' 5. Wyatt, '41 Dodgers 183 Playing Tip Char1 es B1au I have devised a system for relief pitchers because some members of our BBKL might get greedy for wins and jerk starters quickly and bring in relief artists to pitch a major portion of games. For example, last season the Twins and A's tied for first and in the playoffs Jim Roland pitched 16 out of the possible 27 innings. An emergency meeting was called to correct the problem and the following system was devised: (A) 1-inning or 1ess--no games rest for reliever; (B) 1 1/2 -3innings-- 1 day rest; (C) 3 1/3 -4 innings--2 days rest; (D) 4 1/3 -5 inn1ngs--3 days rest; (E) more than 6 innings--4 days rest. Strat-O-jllatic, More Than 5 A Nice Place To Visit It's Mrs. Williams who is Richman's right-hand man (e~ woman), being with him since the company's beginning. "I used to work for his mother," Mrs. Williams reflected. "Then when he started the company and it got to be too much for one person, he asked me to help him, and I've been with him ever since." Her son, James L. Williams, also is a member of the firm, which includes James E. Williams (no relation), Steve Barkan (he and James L. give Richman's creative endeavors their first playing tests), Karen Truskowski, and Richman's sister, Rhett Behrmann, an art major in college who designed the baseball game box and now works part-time, and his father, who works a few hours each afternoon. Richman, who quick-steps around his "home away from home" doing an endless number of jobs (such as opening mail, figuring receipts, writing payroll checks, checking on stock, consulting with Mrs. Williams and her assistants as to how the order-filling is going, etc.), is highly-respected and admired by his employees. "That man's a genius at creating games," enthused one, "he can create anything." At the time of the visit, Richman was putting in only half a day at the company, then going home and calculating the upcoming ~eason's football cards. "I usually leave the office everyday around 11 or 12 and go home and work until 11 every night on the cards," Richman said. "I also work Saturdays and part of Sunday to complete the 450-hour job, which I should have done by May l." Where the baseball cards are now computerized, the football cards are still figured manually. "The receivers' cards are probably the easiest to calculate but a quarterback card will often take an hour or more to figure," he pointed out. His most recent creation, the football game is Richman's pride and joy. "There's no other football game that compares with it" (what other game has individual defensive and offensive blocking ratings?). Tens of thousands of game players allover the world give it roaring approval, with leagues having Mr. Richman, Rhett and Karen processing been formed at such places as Harvard Univer- new orders. sity ("a number of orders come from there each year"), Louisiana State U. and as far away as Saudi Arabia. "SoneAmer ican oilmen started a league in Saudi Arabia and each season they auction off the teams before playing. The 1967 Green Bay Packers were bought for an amazing $250. The league also has a post-season banquet and awards presentations." Once, some Strat-O-Matic cards reportedly came into the c1utch~ of Arab Commandos who had hijacked an Israeli airliner. "They confiscated the cards," laughs. Richman, "they thought the cards contained military information of some type, they looked so complex." As far as playing his own creations, Richman admits the operations of the company keep him from playing as much as he'd like to. "Steve plays a very demanding baseball schedule," Richman remarked, "plus every year the office starts the new season with its annual game between the Mets and Giants. There are a lot better players at the football game than I am. I'm only an average player, but there are some real sharp minds who are very good at it." 6

What about the future? "Right now the football game (because of the work with the cards) is just about my entire 1ife," menti ons Richman. "I've got a lot of ideas for other games, however, and I hope to get something going on another game soon." Basketball, apparently, will be the next sport touched by Richman's genius. Surprisingly, despite overwhelming success, Richman doesn't consider his present baseball and football games the final word. He's seriously been considering a number of additions (such as righty-1efty batter's cards, -by-parks ratings, stamina factor for pitchers and many others). However, he's quick to add that he wants to keep the games as simple to playas possible and yet remain realistic, so any changes would have to fit in with the present smooth playing flow of the games. When asked about his feelings toward other games and their creators, Richman said he knew Mr. Richman shows Mike Allison a letter of a1mos tall the other games put out, but from a game buyer.' that he would never put the knock on someone else's creations. Speak softly and put out the best games on the market, might be a better way of summing up Strat-O-Matic's philosophy. All we can say is "right on" Strat-O-Mati c! Roll 'em! Playing Tip Pat Aiken In order to provide more options on tagging up on f1yba11s, I have devised a chart which shows running adjustments to be made in various situations. The table app1ys to only f1yba11s 'B' and Out-5, however. From 2B to 3B: From 1B to 2B: Pos. F1d. Decrease runner's Pos. F1d. Decrease runner's rating rating 6 12 RF -- 1 RF --1 2 5 2 10 4 8 3 3 4 3 4 6 9 9 CF --1 CF 1 2 8 2 8 6 6 3 3 4 5 4 5 12 6 LF --1 LF -- 1 2 10 2 5 8 4 3 3 4 6 Pop ups to infield (not catcher) F1d. Decrease runner's rating -1- 15 2 13 3 11 4 9

~\ 7 Readers Roll 'Em

Dear Sirs: in Step 2 when a split card is needed, Re: John Fairfield's letter, published game is called. on page 10 of the second issue, suggests a "far from perfect method" of making SOM John Fairfield baseball more realistic regarding performance New York, New York of batters versus like or unlike throwing pitchers. Dear Sirs: The most "scientific" solution would be a After receiving my 1970 National deluxe edition in which the batters' cards League teams, I have been working on are printed on both sides showing perform- what I hope will end up a 162-game ance against Land R pitchers, and the season. Atlanta leads the Western 's cards are,similarly printed to Division now with a 27-15 record, show performance against Land R batters. followed by Cincinnati and San Such cards would naturally have to be more Francisco who are five back, and Los expensive, but no dyed in the wool SOM Angeles and Houston who are six behind. fan would settle for less if such card sets Pittsburg (26-16) leads St. Louis by were made available. one in the East. Chicago (22-20) is in Since the number of season at bats third and New York is a very disap- (size of sample) upon which each side of pointing 18-24. such cards would be tabulated would be Rico Carty and Wes Parker lead my reduced (in many cases below statistically hitters with .394 and .386 averages acceptable limits) it might be necessary respectively. Johnny Bench and Tony to use the performance records for the Perez are tied for the home run lead with previous two seasons as a statistical base, 16 each and are running one-two in or employ certain statistical fictions in RBI's (Bench has 42, Perez 36). Bob order to avoid implausible card layouts. Gibson is the best pitcher with a 9-2 What do you say, Mr. Richman? record, 1.62 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 111 innings. Larry Dierker is 7-2 with Raymond 5andoval-A1emany a 1.86 and. Don McMahon has already posted Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 10 saves and three wins in relief. I also would like to thank you for coming Dear Sirs: up with such a great magazine. I I would like to express my wish that particularly enjoyed the tournament Strat-O-Matic would come out with a hockey between the top all-time teams and the game. Basketball would be okay, but I results of other replays. feel hockey lends itself to this type of game more than basketball does. Doug Fraleigh Also, in regard to Mr. Larry Thompson's Sacremento, California letter, I think his idea of split card picking is excellent. But instead of Dear Sirs: just rolling over when 12 is rolled in I have just finished my 660-game Step 2, why not have special situations season using all 12 National League develop. What I've done is the following: 1969 teams. playing 55 games for each When 12 is rolled in Step 2 in the team. The results were remarkably following situations ... foolish. A friend, who subscribes to STEAL--bal1 thrown in center field; the Review, and I were astounded that advance one extra base the Giants beat out the Phi1s for first CATCHER'S CARD X--hit batsman place in a playoff, as Willie McCovey's GROUNDBALL SS, 2B, lB, 3B, P X--starts awesome power came to life after hitting to rain and, if within the next only .243 (compared to real-life .320) six outs (one complete inning) and he hit a home run to climax a wild a nine is rolled on the dice and wooly 15th inning. The amazin' Cubs came in sixth place with a 26-29 record. 8

The reason I think this season was foolish Dear Sirs: was because of the standings and batting I have received the first issues of averages. Javier hit .332, in real-life .282; the Review and I like it. The Richman Ed Kranepool hit .286 (.238); Alex Johnson story could make a best-seller. I liked .261 (.312) and Roberto Clemente .275 (.345). the replay of the Old-Timer teams. I The magic of "Say-Hey" prevailed, however, also like to read about final standings as Willie Mays led the league with a .365 of seasons, such as those by Editor average--about 100 points over his regular Mike Allison and reader Daniel Constan- average--and Orlando Cepeda led the league tine. in roundtrippers with 18. I am now playing my third year of In disgust I find my '69 Strat-O-Matic Strat-O-Matic baseball and I'm thinking league inconsistent. In conclusion, I am of getting the football game. I've disillusioned about the accuracy of Strat- never had another baseball game, and I O-Matic. really don't want one. I have had many exciting moments in Strat-O-Matic. Here Roger Kent are a few: Denny McLain (1968 Tigers) Paletine, Illinois no-hitting the '68 Red Sox, a string of 29 runs and 51 hits by -the 1970 Red Sox Dear Sirs: in three consecutive games (not as bad I read an article in your magazine about as that 53-0 game, though), three one- an unbelievable game between the 1957 hitters and Willie Mays (1968 Giants) Mi 1waukee Braves and the 1948 C,lEwe 1and hitting three homers in one game. Indians (Review, May issue). Final score in One thing that has been rare for me this game was 53-0, and there were 14 home is grand slam home runs; I've only had thre runs for the and 61 hits. three in the three years. Thank you for This, of course, was called an unbelievable printing a magazine for the SOM game game. owner. However, when you consider the fact that the 1948 Cleveland Indians existed Kenneth Hutchings nine years before the 1957 Milwaukee Braves, Harbor City, California you might realize that this game could have really happened. After all, nobody has every seen two teams play with a difference of nine years. There's no telling what might happen in a game like that. Terry Mann Fort Wayne, Indiana Playing Tip

Duncan Jameson '" " " When playing solitare, you almost always want to hold 'AA and A stealers, soyou probably won't steal them. Also, you might not want to hold "B" and "c" stealers, so you might steal them. This becomes a problem. Here's my solution: When a runner reaches a base, roll the white die and refer to this chart. RUNNER (on 1st) RUNNER (on 2nd) RUNNER (on·3td) AA - 1-5 - hold AA - 1-3 - hold AA - 1-2 - hold A - 1-4 - hold A - 1-2 - hold A - 1 - hold B 1-3 - hold B-1 - hold B-1 - hold C - 1-2 - hold C - 1 - hold C - Optional D - 1 - hold D - Optional -D - Optional E - Optional E Optional E - Optional 9 GI(SML At Half-Way Mark

It's like old times in the GKSML baseball season this summer--Joe1 Wright, as usual, is far out in front. Joel, a senior-to-be at Comstock High School near Kalamazoo, Michigan, seven- game lead over his nearest challenger ~t the halfway mark of a baseball replay from a draft using 1970 National League players (Review, May 1971). And, being first is nothing new to Joel, who last summer guided the to a first place finish (two games ahead of the favored ) in a replay of the 1964 season, then the latter part of the summer drafted a team of National Leaguers based on the 1969 campaign, and left his nearest pursuer five games back. Despite cries "that history wouldn't repeat itself this time around," Joel is right on top again--and by even a more comfortable margin. Joel, the son of well-known radio sports announcer in Kalamazoo Joe Wright, is actually the youngest member of the ~a~Kalamazoo Strat-O-Matic League. Tri-editors of the Review, Mike Allison, Dave Thompson, and Del Newell have belonged since the league's inception in the spring of 1970; Warren Newell, brother of Del and a band instructor at Otsego Junior High School, is another starting his third league season, as is Randy Tien, and all-around athlete who just graduated from Plainwell High School near Otsego. The two newcomers to the league this spring included Cliff Sage, 21, who lives in the Otsego area, and Duane Scheel, who'll never see the sunny side of 30 again, a photographer at the Kalamazoo Gazette. Joel has run roughshod over all competition the first half, winning an amazing 51 of 79 games. Mike is a distant second, seven games off the pace; Warren is third and Del fourth. Duane, given a rough reception in his first league try, is buried in last place, a full 26 games behind Joel. Picking sixth in the draft, (Review, May 1971), Joel nabbed Sam McDowell and then as his first two choices. A strong bullpen, however, headed by Stan Williams 9nd Ken Sanders, plus soli~ hitting from and some unbelievable clutch hitting have resulted in his runaway pace. Fosse, incidentally, ranks fourth among the batting leaders with a .332 average, Fregosi's socked 18 home runs, drove in 52 and scored 51, while McDowell has a 9-5 won-and-l ost record, with 110 stri keouts. Tony Oliva (Del) and Alex Johnson (Mike)' are waging a fierce battle for the 'batting lead with Oliva cruising along at a .368 clip and Johnson right behind at .366. Oliva, Del's second pick in the draft;,ninth overall, leads the league in doubles with 27, runs 'with 59 and has bolted away in the runs-batted-in race with a whopping 82. Cliff, resting in fifth .p1ace and remembered for his selections of Frank Howard and Harmon Killebrew in the first two draft rounds, has the leading home run clouters in Killebrew, first with 25, Melton, second with 23 and Howard who's tied with Tommy Harper (Randy) with ]9. Top pitcher, won-and-lost-wise, is Lindy McDaniel (Warren) with a 10-1 record, while (Dave) leads in strikeouts with 123 and Marty Pattin (Warren) has the lowest among regular pitchers with a 2.35 slate. Here are the standings at 79 games: WON LOST, GB WON LOST GB 1. Joe Wri gh t 51 28 5. Cliff Sage 3'f 41 14 2., Mi ke All ison 44 34 7 6. Randy Tien 36 42 15 3. Warren Newell 43 35 8 7. Dave Thompson 35 43 16 4. Del Newell 41 37 10 8. Duane Scheel 25 53 26 10

ADVERTISEMENTS RATES: Per issue - up to 30 words, 50¢; 31-50 words, 70¢; 51-70 words, $1.00; and 71-100 words, $1.50. When you send in your ads, specify either FOR SALE, WANTED, or LEAGUE, name any card -sets by the year upon which they were based. NOTE: only adver- tisements regarding Strat-O-Matic products, related merchandise, and leagues will be accepted. No other brand names may be mentioned or advertised. No advertisements concerning photocopied Strat-O-Matic player cards or related products will be accepted. Wanted WANTED: '62 Angels, $1.50; '70 Brewers, WANTED: 1968 Tigers and Cardinals and 65 40¢; '65 Reds, 75¢; '70 Astros, 40¢; '70 Giants baseball teams. I'll keep stats Padres, 40¢; '70 Expos, 40¢. Peace! write for ter~s and rates. Anyone in George Cozby, Box 105, Jonesboro, IL Eugene, Oregon who plays SOM baseball please 62952. contact me. Dave Surdam, R. 8, Box 728, Pleasant Hill, Oregon 97401. WANTED: '60 Yankees; '62, '63 and '64 Yankees; '63 Dodgers; '64 Cardinals at WANTED: Any per-1967 baseball cards. Full 70¢ apiece. Write: Jim Marshall, 136 leagues perferab1y. State your price . • West Avenue, Ocean City, NJ 08226. Write: Joel Wright, 2811 Hilltop Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49004. WANTED: 1968 Tigers and/or Cardinals; willing to pay $1.75 for each. Write: WANTED: 1963 and 1964 Yankees, 1964 Tom Richardson, 2130 Wilshire, Grand Rapid Athletics, 1963 Senators, 1962 Cubs, 1962 Rapids, MI 49506. Astros, 1963 to 1965 Mets. Will pay any -reasonable price. T. Evans, 220 West WANTED: 1967 National League baseball Avondale, Greensboro, NC 27403. player card set, in good condition. Will pay $2.50. Write: Walt Murphy, WANTED: Any set 1963 or earlier. I will 435 Beechwood Avenue, Haddonfield, NJ pay $15.00 for the 1962 set and $15.00 for 08033. the 1963 set. 1960 & 1961. Name your price. Greg Funk, 1322 Hardin Drive, El Cajon, WANTED: will pay your price if reasonable CA 92020. for the following Strat-O-Matic teams; based on 1965 records - Athletics, Cards, WANTED: '66 Orioles. Willing to pay 55¢; Reds, Phil lies; based on 1964 records - '65 Orioles or earlier. Willing to pay Braves, Houston Colts, Cubs, Dodgers, 50¢; '67 or earlier Reds at 50¢. Write: Giants, Mets. For very quick response Donald DiGennaro, 212 Burrows Street, write: Mark Westendorf, 1105 Amherst Place, Rochester, NY 14606. Dayton ,OH 45406. WANTED: 1967 and 1968 Packer teams. Will WANTED: 1963, '64, '65, '66 American pay up to $1.00 a team if in good condition. and National League baseball teams. Will Write: Aram Kaprie1ian, 6895 Petit Street, pay well. depending on condition of San Diego, CA 92111. the teams. Write: Ed Podrazik, 4317 S. Kedva1e Avenue, Chicago, IL 60632 WANTED: Will buy or trade for any SOM baseball teams before 1969, including WANTED: '63, 64, 65, 66 Red Sox and 67, oldtimers. Want old roster sheets and 68, 69 Patriots. Have some 67 baseball previous issues of SOM Review. Robert teams for trade or sell. Also, anyone Henry, 15919 Ferguson, Detro; t, MI 4822t. interested in a play-by-mail football league write: Mike Litel, 48 Dwight Ave. WANTED: Any S.F. Giant teams between '64- Plymouth, MA 02360. 67. Also 1964 Cardinals, 1964 Yankees. 1966 Dodgers, and 1966 Orioles. Name price. Ga1e Hassell, 1434 s. 6\IT_'1, !\ppleton, WI 54911. 11 WANTED: Any baseball team before 1962. WANTED: 1964 majors, will pay $10.05 or Write: Robert D. Owens, 621 Montgomery, lowest offer. Good condition. Complete Bugalusa, LA 70427. set. Will also pay well for other teams before 1967. Neil Belson, 12519 East- WANTED: Desperately needed to complete bourne Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20900. league, any of the following teams: '67 Cleveland Browns, '67 Oakland Raiders, WANTED: 1962, 63, 67 both leagues. 1965 '67 Baltimore Colts, '67 Chicago Bears, American League. Willing to pay $40.00 '67 Green Bay Packers,-'67 LA Rams. Will total, or $12.50 for 1962 and 1963 each, pay $2 a team for first offer. I also $10.00 for 1967, and $5.00 for 1965 will pay postage. Cards must be complete American League. Write: Stanly Roberts, and in good condition. Jerry Lannigan, 841 East 38th Street, Austin, TX 78705. 27 Hilliard Ave., Central Islip, NY 11722. For Sale FOR SALE: football, entire 1970 NFL & FOR SALE: Let me compile your statistics AFL teams except -Oakland, Los Angeles, quickly and accurately. Only 5¢ per game Minnesota, Dallas, Kansas City, and per team. George Cozby, Box 105, Jonesboro, Cleveland. Excellent shape. 50¢ a team. IL 62952. Also: baseball, 1968 Boston Red Sox, 1968 St. Louis Cardinals, 1968 San FOR SALE: '69 Orioles, Twins, Cubs, Braves, Francisco Giants, and 1969 Los Angeles Miracle Mets. $2.00 postpaid. Good con- Dodgers. Also in good shape. 50¢ a team. dition.- Also wanted, 167 Bosox, Twins, Write: Rick Straub, 476 Sharp Street, Tigers, Chisox. 35¢ each. Frank Fortin, Salem, OH 44460. 922 Hope, Providence, RI 02906. FOR SALE: 1969 Additional Players - FOR SALE: '68 Orioles at 45¢. Write: price variable. Write: Tom Richardson Donald DiGennaro, 212 Burrows Street, 2130 Wilshire, Grand Rapids, MI 49506. Rochester, NY 14606. FOR SALE': 1962 Giants, Cardinals, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, Braves, Indians, Angels except Cardinals and Tigers. All of 1969 and Twins. Ali of -1963 teams except teams except Mets and Orioles. Gale Hassell, Cardinals and Yankees. All of 1968 teamsJl 1434 E. Gunn, Appleton, WI 54911.

League' s Forming LEAGUE FORMING: League forming in LEAGUE FORMING: In Columbia, MO area. greater Milwaukee area. If interested, Contact Will Schmidt, 503 S. Garth, Columbia, call 332-3510 or write Sandy Tolan, MO (I am 14 if you care.) 2671 N. Wall, Milwaukee, WI 53211. LEAGUE FORMING: Anyone interested in forming LEAGUE FORMING: Anyone in Philadelphia a league in Carlstadt, NJ area? If so please area interested in joining a league write or call 933-2455, Joe Mordente, 442 please write: Mark Wismer, 250 W. Garden Street, Carlstadt, NJ 07072 (or perhaps Rubicam Street, Philadelphia, PA. The by mail). league consists of all oldtirrerteams and 1969-70 seasons. LEAGUE FORMING: Sixteen year-old wants to start or join league in St. Louis. Also LEAGUE FORMING: football league-6 teams want to start play-by-mail league. Contact, send first 8 choices use 1970 season - Brian Russell, 1519 Sanford, St. Louis, either conference. Begin middle to late MO 63139. August. Write: Brad Titus, 3-A North Street, Delmar, NY 12054. LEAGUE FORMING: In Wetchester County area. If interested write Jeff Goldsmith, 5 Northway, Hartsdale, NY 10530, or call (914) OW3-1937. 12 In The Strat-O-Matic Spotlight

THREE-DIVISION LEAGUE SUGGESTED Raymond W. Benedict (Blanding, Utah) has set up a three division league (instead of the current two) for the National League and is attempting to playa l62-game schedule. Based on an idea suggested not long ago by Walter O'Malley for three division play, Benedict has juggled O'Malley's division alignment to look like this: WEST--San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Houston EAST--New York, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Philadelphia CENTRAL--Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis and Montreal He plans on playing a 162-game schedule with each team playing the other three teams in its division 22 times and the other eight teams 12 times.

OLD-TIMER TEAMS, HALL-OF-FAMERS The response to las'tmonth's question regarding what Old-Timer teams and Hall-of- Fame players readers would like Strat-O-Matic to produce has been very heavy. So that the Strat-O-Matic Game Co. can begin to evaluate readers' response as quickly as possible and formulate future plans, the Review is.asking all fans interested in making their choices known to have them to the Review by the 15th of July. The Review will then tabulate the respons~and send the results to the game company as well as publish results in the August issue of the Review.

NO-HITTERS Bob Miller of the 1962 Mets steals the spotlight this month with his perfect game feat against the powerful 1927 Yankees (Don Blumberg, Poughkeepsie, NY), winning 7-0. Miller struck out 11, including Babe Ruth three times, and, of course, didn't walk a batter. "Marvelous Marv" Throneberry, better known for his fielding 1apses around first base, turned slugger and walloped four home runs for the Mets. The Mets, 1970 version, also got a no-hitter from (Warren Smith, Smithtown, Ny), who turned the trick against the rugged 1970 Reds. The "I Just Missed Award" goes to California's Clyde Wright, 1970, who had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning against the Brewers, only to be rocked for a grand slam homer by Danny Walton and lose a one-hitter, 4-2 (Harold Chen).

THIS 'N THAT ...Some Old-Timer records that Gale Hassell, Appleton, Wis., passes on included: Cy Young producing a 32-6 record, Sandy Koufax (Hall of Farner) fanning 430 in 389 innings, Ty Cobb swiping 313 bases in 368 attempts and Babe Ruth producing 65, 62 and 71 home runs in three full l62-game seasons ...Koufax (1965 version), incidentally, breezed a third strike past 19 batters in a nine-inning game for Paul Horine, Imperial Beach, CA, while Don Miller of the Astros whiffed 19 in 10 innings (18 in nine) with Jack Gray of Elyria, 0., on the dice-rolling end ...Talk about big innings, the sent 20 men to the plate against the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth inning of a 1971 game, punching out 13 hits and scoring a whopping 15 runs, including homers by Sonny Jackson, Henry Aaron and Bob Tillman. Reader David Jacobs, Queens Village, NY, says that the Orioles, although down 15-1, still made a game of it by pecking away for~ nine runs in the last five innings for a final of 15-10. The··Braves, all punched out, never got another hit except for the fourth inning eruption .••And now Nolan Ryan of the Mets gets his. It·wasn't the '27 Yanks seeking revenge for the no-hitter (see above), rather the , 1970, who belted him out, 16-1. 13 '68 Cards Modern Day Champs

Stephen Keplinger Reisterstown, Maryland I would like to report the results of an elimination tournament that I recently completed with three friends. The round-robin consisted of 16 teams from the 1968, 1969 and 1970 baseball seasons. A few big surprises occurred in the first round. One of them involved the '69 Mets'and the '70 Orioles. This seven-game series was taken by the "JIroazin'Mets," four games to three. Tom Seaver won three of the four games for New York. Although the Mets won the series, they batted a measly .217. The Orioles' team average was .232. The Orioles of '69 met the same fate as the '70 Birds, losing four games to two against the '70 Twins. In a replay of the 1968 , the Cardinals turned the tables on the . St. Louis won the first three games of the series and was ready for a sweep, but the Tigers battled back to win the next three and send the series into a seventh game. After nine innings, the score was tied 3-3. Then in the top of the 11th, the Cards came through with two runs.against ·Daryl Patterson, who had replaced Denny McLain. Final score was 5-3 in favor of the Cards. The biggest surprise of the first round, however, occurred in a series between the '70 Reds and '70 Yankees. After breezing by in the first three games, winning 4-0,9-3, and 10-2, Cincinnati hit a brick wall. First Johnny Bench was injured in the third game for the rest of the' series. Then the Yankees won the fourth game, 3-2; the fifth, 6-5; and then the sixth, 2-1. Somehow, the Yankees had taken the powerful Reds into a seventh and deciding game. The first inning didn't help the Reds one bit as Bobby Tolan was injured. Then in the second, Ron Woods connected on a three-run homer to pull away from the Reds. Cincinnati came back with one in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two big runs in the eighth to take the lead, 4-3. Then in the ninth, Bobby Murcer and Danny Cater both connected for key singles, scoring Jake Gibbs and Roy White. The Reds failed to score in the ninth and the Yanks completed the unbelievable--coming back to win after being down three games to zero, winning four straight games and all by one run! In the second round it was the '69 Twins, '69 Braves, '68 Cards and '70 Twins all winning seven-game series'. It finally came down to the '68 Cardinals and the '69 Twins in the championship, two teams who weren't given any kind of chance to go all the way. The '68 Cards took it all, though, winning four games to two, while batting an incredible .322 as a team. Here are the tourney results: Twins '69 Angels '70 Twins '69 (4-0) Mets '69 Twins '69 (4-2) Orioles '70 Mets '69 (4-3) ] JTwins '69 Braves '69 Orioles '68 Braves '69 (4-3) (4-1) Pirates '70 Braves '69 (4-3) Giants '68 Giants '68 (4-1) ] Dodgers '70 Cards '68 Cubs '68 Dodgers '70 (4-2J~ (4-2) Tigers '68 Cardinals '68 Cardi na 1s '6.8 Cardinals '68 (4-3) unoles '69 (jCards '68 Twins '70 Twins '70 (4-2) (4-0) Reds '70 Twins '70 (4-1') Yankees '70 Yankees '70 (4-3) J r-

14 Question & Answer Corner

A new feature has been added to the Strat-O-Matic Review this month, a question and answer section. Numerous inquiries have crossed the desk of the Review, asking questions ranging. from how the game is played, player ratings, when new games will be ready, etc. So, the Review, with the aid and advice of the Strat~O-Matic Game Co., will attempt each month to answer as many of your questions as possible. Some, those that deal specifically with card-making procedures, perhaps, it will not be possible to answer completely for obvious reasons. Here are this month's questions and answers: Q - I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY OF EACH TEAM WAS SOLD IN 1970 AND WHICH TEAMS WERE THE MOST POPULAR? (Kenneth Hutchings, Harbor City, CA) A - An exact number is not available on the number of each team sold, but the "Gift Special" teams, the division winning teams and runners-up, are by far the most popular. Every year Strat-O-Matic orders the "Gift Set" teams in greater volumne, conversely the sale of "expansion teams" is considerably less. . Q - WAS A CARD OF JOE KEOUGH OF THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS PRINTED THIS YEAR? (Ronald Payne, Paso Nobles, CA) A - No. Because of his few at-bats and his unusual high average no card was given because it was felt it would distort the teams as a whole. Q - WHAT DOES 'GKSML' STAND FOR? (asked by a number of readers) A - Greater Kalamazoo Strat-O-Matic League. It's an eight-player baseball league, now in its third season, formed in the Kalamazoo, MI area. The league's constitution was used in the April, 1971 issue of the Review. Q - WITH A RUNNER ON FIRST BASE, WHO IS BEING HELD, THE OFFENSIVE MANAGER CALLS FOR THE HIT AND RUN. THE BATTER MISSES THE PITCH. SHOULD THE STEALER'S CHANCES BE REDUCED ACCORDING TO THE CATCHER'S RATING, OR SHOULD THE STEALING CHART BE READ DIRECTLY WITHOUT ADJUSTMENTS? (Gary Cunningham, Honolulu, Hawaii) A - The catcher's rating should come into play and the stealer's chances reduced as called for. Q - WITH A RUNNER ON SECOND BASE, THE RESULT IS "OUT -3" ON THE SHORTSTOP FIELDING CHART. DOES THE RUNNER ADVANCE TO THIRD BASE, OR DOES HE HOLD? (Gary Cunningham, Honolulu, HI) A - Runners on either second or third would advance on the ground out. With runners on first and second and no outs, a "3-out" results in a play, at second and first, with the runner at second advancing to third. However, here there is room for flexibility. For more realism a lone runner on second should not be allowed to advance to third base on a ground ball to short or third. Q - WITH RUNNERS ON FIRST AND THIRD, THE BATTER'S RESULT IS "GROUNDBALL B." ASSUMING THE INFIELD IS NOT IN, IS THE CORRECT RESULT THAT THE RUNNER IS OUT GOING TO SECOND, AND THE RUNNER SCORES? (Gary Cunningham, Honolulu, Hawaii) A - Yes. 15

Q - WHO OR WHAT DETERMINES A PLAYER'S FIELDING RATINGS? I AM AN INDIAN FAN, AND I WAS QUITE PERTURBED AND SHOCKED WHEN I SAW "GOLDEN GLOVE AWARD" WINNER CRAIG NETTLES' "3" FIELDING RATING? (Eric Kahn, Canton, OH) A - First of all, Craig Nettles did not win the "Golden Glove Award." Brooks Robinson won it. As for Nett1 es "3" fielding rati ng, despi te his good fie1ding average, as Mr. Richman says, "When giving fielding ratings the fielding average must be disregarded. It can only be used as a guide line. After all, Nettles was a converted outfield and could not be expected to make the same plays that would be made by Brooks Robinson or Aurelio Rodr-iquez;" As you may notice, a lower fielding rating does not only mean that the fielder will make more errors, but mainly that more hits will get through him. Q - I AM ATTEMPTING TO PLAY OUT THE 1970 AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST SCHEDULE. I HAVE DISCOVERED, HOWEVER, THAT LEE MAYE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE GAME. LEE HAD 255 AT-BATS, WITH THE WASHINGTON SENATORS, BUT SINCE HE WAS TRADED TO THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX AND PLAYED VERY LITTLE FOR THEM, HE WAS NOT GIVEN A CARD. TO GIVE EVERYONE ON WASHINGTON THEIR RIGHT NUMBER OF AT-BATS, I DESPERATELY NEED LEE MAYE. IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET HIS CARD? (Stephen Keplinger, Reistertown, MD) A - Since his card was not printed, there is no way you can get his card. However, there is something you can do about it. Many times the nameless player cards are excellent substitutes. Out of the 20 nameless players you receive 12 hitters with averages ranging from .210 to .300, and power from poor to good. All you have to do is add the name of the player to the top of the card and assign stealing, running, and fielding ratings. The same holds true for those needing a pitcher.

OAKLAND EDGES DALLAS IN 1970 SUPER BOWL Barry & Ken Mestemaker Sandwich, Illinois My brother and I comp1eted our third Strat-O-Matic Football season and the results were the most realistic and exciting we have ever had. "In the AFL, Oakland finished 1/2 game ahead of Kansas City and New York ran away in the weak Eastern Division. In the playoffs, the Jets beat Kansas City, 37-34, as Joe Namath threw only 12 times, but completed two scoring strikes to Don Maynard and George Sauer of 33 and 26 yards. In the other semifinal game, Oakland beat a determined Houston team, 28-17. Daryle Lamonica threw for 256 yards and three TO's and Warren Wells caught six passes for 184 yards. In the AFL Championship, Oakland won 14-9. Charlie Smith swept end for a six-yard TO, the only touchdown of the game, with less than five minutes remaining. In the NFL, Los Angeles (12-2) met Minnesota (12-1-1). LA upset the Vikings 31-10. Dallas (11 -3), a winner over Cleveland, upended the Rams 20-14 as Calvin Hill ran for 168 yards and two long touchdowns. Dallas advanced to the Super Bowl. George Blanda kicked a 14 yard field goal with :15 left on the clock and gave Oakland the Super Bowl win, 13-10. Below are the AFL standings and statistics: WESTERN DIVISION EASTERN DIVISION W L T P OP W L T P OP Oakland 12 2" 0 375 249 New York 10 3" 1 372 247 Kansas City 11 2 1 322 200 Houston 7 5 2 268 234 San Diego 8 6 0 285 286 Boston 4 9 1 267 317 Denver 5 9 0 253 328 Buffalo 4 10 0 207 348 Cincinnati 2 11 1 263 350 Miami 3 9 2 246 330 CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 STRAT-O-MATIC REVIEW P.O. Box 27 Otsego, Michigan 49078 FIRST CLASS

The number before the name is the date of your last issue. Have checked number of months and enclosed amount designated to renew my subscription. _____ 3 mos. $l.05 6 mos. $2.10 1 yr. $4.20

Continued from page 15: RUSHING RECEIVING Att Yds TO LONG NO. Yds ~ TO LONG Post 19T 964 ~5. 660 Alworth 65 1089 16.8 6" 6'5 Snell 213 866 4.1 4 34 Biletni k 'f 58 966 16.7 12 49 Nance 206 808 3.9 7 31 Denson 55 911 16.5 9 48 Little 146 788 5.4 5 48 Wells 53 1371 25.9 14 73 M. Gar'rett 172 773 4.5 5 34 Reed 53 739 13.9 2 46 PASSING Att PCT Yds lilt TO Cook 2i8 ~~3P5b.4 2T27 J6 16 Naatath 330 168 50.9 2514 9 22 Lamonica 412 216 52.4 3521 31 34 Dawson 174 101 58.0 1398 10 8 Beathard 308 154 50.0 2~58 13 12 ------~------In our next issue the Review will contain by popular demand a reprint of the GKSML Constitution, what happened in the Greater Kalamazoo Strat-O-Matic League replay, more pictures of the game company, questions and answers, numerous replays, playing tips and "Readers Roll' Em'. All 1etters sent to the Revi ew become the property of the Revi ew and cannot be returned, and we reserve the right to print any letter sent to us. If you will be sending something YOuwouldlikeinthe Review (letters, replays, or ads), ~hey must be in by the third Oftheril6ntht6 maKe the next issue. We regret that with t e r overflow of mail we were unable tp print every letter. Many will be held over for future issues, but keep your letters coming in, after all it's you that makes the Review what it is. I'