66 Connection

VIDEO: dinner for former APBA employees Skeet Carr and Veryl Lincoln Part 2

Part 2: Skeet and Veryl continue telling the horror story of moving APBA from Lancaster to Alpharetta.  See Part 1 here.

VIDEO: Appreciation dinner for former APBA employees Skeet Carr and Veryl Lincoln

I am so pleased at the response by readers of this blog to my numerous posts asking for donations to an effort to provide an appreciation gift to former APBA employees Skeet Carr and Veryl Lincoln.  The original goal as set by Scott Lehotsky and Roy Langhans, the brains behind the effort, was $1000 for each.  Thanks to your generosity, Skeet and Veryl each received far, far more than that.

You may remember Scott Lehotsky's name from the "Of Dice and Men" documentary video.  Scott was present at the dinner, and recorded the proceedings.  He has produced a series of videos from the dinner, and has kindly permitted me to post them here.

Part 1: Veryl tells the story of driving the "APBA Caravan" from Lancaster to Alpharetta during Hurricane Irene.  Attendees are (clockwise):  Wayne Green, Roy Langhans, Mitch Tolleson, Veryl Lincoln, Greg Wells, Skeet Carr, Ted Knorr, Ron Seamans, Lynne Seamans, John Cochrane.  Part 2 tomorrow.

Snark: "Why do you always say APBA is moving to Alpharetta?"

From the some-people-have-nothing-better-to-worry-about department, an email that just came in about my posts on APBA's move from Lancaster, PA to Alpharetta, GA:

"Your posts about APBA's move never say APBA is moving to Atlanta.  You seem to be going out of your way to denigrate them by saying they are moving to Alpharetta, GA.  It is petty and you look small when you say that, like Alpharetta is some backwater town in the middle of nowhere."

I won't publish this person's name or email address.  But here are the facts.

1) The new address of APBA, as stated by APBA owner John Herson, is 816 Curie Drive, Alpharetta, GA.  Thus the fact is, the company is located in Alpharetta, not Atlanta.

2) According to Google Maps, it takes longer to get from the new APBA location to Turner Field in Atlanta than it takes me to get from my home in Gaithersburg, MD to Nationals Park in DC.  But no one who knows the DC area would associate Gaithersburg with DC.  If I told anyone that I was "moving my business to DC" when in fact I was moving it to Gaithersburg, people around here would laugh at me.

So I write what I write because they are the facts.

Some great questions about the future of the APBA company

A comment from Ron Santo (who I assume is not the real Ron Santo) on my post with the photos of APBA's departure from Lancaster to Alpharetta, GA:

"I've been an on-and-off APBA player since the 1970's and have lived in Alpharetta, GA since 1998. I find it quite ironic that the mythical Lancaster operation of my youth should migrate to northern Metro Atlanta in a single, average-sized moving van.

"Here's my question: Why is APBA moving to Alpharetta? What is left of the once mighty game company? Will they be manufacturing new games? Will they be releasing new card sets (particularly baseball)?

"Anyone with answers, please enlighten those of us long 'out of the loop'."

Ron, welcome aboard!  I hope you continue to read this blog and participate.  Here are the answers to your questions:

1) I, too, note the irony of the image of one big van moving everything.  I am told that not everything John Herson wanted to move from Lancaster to Alpharetta made it on the van, so there is more than one van's worth.  However, a lot of the material on the van was fixtures (shelves, computers, etc.) so that's not a van solely loaded down with cases of vintage card sets.  In fact, the inventory of card sets they have left is pretty much all stuff that is left over from the 1970s and 80s.

The perception that the company was "once mighty" is an interesting one.  A former APBA official told me once that in their supposed heyday, in the 1970s, the company sold about 10,000 new baseball sets every year, and about 7,000 XB sets; and baseball was about 70% of the business.  If you do the math - I believe season sets retailed at about $12 to $15 in the early to mid 70s - the business was never as big as we all thought it was.

2) APBA is moving to Alpharetta because John Herson bought the company from a venture capital firm several years ago.  He announced July 28th that the company would move to Alpharetta.  He lives in the Alpharetta area.

3) What is left of the company depends on your view of what existed of the company before.  The company as Dick Seitz knew it has not existed for a long time.  The links of continuity to the Seitz era were Veryl Lincoln and Skeet Carr.  After the move to Georgia is complete (ie the truck arrives and is unloaded in Alpharetta) Veryl will no longer be an APBA employee.  Skeet will continue as a part-timer, working from Lancaster by correspondence.

APBA Hall of Famer Roy Langhans is organizing a send-off for Skeet and Veryl, and taking contributions for a gift to them.  It is not too late for you to contribute.

4) Whether they will continue to release new games is up to John Herson.  The last game he introduced was soccer, this summer, and according to an account from the APBA convention this summer, the company sold just 210 soccer games (although the post on the APBA Between the Lines board that stated that seems to have been removed).

5) The question about the new cards is the best question of all.  There is some question about the nature of the relationships John Herson has maintained with the people who contracted with the company, and how those relationships have been cultivated.  The 2009 football card problems are one example.  The Between the Lines board was filled with stories of errors, problems, and quality control issues with the 2009 football card set.  Multiple sources have confirmed to me that the problems happened because Ron Mura, who has calculated both baseball and football cards for APBA for many years, was unwilling to do the 2009 football cards because of his perception of how he was treated by John Herson.  Mark Zarb, who previously calculated football cards for APBA but was served with a cease-and-desist order by John Herson about the same time Herson sued me, was understandably no longer willing to work on the cards either.  That left only Herson himself, and it appears that the job was much more complex than expected.

Thus many people are apprehensive about the ability of a newly-restructured company, with little of the old infrastructure in place, to create the cards, get them printed, promote them effectively, and fulfill the orders.  Having done it myself, it's a lot more complex than you would think, and much more time-consuming.

Regarding products the company has already announced: John Herson announced in late July that the company was switching to what he called "just-in-time" printing.  The first releases, 1960(2R) and 1964(2R), were supposed to be ready within several weeks.  These cards were not going to be new calculations, though; they were going to be re-releases of the sets APBA had put out within the last few years, but had sold out of.  As of this writing, those sets have not been released.  John Herson posted on Between the Lines that he was having trouble getting the card images printed correctly, and that the sets would be delayed.  However, that post also appears to have been removed.

John Herson did subsequently announce that 1957(3R) and 1962(2R) would be released in the same manner.  This announcement was greeted with some curiousity in APBA circles.  The 1960 and 1964 calculations are at least from within the past several years, so it would make sense that new calculations would not be necessary. 

However, the APBA formula has changed several times since the last release of 1957 (1994) and 1962 (1989).  The introduction of the hit adjustment ot the calculation of the cards, in the early 1990s, was the most revolutionary change to the calculation of the cards since double columns were added for the 1958 set.  But when he made the announcement, John Herson said the 1957 cards (which he mistakenly called 1957 (2R)) and 1962 cards would be the same as the cards released in 1994 and 1989 respectively, with only the addition of the (K) and (R) pitching ratings being added or changed.  Thus the 1962 set would be based on cards using a long-outdated formula.  Also, no indication was made of whether the pitchers deserving (ZZ) control ratings would receive them; the statement that only (K) and (R) ratings would be added would indicate the 1962 set will not have (ZZ) pitchers (the 1957 set released in 1994 came out after the ZZ rating was added, so that set would have them if appropriate).

An interesting sidelight: two sources have confirmed for me that rather than managing the data for the 1957 and 1962 sets electronically, John Herson borrowed sets of the 1957(2R) from 1994, and the 1962(R) set from 1989 from customers; photocopied them; and is overseeing manual data entry of the information from the cards.

When all of these pieces are added together, the apprehension of the APBA community about the future of the company is understandable.

Perspective vs. facts: APBA's move from Lancaster to Georgia

Rod Caborn of Florida posted an interesting comment on APBA's move to Alpharetta, Georgia on The APBA Blog:

"After reading all the posts bemoaning the changes APBA is undergoing, it might be prudent to think about what happens if Mr. Herson’s gallant effort to save the company falls short.

"While we all enjoy the game, we need to remind ourselves that APBA is a business. If the business fails, we’re all losers.

"The changes that Mr. Herson are instituting are likely necessary to keep APBA alive and kicking.

"Crying over the past is not going to help APBA’s future. I am surprised at the lack of positive input and suggestions expressed by gamers. All the hand-wringing is not the answer.

"As far as departing Lancaster, I applaud the change. Lancaster is an out of the way place that is hard to reach and, at least to me, locked into the past. The hotels are out of the 1960s and getting older. Lancaster might make a great shrine, but the world has changed since Dick Seitz introduced APBA in 1950.

"Atlanta has a lot more going for it than Lancaster, including access to new and different resources that could, in fact, be positive for APBA. And lots of better hotel rooms…and it’s easy to reach from anywhere in the U.S.

"I’ve played APBA since 1956 and, while it’s great to be nostalgic, the only certainty in life is change. The APBA community needs to adapt to the changes that are occurring and be as supportive as possible, in order that the game survives.

"One final thought: no one else but Mr. Herson has stepped forward and put his money where his mouth is. Talk is cheap…and, to the best of my knowledge, Mr. Herson is the only person who has gone through the trouble of putting together a business plan and investing money in APBA. More power to him. I am cheering for his success."

Rod's comments make a lot of sense.  But there are some facts that are different than Rod's perspective.

1) Just as Lancaster is not necessary for APBA to survive, The APBA Game Company is not necessary for APBA the game to survive.  I wrote in my very first post on this blog that there is a difference between APBA the game and APBA the company.  Avalon Hill quit making Status Pro cards, and yet the game is arguably more vibrant than ever, because two, three, or more people make cards for the game every year.  It's easy to imagine the same thing happening when competition can thrive again in the APBA world.  I would argue that "if the business fails, we’re all losers" is exactly the opposite of the facts.  If the business fails, APBA fans will get more choices than they have now.  I play the game because it's fun, not to support some nostalgic idea of what a game company meant to me 30 years ago.  Playing with official APBA cards is fun.  Playing with cards I've created is fun.  Playing with Skeetersoft cards Bill Staffa makes is fun (it took a little getting used to the different play results though).

2) I agree that the changes that John Herson is making are probably necessary to keep the company alive.  I think what caused the hue and cry among fans is the way in which those changes were presented.  The biggest of those was, that the employees in Lancaster didn't know anything about the move at the convention, just days before the move was announced.  Yes, change happens.  But making that change as easy as possible is key to bringing along your constituency.  That didn't happen here, and many fans felt the cut was not only clean, but jagged and rough.

3) Ragging on Lancaster right after decrying the lack of positive input from gamers struck me as rather ironic.  I'm not qualified to speak on the merits of Lancaster because I grew up in the area, love the place, and so am admittedly biased.  But I can't imagine every hotel room in Lancaster is old and moldy as Rod argues.

4) Atlanta is indeed easier to reach than Lancaster.  Hartsfield Airport is one of the busiest (if not the busiest) airports in America.  But APBA's new location is more than 45 minutes from Hartsfield, according to this Google map.  And John Herson has stated that APBA will not do over-the-counter sales, nor have any other retail interface with customers - mail-order only.  That's fine - I didn't encourage over-the-counter sales when I sold APBA-compatible sets.  But the whole location discussion becomes moot if there is no personal interaction with the people at the location.

5) The idea that "the APBA community needs to...be as supportive as possible, in order that the game survives" is only true if you believe the official company is the only legitimate way to get products for the game.  I imagine Clifford Van Beek, the creator of the National Pastime game on which Dick Seitz based APBA, didn't think Seitz's products were legitimate.

6) "No one else but Mr. Herson has stepped forward and put his money where his mouth is."  That part is true.  A number of companies and individuals looked at APBA's books when the company was for sale by the venture capital group from whom John Herson bought it.  I personally know two of them - both very successful business people.  All the sellers that looked over the at-least four years the company was for sale passed.  One told me the business model as it existed was "hopeless."  This from a person who I knew personally for over 30 years; with whom I played in an APBA league 20 years prior to this conversation: and who founded, operated, and then sold a very successful business, similar to APBA, that he still manages for the company to which he sold.

7) "Talk is cheap…and, to the best of my knowledge, Mr. Herson is the only person who has gone through the trouble of putting together a business plan and investing money in APBA."  That may be true; I doubt that, if he has put together a business plan, he has shown it to anyone, so we don't really know if he has put one together.  He may be running it by the seat of his pants, for all we know.  But as I outlined above, he's not the only person who has looked into running APBA.

APBA fans: welcome to 66connection.com!

This is a time of uncertainty for APBA fans.  There are many changes going on with the company.  There are many changes going on in the APBA fan base.  As these changes happen, people are getting nervous about what will happen.

I hope the creation of 66connection.com will help ease those jangled nerves.  As time goes by, 66connection.com will become a source for information about what's going on with APBA games, not just with the APBA company.

I believe the game and company are two separate entities.  The company has closed its Lancaster, PA location and is in the process of moving to Alpharetta, Georgia.  I wish the company well in its new location.  After all, I have been an APBA fan since 1977.  I have enjoyed many hours of games, and made many friends through this game.

This move has generated a lot of speculation about whether the company will survive.  I don't know, and 66connection.com won't be the place to speculate about that.  66connection.com is not associated with the company in any way.  The company is quite capable of doing its own marketing, and their web site lives on at www.apbagames.com, so they don't need me to talk about their products.

APBA the game is a different story.  I started playing the game in 1977.  I bought my game, with the 1976 season cards, in a game store in the Park City Mall in Lancaster.  I still remember bringing it home.  I had no idea when I bought the game that the company was less than 15 minutes from where I stood, but it wasn't long before I was dragging Mom to their offices, where she would patiently wait in the car while I decided what I wanted, Veryl Lincoln wrote down what I wanted on my index card, and then filled my order.  Since I only lived about 40 minutes away, near York, PA, and my Mom liked shopping at the farmers markets in Lancaster County, it wasn't hard to incorporate a stop at APBA every couple of months.  I still remember looking at cards in March or so, when the new seasons would come out, getting carsick while Mom drove around.  I'd sit in the car while she shopped, looking over every card, some years even separating the XBs in the car.

So APBA the game is something that I think is valuable enough that it should live on, no matter what happens.  I'm mapping out exactly how this site can best create an environment to sustain the APBA community, but here are some of the basic ideas I've come up with:

--The goal won't be to make money.  If this site makes a few bucks because you want to contribute to keep it going; or you click the ads, buy stuff, and I get some commissions; or you buy stuff from sponsors, and they keep renewing ads, that's great.  Later on, if I offer items for sale, and you buy them, that's great.  I'll make a few bucks.  But 66connection.com, in and of itself, won't be a money maker.

--I'll offer some free services.  If you are looking for league members, I'll post your message free.  If you are looking for APBA items, I'll post your wanted ad free.  If you are selling sets or other APBA items, I'll post your ad free.  I'm still working out the parameters for that, so don't send me messages yet...but I'll let you know when I'm ready to take them.

--Lots of folks are looking for stuff on ebay but don't see everything.  I'll post links to items that I think are especially interesting, valuable, in-demand, or just because I want to.

--66connection.com will be a resource for materials that have previously been spread all over the web.  Doug Burg's 12 list will live here, with the most up-to-date version always posted.  That should be up in a couple days.  My friend Jim Cloman has been tracking sales of APBA cards on ebay, and I'll post that data too.  Other resources will go up as you request them, and I get permission (if necessary) to post them.

--This web site will be interactive.  You can contact me at francisrose2 AT gmail DOT com.  You can comment on any messages on this site (I'm not moderating the comments, but I reserve the right to moderate them, or switch them to approval if people get nutty).  You can "like" posts on Facebook, or tweet them on Twitter, directly from the message pages.

--Because this site will be interactive, I'll encourage you to be a guest poster.  I'll post articles, stories, league rundowns like the old APBAlone articles in the APBA Journal, and other materials  you submit.  This site isn't designed to be a soapbox for me; it's a place for you to get published too.

Finally, this place will be civil.  Many APBA fans have memories of playing games with their dads, and many APBA fans have introduced their sons and grandsons to the game.  I will do my best to keep this site a place you won't be afraid to let your son or grandson go.

Most of all, please give me your input, your ideas, your criticisms about what you like, don't like, and would like to see on 66connection.com.  This site will survive because of me, but it will thrive because of you.