66 Connection

VIDEO: dinner for former APBA employees Skeet Carr and Veryl Lincoln, part 3

Part 3:  Skeet and Veryl share more APBA memories, and Roy Langhans presents the gifts.

Part 1 here

Part 2 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.

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.

PHOTOS: APBA leaves Lancaster, headed for Alpharetta, GA

Roy Langhans was on hand today as the game company officially left Lancaster, PA.  The current (and soon-to-be-former) employees started on a several-day adventure, essentially driving the company to the Atlanta area.

Click here to see Roy's photos

Click here to see Lynne Seamans's photos

Veryl told me last week that he and the other APBA employees were packing up what remained of the APBA offices in Lancaster, loading the stuff onto a moving truck, and driving it to the new office in Alpharetta, where owner John Herson would be setting up shop.  The photos that Roy took include several views of the moving truck.

The APBA era in Lancaster is officially over.

UPDATE: Send-off for APBA employees Skeet Carr, Veryl Lincoln

Last week I posted about the work Roy Langhans is doing to put together a send-off for longtime APBA employees Skeet Carr and Veryl Lincoln.  Roy had a goal of raising $1,000 for each of them.  Veryl's money would go to a computer so he could stay connected to the APBA world (currently he's only able to get online at work, but of course that's over as of August 31st).  Skeet and his wife have a toddler grandchild who lives with them, and Skeet's gift will go toward an educational fund.

First let me say there is still time for you to contribute if you haven't already.  You can send a check payable to Roy Langhans, to:

Roy Langhans
10 Ferrous Court
Cockeysville, MD  21030

and you'll be included on the list of benefactors that's given to Skeet and Veryl, along with the gifts.  And when you read the email below, you'll see it's a list you want to be included among, if you know much about the APBA community.  Here's tonight's note from Roy:

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We have received $2210, with more expected.  The following have participated, or expect to:

Don Adams
(anonymous)
Bill Blair
John Cochrane
Bob Ellis
Phil Grabar
Conrad Judy
Roy Langhans
Scott Lehotsky
Ron Mura
Richard Peral
Dom Provisero
Jim Sce
Lynne and Ron Seamans
Pete Simonelli
Woody Studenmund
Joe Sweeney
Frank Welsh

John Cochrane, Bob Ellis, Conrad Judy, Lynne and Ron Seamans, and Pete Simonelli have requested notification regarding the presentation date, which remains undetermined. I told most of you that the truck would depart today (Sunday) for Georgia, but Irene forced a one-day delay.  I expect to be there in the morning, and hope to get some photographs for you and others.  Jon, Marc, and Veryl will be having one grand road trip.  Talk about an experience.

Observing such an outpouring of gratitude for Skeet and Veryl has really been a humbling experience.  Thank you all.  And thank you to Francis Rose, who distributed my original email on this project to his extensive mailing list; it has made a difference.

I will update you again in a week, and then wrap it up a week later.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Roy

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I think we can get to $3,000 total, $1,500 each for Skeet and Veryl.  Your contribution of $100, $50, or even $20 really isn't too much to thank these dedicated APBA employees who were instrumental in keeping the game company going through some tough times.

Send Roy a check today.  Even if it's an amount you think is small, isn't it worth it to be on a list with those names?

Please help the send-off for APBA employees Veryl Lincoln, Skeet Carr

I got the email below from APBA Hall of Famer Roy Langhans.  If you have had the opportunity to know Skeet Carr and Veryl Lincoln of APBA, even just by dealing with them by phone or email, you know they are quality guys who have represented the best about APBA. 

Skeet and Veryl have been with APBA since the 1960s, and provided the "good cop" to Dick Seitz's "bad cop" when it came to dealing with the customers.  I've been around both men many times, and they epitomize the kind of personal service that companies don't seem to care about any more.  They are passionate about the game and protective of the people who play it.  If you wonder about that, ask Veryl about his replays sometime.

These guys are not going to be destitute when their employment at APBA ends on Friday.  But this is a great opportunity to say "thanks" for the great service they've provided to all of us over the years.

Roy wrote:

"Please view this email as an announcement, not a solicitation.  I don't do solicitations very well.

"Many of us have desired to find a way to express to Skeet and Veryl our thanks for their friendship and the outstanding APBA service they have provided us for 40 years or more.  In many ways, they have been APBA to us.

"Idea Man (aka Mr. Lehotsky) has suggested that we collect some money to . . .

--permit Veryl to purchase a computer so he can readily keep in touch with us (and, not incidentally, keep his game-playing statistics), and

--help Skeet save for inevitable education costs for his toddler grandchild, who lives with the Carrs.

"Our goal is to collect $1000 for each of them.  Eight guys (in addition to Scott and me) willing to contribute $200 each would readily achieve that goal.  Anyone wishing to participate at a lower level is, of course, also welcome.

"As suggested in the opening sentence above, nobody should feel pressured to participate.  Did I say I don't do solicitations very well?

"If you wish to participate, please send me a check (Roy Langhans, 10 Ferrous Court, Cockeysville MD  21030) made payable to me.  I will notify those participating how much we have collected, and, of course, their name will be included with the presentation to Skeet and Veryl.

"We plan to deliver the donations to Skeet and Veryl at a September lunch or dinner.  Anyone wishing to attend - whether you donate or not - should let me know.  We would be thrilled to have you join us.

"My hope is that we can wrap this up within three weeks or so."

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Roy is one of the good guys in this community, and he's demonstrating it again by coordinating this effort.  Scott Lehotsky also deserves some credit for not only this, but all the work he's done for creating a real APBA community, and connecting the present and future of APBA with its past.  More on that in future posts.

Please send Roy some money.  $10 isn't too much, and even that much will help Roy reach his goal.  Roy's model is right - 10 guys at $200 each will do it - but 50 guys at 40 bucks each gets it done too.  And with Scott and Roy each in for $200, the goal is only $1600.  Two guys at $800 wraps it up too.

How much has the great service you've gotten from Skeet and Veryl been worth to you over the years?  This is how you can show the value you place on what you've gotten.