There has been some recent interest in the history of basic game boards, which has been a project of mine over the past few years. I have promised John Cochrane and Don Adams to write a chapter on the boards for their upcoming edition of the APBA handbook (and I still intend to), but in the meantime, I thought I would post some information on this forum for those who are interested. I should point out that this is a work in progress. Just when I thought I had identified all of the versions of the early boards, a previously unknown version, circa 1952, appeared on eBay. Thus, what follows is not the final word, but only what is presently known. My fascination with the boards was kindled five years ago when I was conducting a 1953 basic game replay using the original cards and boards from a 1976 game. I assumed that, apart from the addition of the pitching and base-running symbols, the play results on the 1976 boards were nearly identical to those on the 1953 boards. As I played, however, I wondered how many of the play results had been changed between 1953 and 1976 and to what extent these changes might affect the outcome of an inning or a game. Thus began a quest to identify the revisions in the play results between 1953 and 1976. This quest was soon expanded to document all of the revisions in the basic game boards. The first step was to obtain early versions of the boards, or copies of them. Because no dates were printed on the early boards, complete games were needed to identify their vintage. With the help of many individuals in the APBA community, most, if not all, versions of the basic game boards have been tracked down. Revisions of the boards were frequent during the 1950s; no fewer than eight versions were produced in this decade. By far, most of the changes in the play results occurred during these early years. One of the assumptions that proved to be wrong was that a single version of the boards was used with a given season. Complete games containing the 1952 season cards have been found with two different versions of the boards. A similar situation exists for complete games containing the 1954 season cards. One can only speculate that when the game company?s supply of boards ran low, a new batch of boards was printed, sometimes incorporating revisions in the play results. Here is a list of the presently known versions of the early boards, including the season of cards which accompanied the version in a complete game, and the major changes made in each version. When the version was not associated with a complete game, I have put a question mark after the presumed season. 1. 1950 Original boards (two large boards) 2. 1951? Fine-tuning errors and outs 3. 1952 Reassignment of outs on play results 8, 9, and 10 4. 1952? Hit-and-run play (runner on first base only) 5. 1952 Only a couple of changes in the play results 6. 1953-1954 Ball and strike counts added to play results 10 and 11 7. 1954-1955 Four smaller boards, optional pitching rules 8. 1956 Pitching and running symbols; optional base coaching and fielding rules; hit-and-run play with runners on first and third 9. 1958 Additional X and Y play results 10. 1960-1962 Addition of large letters to boards; change in optional pitching rules 11. 1963-1966 Alteration of 2 fielding plays with 2 outs 12. 1968-1976 New font. Change in sacrifice flies 13. 1978-1984 Addition of play results 14* and 42 --- In the first version of the APBA boards (1951), the play results were closely patterned after those of an earlier game, National Pastime. Like the APBA boards, National Pastime listed 41 play results for each of the 8 base-situations. The organization and wording of the play results was nearly identical between the two games. The major innovation to the original APBA boards was the inclusion of pitching and fielding grades. In addition, there were several changes of play results which altered the number of outs or the position of the baserunners. The original APBA boards were two large boards (14? high, 22? wide) with two base-situations on each side. On one board BASES EMPTY (on the left) was paired with RUNNER ON FIRST BASE. On the flip side of this board RUNNER ON SECOND BASE (on the left) was paired with RUNNER ON THIRD BASE. On the second board RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND BASES (on the left) was paired with RUNNERS ON FIRST AND THIRD BASES, and RUNNERS ON SECOND AND THIRD BASES (on the left) was paired with BASES FULL on the flip side. This arrangement of base-situations was retained for the first six versions of the boards. Presumably, because these large boards were cumbersome to use, they were often cut in half by the owner, yielding four smaller boards. Interestingly, cutting these large boards in half resulted in a pairing of base-situations on opposite sides of each board that differed from that used after 1955. For example, RUNNER ON THIRD BASE ended up on the opposite side of BASES EMPTY. When the sixth edition (1955 season cards) of the game came out with the four smaller boards, BASES EMPTY was paired with RUNNER ON FIRST BASE, and the other base-situations were paired on the remaining boards in the conventional format, which was retained for the next 40+ years. The large size of the original boards required a large game box (15? high, 23? wide, 1? deep). When the size of the boards was reduced in the sixth edition of the game, so was the game box. On the original BASES EMPTY board, beneath the play results were paragraphs describing how to use the pitching grades, how to call for intentional walks, how to call for a sacrifice, how to use the fielding grades, and how to call for infield ?in? or ?deep?. In the original game, there was no hit-and-run play, nor were there optional pitching, fielding, or base-running rules. These innovations were added to the game within the first five years. The original boards can be easily identified by examining play result 41 on the BASES EMPTY board. In the original version, the error is given the shortstop for each of the fielding grades. In all later versions, the error is given to the pitcher for fielding two and the the thirdbaseman for fielding three. The only known sets of the original boards belong to Richard Hormel and Woody Studenmund. The second version of the basic game boards most likely appeared in the second edition of the game issued in 1952 with the 1951 season cards. The date of this second version is uncertain because the only known set of the boards, belonging to Robert Henry, is not now part of a complete game. However, because the third version of the boards was contained in a complete game containing the 1952 season cards, it may be reasonable to assume that the second version of the boards was issued during the prior year. A number of changes in the play results on the second version were minor, such as shifting an out or an error from one fielder to another without affecting the number of outs or the position of the base-runners. However, other changes were more substantial, altering the number of outs and placement of the base-runners. For example, with BASES EMPTY (play results 17, 19, 21, and 22) several errors were changed to outs for fielding one and two. In other cases, play results from one fielding column were simply exchanged for those in another fielding column. The result of this fine-tuning was to diminish the differences between the fielding grades one, two, and three. A total of 33 changes in play results were made in the second version of the boards. At the risk of boring everyone to death, I will try to list those differences. I may have to upgrade my membership in order to be able to attach files to the posts. --- Readers may be interested in knowing which version of the boards is in the game at the Baseball Hall of Fame with the 1952 set and how this version compares to the boards in the game that Francis Rose displayed at a convention (whether Francis' set is the same, earlier, or later). As an editorial, instead of purely factual, matter, fans should observe that in its third season of cards (1952), APBA was already using its fifth known version of the boards. This constant change shows that Mr. Seitz was very dedicated to making the game as accurate and realistic as possible and apparently shows that he was playing it regularly and studying the results to know which changes to make while working a full-time job. Mr. Seitz' dedication was a large reason for APBA's success. --- Yes, indeed. The 1955 season schedule comes first and then the board history. In fact, I have already charted many of the changes in play results with each revision, so it is just a matter of summarizing them and posting the files. --- The third version of the boards was included in a complete game along with the 1952 season cards. This game was purchased at an auction by Francis Rose, displayed at the 2002 APBA convention in Lancaster, and subsequently sold to me. Another copy of this version of the boards is presently owned by Shea Smith. The third version of the boards contains minor revisions of play results 8, 9, and 10, in which the outs were changed from one fielder to another. Two of the changes (play results 8 and 9 with BASES EMPTY) had been previously altered from the original version and, thus, represent a second revision of the same play result. --- The fourth version of the boards appeared on eBay in February, 2004. It was auctioned by Tom Heiderscheit on consignment for a friend; the season of cards which originally accompanied the boards is unknown. However, the analysis of the play results on the boards place it between the third and fifth versions. Notably, this version introduced the Hit-and-Run Play, which was explained on the BASES EMPTY board below the instructions for the Sacrifice Bunt. Only a couple of changes were made in the play results. The first, on play result 6 with a RUNNER ON FIRST BASE, allowed the runner to score when there were two outs. The second, on play result 7 with RUNNERS ON FIRST AND THIRD BASES, removed the advance of the batter to second base on the throw to third. This was the first removal of the batter?s advance to second base on play result 7; in subsequent versions, this advance was removed in other base-situations. Apparently, Mr. Seitz was just beginning to realize that play result 7 allowed the batter to advance to second base all too often. --- The fifth version of the boards are part of a complete game housed in the National Hall of Fame Baseball Library in Cooperstown. Interestingly, this game also contains the 1952 season cards, indicating that games sold with the 1952 season cards contained as many as three different versions of the boards. It is possible that games sold early in the year included the third version, while those sold later had the fourth and fifth versions. It is also possible that the fifth version of the boards was used in the following year with the 1953 season cards. However, a complete game exists with the 1953 season cards and the sixth version of the boards. Evidently, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the version of the boards and season of cards. On the BASES EMPTY board the following sentence was added to the instructions INTENTIONAL WALKS: ?Intentional walks may not be called when the Hit and Run play or the Squeeze play is on.? A large number of changes in the play result was made in this revision. On the BASES EMPTY board, play result 23 was changed from a hit-by-pitcher to an error for all fielding grades. On the RUNNER ON FIRST BASE board, play result 12 on fielding 3 was changed from a double-play to a fielder?s choice. In general, many of the changes involved extra bases taken by runners on base-hits. Also, there were alterations in the fielder making assists and putouts. In one case, play result 22 with BASES FULL, the play result with infield in, a double-play, was switched with that with infield deep, a pick-off play. These changes demonstrate that Mr. Seitz was constantly fine-tuning the play results in these early years of the game. The complete list of changes in the play results is attached below. --- The sixth version of the boards is part of a complete game containing the 1953 season cards. An identical set of boards is present in another complete game containing the 1954 season cards. The only revisions to the play results were the addition of ball and strike counts to play results 10 and 11. In addition, a sentence was added on the bottom of the RUNNER ON FIRST BASE board stating, ?When not otherwise indicated, the even numbers are balls and the odd numbers are strikes, if the play required a pitch and the same batter remains at bat.? While these revisions are unlikely to change the outcome of a batter?s plate appearance, they show the game-maker?s attention to detail. --- The seventh version of the boards was acquired separately from a complete game and, thus, it is only by inference that it can associated with the 1954 and 1955 seasons. The revisions in the play results clearly place this version between the sixth and eighth versions. Because the sixth version came in a complete game with the 1954 season cards, and the eighth version came in a complete game with the 1956 season cards, it is likely that the seventh version was issued with the 1955 cards. Recently, however, a complete game was found which contained the seventh version of boards with the 1954 season cards. Thus, unless cards and boards were switched between owners, it appears that the 1954 season cards were issued with two different versions of the boards. This is the first year that the boards were issued as four smaller boards with the conventional pairing of BASES EMPTY opposite RUNNER ON FIRST, etc. The boards were printed on thicker cardboard stock with a glossier surface. The smaller size of the boards permitted the size of the game box to be reduced. The game box for this edition had the same blue-and-white printing used on previous larger game boxes. The playing results on these boards are nearly identical to those of the preceeding version. Two changes were made, only one of which altered the outcome of a play. First, on play result 40, fielding one, on the RUNNER ON SECOND BASE board, a fly out, runner taking third was changed to a fielder?s choice, runner thrown out at third. Second, the putouts were altered on a double-play line drive on play result 25, fielding one and three with RUNNERS ON SECOND AND THIRD. Optional pitching rules were introduced and described on the bottom of the RUNNER ON SECOND BASE board. Interestingly, in the original rules, 6 earned runs (later changed to 5) in 3 innings were required before reducing the grade of a pitcher. The rules for grade advancement are the same as in later years. --- The eighth version of the boards was part of a complete game containing the 1956 season cards. This was the year of major innovations, probably the result of Dick Seitz being able to turn his full attention to the game. Base-running symbols (F,S) and pitching symbols (W,X,Y,Z) were added to the cards and boards and their use was explained on the bottom of the RUNNER ON FIRST BASE board. Sporting a new font, the boards also introduced optional base-coaching rules on the bottom of the RUNNER ON THIRD BASE board and optional fielding ratings on the bottom of the RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND board. Curiously, the word ?BASE? was omitted from this latter board, but was subsequently restored on a later version. Extensive revisions were made in the play results incorporating the new symbols. There were also a number of revisions to the play results that were unrelated to the symbols. An additional page was added to the sacrifice booklet permitting the hit-and-run play with runners on first and third. The new version of the sacrifice booklet was bound on the left side with dark-colored tape instead of the light-colored tape used in previous versions. --- The ninth version of the APBA boards was included in a complete game which contained the 1958 season cards and may also have been used with the 1959 season cards. Evidence for this possibility comes from an eBay image of the boards from a complete game containing the 1959 season cards. The image shows that the BASES EMPTY board does not have the large letter, ?A?, in the lower right-hand corner, a change which was made in the next version of the boards in a complete game with the 1960 season cards. Revisions of play results in the eighth version included additional X and Y strikeout results. Also, on several error numbers, play results were simply exchanged between fielding grades, usually exchanging an out for an error. On the bottom of the RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND board, a new columar format was used to show which fielding numbers should be used for optional fielding ratings. This format was easier to read than the paragraph used in the previous version, although no changes were made in the rules for optional fielding. Interestingly, the roster sheet for this season (as well as that for the 1957season) includes the stern warning, ?WE WILL NOT REPLY TO ANY CORRESPONDENCE WHICH PROPOSES TO QUESTION OUR SELECTION OF PLAYERS WHICH COMPRISE THE TEAMS LISTED BELOW?. This statement may have resulted from the number of complaints about the composition of the 20-man rosters. However, the tone of statement contrasts with the otherwise friendly and welcoming sentences on the roster sheet from previous seasons. --- The tenth version of the APBA boards came in a complete game containing the 1960 season cards, and an identical set of boards was found in a complete games containing the 1961 and 1962 season cards. The outside of these game boxes had a few minor changes, although the blue-and-white format remained the same. In the top right corner the line ?Each Individual Player Performs? replaced the line ?320 Players Perform?. Evidently, an exact number of players was removed from the 1961 edition of the game to accommodate the expansion of the American League to 10 teams for the 1961 season and the further expansion of the National League in 1962. Also, the bottom of the box read ?APBA GAME COMPANY, INC.?, adding the abbreviation, ?INC.?, for the first time to the box cover and enclosed playing field. Presumably, APBA had become incorporated at some date prior to 1961. This version of the playing boards are decorated with the large letters ?A?, ?B?, ?C?, and ?D? on the lower right corners of the BASES EMPTY, RUNNER ON SECOND, RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND, and RUNNERS ON SECOND AND THIRD BASES boards, respectively. Revisions of the play results included removal of the infamous ?batter takes second on throw home? on play result 7 on the RUNNER ON SECOND BASE and BASES FULL boards. These are the second and third such removals, the first occurring in Version 4 on play result 7 on the RUNNER ON FIRST AND THIRD BASES board. However, ?batter takes second on throw home? remains on play result 7 on the RUNNER ON FIRST BASE and RUNNERS ON SECOND AND THIRD BASES boards. Again, there were several play results that were simply switched from one fielding grade column to another. A change in the rules for extra-base hits for players with double columns was denoted by a dagger on play result 6 on the RUNNER ON THIRD BASE board with an instruction to score the play the same as No. 4?a Double. Similarly, play result 2 on the RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND board was to be scored as a triple for players with double columns. Finally, play result 6 with BASES FULL was also to be scored as a double. Evidently, these changes were made to correct a skewing of extra-base hits that was caused by the double-column cards. Optional pitching rules were also changed. A pitcher?s grade was reduced when he gives up five earned runs in any three consecutive innings. Previously, the grade reduction did not occur until six earned runs had been scored. Further, a rule for raising the grade of a relief pitcher for the first batter he faces was introduced. These changes were included in the instructions for optional pitching rules on the bottom of the RUNNER ON SECOND BASE board. Finally, one of the revisions (play result 20, fielding 1, RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND) reverted to the same play result used in Version 8. --- The serial changes in the boards seem to be random and unconnected except for the changes of the 7 decreasing the number of times in the six possible base situations (obviously excluding bases empty and runner on third) in which the batter could advance to second on a throw on a baserunner from the original number of times, which was the same as on the National Pastime boards, to the present boards, on which the batter advances to second on a single with a runner on first only if he is F (since around the 1977 or 1978 boards). This change is recurring and consistent, unlike the other changes, which seem to be random. I believe that the reason why APBA changed second column 2s and 6s was to allow it to control homeruns (through 1s and 5s) and triples (through 2s and 4s). Before assigning second column numbers, it and National Pastime allowed the 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 to serve as different types of extra base hits for good reason (to make it easier to replicate variations of extra base hit results). The addition of second column numbers pretty much eliminated the need for numbers that could produce different extra base hit results. Once APBA added second columns, it needed only 1s, 2s, and 6s to reproduce extra base hits on double column cards, and to his credit, Mr. Seitz was perceptive to realize it and to modify the boards. He should be given credit for making this change. --- I agree that there seems to be no rhyme nor reason for the frequent revisions of the play results in the early boards. This is what makes it interesting. To try to understand what was going through the game-maker's mind as he developed the game. Obviously, one of the trends was to add more realism via the hit-and-run, optional pitching, fielding, and base-running rules, FSWXYZ symbols, double-columns, and split-grades. But the other tweaks of the boards seem to be of the sort we all are tempted to make when we sense some imbalance in the distribution of outs, number of errors, double-plays. I guess we will never know the actual reason for the changes. I know I am changing how I use the boards occasionally, such as not letting the runner on first advance to third on play result 8 unless there are 2 outs. (I am not up to the F and S yet, because I am playing with the 1955 season boards. Next replay). I am sure we have all made similar changes in how we use the boards, but the difference is that Mr. Seitz actually printed those changes with each succeeding version. My hope is that if anyone cares enough, they will study the changes to see if they can fathom some of the reasons which prompted them. You may be in a good position to do this because of your deep knowledge of the cards. --- The eleventh version of the boards was found in a complete game containing the 1963 season cards. An identical set of boards was contained in a complete game with the 1964 season cards. Ebay images of later complete games indicate that this version of the boards was also used with the 1965 and 1966 season cards. Interestingly, during these years, a change was made in the way the cards were packaged inside the game box. Up until the 1964 and 1965 seasons, the cards and envelopes were contained in a plain cardboard interior box. However, a new interior box, colored orange and blue, showing drawings of ballplayers, and exhibiting the price of $11.25 in a yellow circle, appeared in a complete game containing the 1964 season cards. Curiously, another game with the 1965 season cards has the old-style interior box. The exterior game box retained the familiar blue-and-white colors until the 1967 edition (1966 season), when a new box showing a picture of Hank Aaron became the standard for several decades. Revisions of the play results in the eleventh version were minimal; only three changes were made, all indicating a different fielding play with two outs. There was one typographical error made in this version, inexplicably dropping the word ?out? from one of the play results. There were several changes made in the instructions for play, presumably to clarify ambiguous points. In the pitching instructions on the BASES EMPTY board, one of the sentences was revised to read, ? ?No Change? always refers back to the D, or left, column and always means a base hit.? The words added are underlined. In the pitching instructions, a sentence was revised to read, ?If it becomes necessary to use a fielder as a pitcher, he must be considered a Grade D pitcher with a fielding rating of 1 and a W. On the bottom of the RUNNER ON FIRST BASE BOARD, a sentence was revised to read, ?If this symbol (*) appear after their names on the line-up sheet but not on their cards, they should be used just seldom as starters.? A sentence was then added, ?Some pitchers? cards show both a starting and relief rating.? On the bottom of the RUNNER ON THIRD BASE board a sentence was added to the optional base coaching, ?4. The manager may ?play it safe? with respect to base stealing with runners on any of the three bases, not the batter. This nullifies both the successful steals as well as the throw outs.? These changes fall into the category of ultrafine-tuning. --- The twelfth version of the APBA boards was included in a complete game containing the 1968 season cards. Ebay images indicate that this version of the boards may have been used the previous year, along with the introduction of the new game box. In addition, a new version of the sacrifice booklet was introduced, using plastic spiral-type binding, rather than the cloth binding of previous years. The price on the interior box holding the cards was increased from $11.25 to $11.95 using a sticker with the new price to cover the old price. A new font (sans serif) was used in this version of the boards. Revisions of the play results were, again, minimal. Some of the revisions reworded the same play result in a shorter phrase, such as changing ?runners to second and third? to ?runners to 2nd and 3rd, undoubtedly to save space. Another change was presumably an unintentional typographical error, changing ?balk? to ?ball? on play result 23, fielding one, with RUNNER ON FIRST BASE. Finally, the word, ?BASES?, was restored to the RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND board. There were several other revisions in the instructions on the boards. First, on each of the playing boards, the word ?Against:? was placed above and to the left of the each of the pitching grades. Previously, the word ?Against:? appeared only above the Grade C Pitcher column. On the BASES EMPTY board, the following sentences were added to the pitching instructions: ?Occasionally, pitchers may have A & C or A & B ratings. Always consider these pitchers as Grade A pitchers unless the A column happens to be a base hit. Then use the C or B column, as the case may be, for the final play result.? A & C grades had been introduced on the cards as early as the 1964 season, but this version of the boards is the first to contain the instructions for their use. Also on the BASES EMPTY board, the sentence added in the sixth version of the boards, ?When not otherwise indicated, the even numbers are balls and the odd numbers are strikes, if the play required a pitch and the same batter remains at bat.? With ?If a dice roll is made and the same batter remains at bat, as on an attempted steal, etc., the pitch, if not specified on the board, should be considered a ball on even numbers (like 38) and a strike on odd numbers (like 39). However, it is not likely that four balls or three strikes will ever be reached in this manner.? The intention of this revision presumably was to clarify the meaning of the replaced statement. Finally, on the bottom of the RUNNER ON FIRST BASE board, the following sentence was added to explain the use of split grades: ?The first one is the grade used when he starts a game and the second one, followed by an asterisk (*), is his grade only when he is used as a relief pitcher, such as D(B*).? --- The thirteenth version of the boards was contained in a complete game with the 1979 season cards. This is the first version to list play result 42 (Hit by pitcher) on all the boards. Previously, beginning with the 1971 season cards, players such as Ron Hunt were given play result 42, which was explained on Hunt?s card rather than the boards. Again, very few changes were made in the play results. Notably, on the BASES EMPTY board, play results 16 and 17 on fielding three were changed from simple errors to singles, with the batter taking second on an error. Also on the BASES EMPTY board, APBA introduced play result 14*, permitting the batter to steal second after taking first on a walk, but only when the bases were empty. Previously, beginning with the 1974 season cards, players such as Lou Brock were given play result 14*, with the explanation of the play result given on Brock?s card rather than the boards. There were several other changes in the board instructions. As mentioned above, play result 14* is explained directly under the main body of play results. Under the pitching instructions, the following paragraph was added: ?Certain players may have the numbers 7, 8, and/or 11 in the second columns of their cards. When any of these numbers is found in the second column of a player card, it is not subject to normal grade changes. Always use the left (grade D) column in these cases, no matter what the pitcher?s grade is.? On the RUNNER ON FIRST BASE board, the use of the J-factor was explained, ?INJURIES: See Injury Duration Table on back cover of Sacrifice Booklet.? Again, the J-factor had been previously introduced on the cards in the 1974 season and an injury duration table was included in a separate slip included in the game. On the RUNNER ON SECOND BASE board the following sentence was added to the grade reduction explanation for optional pitching: ?An A&B pitcher is first reduced to A&C, then to A, etc. An A&C pitcher is first reduced to A.? In the grade advancement instructions, the following sentence was added to the explanation that the A pitcher would not then be subject to a subsequent grade reduction: ?He cannot, however, advance his grade beyond A. Likewise, A&C and A&B pitchers cannot advance their grades. On the RUNNER ON THIRD BASE board, the third section of optional base coaching (play it safe) was amended to read, ?The runner on third then holds except on a hit or error, in which case he advances one base for each base the batter advances.? (the phrase added is underlined). The fourth section of optional base coaching, which deals with nullifying stolen bases when playing it safe, added the following sentence: ?If either runner is being held with Runners on First and Third, all double steal attempts are nullified.? Perhaps the most significant change in playing rules was made on the RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND BASES board. Under optional fielding ratings, several of the fielding totals required to achieve a fielding grade were changed. First, the fielding total of the infielders, catcher, and pitcher required for fielding grade of 3 on play results 21, 22, 24, 25, 29, 33, and 34 was reduced from less than 32 to less than 30. Fielding 2 was reduced from 32-35 to 30-34. Fielding 1 was reduced from greater than 35 to greater than 34. Finally, the following sentence of explanation was added to this board: ?When the third out of an inning is recorded on a tag play (at third, second or first) while a run scores (example: No. 16* in Fielding Three above), the run is always assumed to have crossed the plate BEFORE the tag occurred at the other base. The run, therefore, DOES count.? --- I can confirm this version dates to at least 1978 because I still have my first set that arrived in March, 1978 with the 1977 cards. The boards are exactly as Frank describes them, with the note about the 14* and play result number 42 on there, plus a 7 with a runner on first resulted in only F batters advancing to second. And, as a testament to quality game components, I still use those boards. They have seen thousands of games and are slightly worn around the edges and corners, but still have a glossy sheen and are entirely legible, good for another decade or two. I did not acquire another set until the 1990s (they say Copyright 1986 on them) but I have those strictly as backups. I do like the new 66! book, but, as others have mentioned, it has an entirely different feel from the boards. I would love to see the new play results on old-style "boards." It sounds like, then, there were NO board changes between the mid-1960s to the late 1970s? I wonder why, after that initial burst of almost annual tweaking, the company stopped making changes. It could be that Seitz was happy with what he had, or he got busy developing other games (the Master Game, for sure) and card sets, or he may have realized his company was going to make it and was able to put a big supply of boards in inventory and then not make changes until his supply ran out and he needed to re-order. --- Thanks for the confirmation that this version of the boards dates back to the 1977 season set. For these later versions, I have not been always able to pin down exactly when the transition occurred from one version to another. You are also correct that there are very few changes in the play results in the later boards. I guess that Seitz did believe that he had achieved a satisfactory balance between all the factors and was probably reluctant to make many more changes without disturbing that balance. Also, he may not have remembered all the reasons for choosing certain play results and, thus, may have been fearful of causing unwanted effects. I seem to remember that he gave a warning to those who would make their own modifications of the boards saying that they would disturb the delicate balance that had taken him years to fine-tune. --- The fourteenth version of the boards was printed on thinner board stock and contained the copyright date of 1986 at the bottom of each board. There were no changes in the play results in this version. There was one typographical change made to play result 14 on the BASES EMPTY board. In the thirteenth version, play result 14 had a ?see below? notation which informed the reader of the 14*. In the fourteenth version, this notation was omitted. Instead, there is a statement under the play results reading, ?On certain player cards an asterisk (*) may follow a play number. If that number allows the batter to reach first or second base safely, AND IF THE NEXT BASE IS UNOCCUPPIED, he steals the next base on the next pitch, which is scored a ball.? Also added to the bottom of each board on the left is ?APBA PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME? and on the right, ?APBA Game Company, Inc. Lancaster, Pennsylvania?. Previously, APBA had labeled its game ?ABPA MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME?. Presumably, the Major Leagues reserved the right for the use of its name, forcing APBA to switch ?Professional? for ?Major League? to avoid having to pay a licensing fee. This change was also present on the game box, and was evident on the team envelopes, which now used the city name and ?Senior Circuit? or ?Junior Circuit? rather than the team and league names. This is the last known version to be printed on the large white boards. Succeeding versions were printed in booklet form, with radio-like descriptions of play results. --- The 15th version of the boards appeared in games including the 1995-1999 season cards. The boards exhibit copyright dates of 1986 and 1995. One subversion of these boards has ?a division of SAI? printed on the bottom right of each page, while another has the MMI (Microleague Multimedia, Inc.) logo. This is the last version in which the play results are printed on board; subsequent versions were printed in booklet form. The play results are color-coded in blocks (green for hits and errors, orange for outs, yellow for unusual plays and miscellaneous plays changed by symbols), which facilitated finding specific play results. However, the radio-like description of the plays, while imaginative, was not easy to read because of the small font used. Also, the actual result of the play was often obscured in the lengthy description and overuse of abbreviations. The playing instructions and optional rules, which had previously been printed on the boards, were instead printed in a separate booklet along with the sacrifice bunt and hit and run play results. Curiously, the optional pitching rules in the booklet were trimmed from those in previous years. Any pitcher allowing no earned runs in five innings increased his grade by one letter. Previously, pitchers with grades higher than ?D? required more than five innings with no earned runs to advance his grade. Also, in this version of the rules, advances were limited to two letter grades. The optional fielding was also trimmed. Omitted was the infield grades, affecting play results 21, 22, 24, 24, 33, and 34. For these play results, the full team fielding grade was used. Whether these omissions in optional pitching and fielding were intentional, or an oversight, is uncertain. Because the omitted rules were reinstated in later versions of the game, it is likely that they ?fell between the cracks? during the preparation of the instruction manual. There were very few changes made in the play results from the previous version. The ?ZZ? result was added to the boards on the BASES EMPTY and RUNNERS ON FIRST AND THIRD BASES, play result 14. The ?ZZ? result had been introduced for the 1990 season cards, and its use was described on the roster sheets for the succeeding years. Almost all the other changes in the play results involved switching an out or error from one fielder to another. Curiously, this version was the first to list different play results for each of the pitching grades on extra base hits. APBA used these extra results to vary the outfielder making the assist when throwing out a runner attempting to take an extra base. Also, on the BASES EMPTY board, play results 30 and 32 were switched to flyouts to CF when there were two outs. Evidently, the game-makers wanted to increase the number of flyouts to CF to match the actual distribution of flyouts. Details, details. The other curious change was to assign ball one or stike one on unusual plays. Formerly, the rule had been to assign a ?ball? to even numbers and ?strike? to odd numbers when needed. For some reason, APBA did just the opposite in four play results on RUNNERS ON FIRST AND THIRD BASES board. --- I am currently working on the most recent versions of the "booklet" boards. Listed below is a summary of the known versions of the basic game boards. Season* Major Changes ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1950 2 1951 Fine-tuning errors and outs 3 1952 Reassignment of outs on play results 8, 9, 10 4 1952 Hit-and-run play (runner on first base only 5 1952 More fine-tuning (runner advancing with 2 outs) 6 1953-1954 Ball and strike counts on play results 10 and 11 7 1954-1955 Four smaller boards, optional pitching rules 8 1956-1957 Pitching and running symbols; optional base coaching and fielding rules; hit-and-run play on 1st and 3rd 9 1958-1959 Additional X and Y play results 10 1960-1962 Large letters on boards, change in optional pitching 11 1963-1966 Alteration of two fielding plays with 2 outs 12 1967-1976 New font, changes in sacrifice flyouts 13 1977-1984 Addition of play results 14* and 42 14 1985-1994 Boards on thinner stock, copyright 1986 15 1995-1999 ZZ added to boards, color coded, radio-style results 16 2000 Booklet style boards 17 2001-2002 Correction of typographical errors 18 2003 Game renamed to "66" -------------------------------------------------------------------- *Year of the card season --- Another version of the basic game boards came out this year with many changes in the play results. I will be documenting these changes in the next month (or so). Also, I am considering a similar analysis of the different versions of the master game boards. To the best of my knowledge, there have been four versions of the master boards, including a new one just out this year. 1. Original boards (1976) Thick boards, red RP boards 2. Second version (1987) Thick boards, blue RP boards (thinner stock used in the 1990s) 3. 66! Booklet (2003) 4. 66! Booklet (2006) --- I found out that there are five different versions of the master boards: 1. Original boards (1976) Thick boards, red RP boards 2. Second version (1987) Thick boards, blue RP boards (thinner stock used in the 1990s) 3. 66! Booklet (2003) 4. 66! Booklet (2004) 5. 66! Booklet (2006) Roy Langhans, Dan Armstrong, Ed Zack, and I will be analyzing these boards during the next year to document the changes in the play results. ---