APBA
CONVENTION 2009
July 24 - July 26
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The applause was followed quickly by many congratulatory handshakes. The 2009 APBA Tournament Championship had just been decided: Knoxville, Tennessee’s John Duke and his 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates had defeated the 1930 St. Louis Cardinals, managed by Walt Husted of Mt. Vernon, Ohio.
What always seems to be the fastest weekend of the calendar year was now suddenly over…….another APBA Convention and Baseball Tournament was history. But what a weekend it was!
It all began Friday evening, July 24th with APBA President Marc Rinaldi calling the close to 100 APBA devotees (and some spouses) to order. Those present represented at least fifteen states and Canada. In addition, the event welcomed a reporter and video film crew from the New York Times, who covered the entire weekend’s events for eventual publication in the Sunday, August 8th edition of the paper, as well as inclusion on the Times website that same day.
What has pretty much become the standard itinerary began with Marc’s opening remarks, which included a rundown of all the new product releases planned for the remainder of 2009 and 2010, as well as the announcement that APBA Convention 2010 would be held once again at this year’s site, The Heritage Hotel, Lancaster, during the same weekend in July.
The crowd then took an hour’s break for the evening meal, and once the affair resumed, the 2009 APBA Hall of Fame inductees were announced. John Cochrane of Arlington, Virginia and Dominic Provisiero of Centereach, New York were recognized as the newest members, each receiving a commemorative plaque as well as a well-deserved ovation from the crowd.
Marc followed with his annual Q & A session; there was a quick review of the Tournament Rules by APBA Staffer Veryl Lincoln, then APBA Tournament Secretary Sandi Rinaldi conducted a three-round Quizo Contest, the winner receiving a Cooperstown Collection 1919 White Sox Player’s Jersey. It was a productive night for Hall of Famer Cochrane…..he won the contest.
The evening concluded with an added feature. Normally conducted in private by the APBA Staff, the random drawing was held to determine the team assignments for the eight Divisions that would begin play bright and early Saturday morning. There would be seventy-six managers vying for the Championship Trophy, a record number for a Company-sponsored Tournament. APBA Staffer Skeet Carr’s solution was six divisions comprised of ten teams and two divisions made up of eight teams.
Using the Round Robin format, the players in the ten-team divisions would play one game against each opponent until the last round and play two games against their final opponent, while those in the eight-team divisions would play two games apiece for the first three rounds and one game against their last four opponents.
The 2008 Tournament, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, produced a tournament first as four of the eight division winners posted 9-1 records. History would not repeat itself this year, though, as the best mark any would record was an 8-2 mark…..but five of the division winners accomplished the feat: Ray Ouellette (Blackwood, NJ – 1930 A’s); John Duke (Knoxville, TN – 1909 Pirates); Brian Wells (Wyomissing, PA – 2004 Cardinals); Mike James (Columbia, MD – 1930 Cardinals) and Steve Skoff (Hummelstown, PA – 1977 Dodgers).
The Tournament Committee opted this year to name the Divisions after APBA Hall of Famers, so in the Quarter-Final Round, John Duke (Howard Ahlskog Div.) defeated Steve Skoff (Bob Levy Div.) 2-0; Brian Wells (Dick Seitz Div.) downed George Hines (Scott Lehotsky Div.) 2-0; Walt Husted (Pete Simonelli Div.) eliminated Paul Trinkle (Fritz Light Div.) 2-0 and Ray Ouellette (Don Adams Div.) squeaked by Mike James (Ed Zack Div.) 2-1
The Semi-Finals on Sunday paired Ouellette against Husted and Duke versus Wells, the 2007 Champ against the 2008 Champ!
Both Husted and Duke won two and lost one to advance to the finals, where Duke joined Brian Wells as the only two-time Tournament Champion! .
The countdown for APBA Convention 2010 has already begun. See you there?
Watch The New York Times video
View The New York Times article
Results
of the Divisional play and the Championship Bracket
View
pictures from the 2009 APBA Convention & Tournament in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
