Bill Bordegon is overseeing a multi-million campaign to bring a rejuvenated APBA Basebal back to the tabletop In his professional life, Bill Bordegon has seen his share of passion and loyalty among consumers.

After all, Bordegon has worked for companies that catered to the most passionate and loyal of customers: Gillette (who for decades has owned 70 percent share of the shaving market) and Fleer.

But never has he been exposed to such loyalty - such over-the-top enthusiasm - as he's seen from APBA Baseball players.

"APBA players are the most passionate and loyal consumers I have ever encountered," says Bordegon, president of APBA. "The APBA community is like a family - as soon as you tell someone you are or were an APBA player, there is an immediate bond."

In this, APBA's 50th anniversary, Bordegon is at the helm of a multi-million-dollar initiative to bring APBA to the forefront of the gaming industry. While that seems like a daunting task in this day and age of computer simulation games, APBA is attacking the landscape like Mark McGwire turning on a Randy Johnson fastball. Once only available through the mail, APBA can now be found in several major retail outlets and dealer shops. The game has undergone a redesign in packaging, improved game board, colorful game cards complete with team logos and a youth-oriented APBA Superstars, targeting beginning players in the 4-to-7-year-old demographic.

More importantly, APBA is doing something it rarely has in 50 years: advertise and market itself.

"We're supporting the APBA repositioning launch with $1 million in advertising, promotion and in-store retailer support programs," Bordegon says. One of those in-store support programs is the APBA Coaches program, where longtime APBA experts visit stores across North America to teach the game to store personnel and customers through one-on-one games and tournaments.

All of it is paying off. "APBA has consistently averaged about $1 million a year in sales," Bordegon says. "By the end of 2002, we will have grown to about $25 million in annual sales."

For the little game once only available through a mail order ad in the back of a baseball publication, the future never looked brighter.