General Press Release for Anniversary Celebration

 
STRAT-O-MATIC CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH OPENING DAY CELEBRATION/CONVENTION IN NEW YORK CITY AND A SEARCH FOR
THE ULTIMATE STRAT-O-MATIC FANATIC
 
 
GLEN HEAD, NY – NOV. 15, 2010 — Strat-O-Matic Game Company, the leading producer of sports board and text-based computer games will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2011 with a host of special events and promotions honoring the legacy of the venerable sports games and paying tribute to the legions of loyal Strat-O-Matic Fanatics that have been integral to the company’s success.
 
Gala Opening Day Celebration Planned for Feb. 12, 2011
 
Thirty years ago, before the advent of overnight delivery, customers decided that the 3-4 days it took for the new baseball player cards to arrive via UPS was just too long to wait. So without an invitation, Strat-O-Matic Fanatics from across America lined up outside the company’s Glen Head, Long Island (NY) offices in the middle of the winter to pick-up the new baseball player cards for themselves and their league members. And once it began, the tradition of Strat-O-Matic Opening Day was born.
 
To recognize the Company’s 50th Anniversary, this year, Opening Day will be held in New York City on February 12, 2011 from 7:30 am-6:00 pm at the Community Church of New York (40 East 35th Street). Hundreds of Strat-O-Matic Fanatics from across America are expected to attend the free event. In addition to allowing people to pick-up their baseball player cards and computer games from the 2011 season, the event will be more like a convention, with a variety of speakers, panels, celebrity Strat-O-Matic guests and interactive discussions about the game.  The venue will even have a game room for Fanatics to play pick-up games.
 
The highlight of the festivities will be a state of the company address by Strat-O-Matic inventor Hal Richman. Other speakers and panel discussions will include Glenn Guzzo, author of the book Strat-O-Matic Fanatics, a Q&A with board game and video game researchers and developers; plus a few celebrity Strat-O players and sports fantasy game icons including Doug Glanville, John Dewan, Bill Daughtry and others to be announced.
 
All attendees to the 50th Anniversary Celebration/Opening Day 2011 will receive a limited-edition special collectable gift, available exclusively at the event. Guests will also be able to purchase additional products, including a limited signed and numbered reproduction of the very first Strat-O-Matic Baseball board game produced in 1961  and a 50th Anniversary commemorative t-shirt.
 
Search for the Ultimate Strat-O-Matic Fanatic
 
It’s impossible to honor the 50th Anniversary of the Company without paying tribute to the millions of people who have rolled the Strat-O dice. That’s why Strat-O-Matic is searching for the ULTIMATE STRAT-O-MATIC FANATIC. To enter, people are invited to submit stories, pictures, videos, box scores, photos of collections, or anything and everything that proves they are the ULTIMATE STRAT-O-MATIC FANATIC. For more information or to enter the contest, visit www.strat-o-matic.com and look under the Strat-O-Wire for information.
 
The ULTIMATE STRAT-O-MATIC FANATIC will be honored at the 50th Anniversary Celebration/Opening Day 2011with a trophy from Hal Richman plus a free set of Strat-O game cards and computer games of their favorite sport for the rest of their life. Four runners-up will receive a $100 Strat-O gift certificate.
 
About Strat-O-Matic
Strat-O-Matic was invented by 11-year-old Hal Richman in his bedroom in Great Neck, NY in 1948 because he became frustrated by the statistical randomness of other baseball board games.  He discovered the statistical predictability of dice would give his game the realism he craved.  Over the next decade he perfected the game at summer camp and then as a student at Bucknell University.  After producing All-Star sets in 1961 and ‘62, he parlayed a $5,000 loan from his father (and made a deal that if it didn’t work out he would work for his father’s insurance company) into the original 1962 Strat-O-Matic Baseball season game. Needless to say Hal never had to take a job with his father.
Strat-O-Matic, based in Glen Head, NY and on the Internet at www.strat-o-matic.com, produces the top selling sports board games and is the leading producer of realism/stats sports computer games. The company publishes baseball, football, basketball and hockey games to play both on and off your computer screen. “Strat-O” games are known throughout the sports community for their statistical realism and accuracy. The company has the world’s greatest sports game stat libraries with top-of-the-line seasons dating back to the early 1900’s.  On the Internet, the company has partnered with The Sporting News to create innovative fantasy/simulation games and previously with Sports Illustrated Kids to produce a line of new fantasy sports games for a younger demographic.  Recently the company released Strat-O-Matic Negro Leagues, the first sports simulation game to accurately reflect more than 100 Negro League players who never had the chance to show their skills in the major leagues. All Strat-O products are available in both board and computer game formats.
The company has a loyal celebrity following including a bevy of sportscaster and sports journalists like Bob Costas, Buzz Bissinger, Jon Miller, former MLB’ers Keith Hernandez, Doug Glanville, Cal Ripken; and sports super fans including Bryant Gumbel, Tim Robbins, Drew Carey and Spike Lee. More information is available at: www.strat-o-matic.com).
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Media Contact: Doug Drotman (doug@drotmanpr.com or 631-462-1198)