STRAT-O-MATIC BASEBALL FOUNDER’S EDITION

 REPLICA OF ORIGINAL STRAT-O-MATIC BASEBALL GAME REPRODUCED FOR 50^TH ANNIVERSARY OF COMPANY

 

 

Only 1,000 copies of the full game – game box, game parts and the 80 Major League

All-Stars that were published in 1961 – will be sold. The instant collectible will be signed, numbered and certified by Strat-O-Matic creator Hal Richman

 

 

GLEN HEAD, NY – DEC. 8, 2010 – Strat-O-Matic, whose vintage baseball-simulation games often sell for premiums in auctions, is producing an instant collectible to commemorate its 50^th Anniversary – a limited-edition,replica of the original Strat-O-Matic Baseball game, marketed only in 1961.

 

            Only 350 of the original games were sold and copies are so scarce today that long-time devotees of Strat-O-Matic have never seen the game box or its 80 cards of 1960 Major League All-Stars, much less played it. When a set of the cards alone showed up on eBay in 2003, it sold for $1,800.

 

            But when Strat-O-Matic celebrates its 50^th Anniversary in a full day of festivities on Feb. 12 in Manhattan, one of the special attractions will be STRAT-O-MATIC BASEBALL FOUNDERS EDITION, the identical replica of the original game box, game parts and, of course, the 80 stars from 1960, including such Hall of Fame players-to-be as Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Warren Spahn, Don Drysdale and Whitey Ford.   

 

Only 1,000 copies STRAT-O-MATIC BASEBALL FOUNDERS EDITION will be sold, all at the “Fifty for Fifty” promotional price of $50. Each will be certified as authentic, signed and numbered by Strat-O-Matic creator Hal Richman.

 

Eager gamers may visit the company web site at www.strat-o-matic.com to pre-order STRAT-O-MATIC BASEBALL FOUNDERS EDITION, which will be unveiled when gamers and celebrities converge Feb. 12 on Manhattan’s Community Church of New York, 40 East 35^th St.  (Please check the website for commencement dates for pre-orders.)

 

Richman, former Major League outfielder Doug Glanville (who played Strat-O-Matic passionately as a child and as an adult) and other hobby celebrities will be part of the festivities from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. So will the newly crowned “Ultimate Strat-O-Matic Fanatic” and, of course, the annual Opening Day attraction, the new cards and computer ratings for the latest Major League season.

 

 

 

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 1900s.  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).

 

*  Strat-O-Matic Baseball Founder’s Edition is a stand alone product.  It is not intended to be used with or compatible with any current Strat-O-Matic Product.

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Media Contact: Doug Drotman (doug@drotmanpr.com or 631-462-1198)