Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:19 pm
My name is Tom Barchfeld and I live in Homestead, PA, near Pittsburgh. I first played the board game with the 1968 set after finding an ad in a baseball magazine. My brothers and some from the neighborhood and I would play which was a suburb in the south hills of Pittsburgh. We also had the Old Timer teams, and I would use Early Wynn 1956 as my best pitcher against my brother Chuck when we would choose players from The Old Timer set and play a 7-game series.
I'm 65 and will be 66 in only 3 days. Currently retired, I was a computer specialist and before that a computer operator when I lived a little west of Harrisburg while working on a large Navy base.
First played online with ATG3 in 2007, after my brother Chuck who uses Chuck1234 as his SOM username told me about it. I also enjoy walking and bowling. My favorite team has always been the Pirates.
My online team names were named for where I lived at the time, and currently use Homestead Grays for the negro team from here. There is a bridge named Homestead Grays between Homestead and Pittsburgh over the Monongahela River. On the bridge there are banners attached to the light poles with pictures of Homestead Grays. Right now, Jud Wilson, Cumberland Perry, Sam Bankhead and Ray Brown have banners still hanging up. More were up last year but some were taken down due to winter. A 27,000 square foot mural of Josh Gibson was painted on the side of the Voodoo Brewing Co. building and unveiled May 21, 2021 in Homestead at 205 E 9th Ave near Amity St.
My favorite players were Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski.
The online teams I like to make are small ball teams using Steve F's very good idea of having 4 asterisk 9 inning starters. I build my team to compliment the pitching with good defense, stealing and good running speed. My current semi-final team built like that is doing very well. I used to make righty ballpark teams mostly but what I'm doing now is better. My brother Chuck1234 would always pitch Ed Farmer against my usually all right-handed lineups and beat me. My preferred cap is 80M with no DH. Some helpful managers have been my brother Chuck, Chompsky, RiggoDrill, The Last Druid, FrankieT and Steve F. The Last Druid would send league email even in Barnstormer leagues with good thought-provoking comments about my team and other teams. I was saddened last week to hear of his passing and was shocked. He won the very first league I joined in ATG3 and in the last Barnstormer league semi-final we were in together, his team beat mine in game 7 in 13 innings.
Tom