September 23, 2012
June stats posted
DAYTON, OH- The stats and power rankings for June of the 1975 season is now underway.  Please have your profiels to your road managers by October 1st. 

July 13, 2012
New Manager on board
FRANKFORT, IN- Taking over immediately the reigns of the Schaumburg Saxons will be Greg Stillwagon, who replaces Vin Onstott. Greg will be sending out MP's for the April series for the Saxons no later than Monday (7/10), so be expecting them soon. Greg will be playing all April home games for the Saxons too. Welcome back a former SPB I manager in Greg. He is happy to get in on the start of the season.

July 8, 2012
1975 Pre-Season Prognosis
DAYTON, OH - Thanks to SPB-1 beat writer Joe Dezarlo for giving us his insights into the upcoming season with his Pre-Season Prognosis.  Thanks Joe!

May 27, 2012 *Updated*
1975 Park Changes
DAYTON, OH -The Amboy Dukes, managed by Al "Doc" Schweitzer has left the spacious confines of Milwaukee's County Stadium. They have replanted the Dukes in Atlanta's cozy Fulton County Stadium, where they air is lighter and the balls carry much better. This leaves Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium and Milwaukee's County Stadium as the available parks in SPB I. Dave Lauer, manager of the Kenosha Eagles, moved out of the Astrodome, and into County Stadium (Mil-A). And Vin Onstott, manager of the Schaumburg Saxons, has left Shea Stadium (NY Yanks), and moved into cozy Metropolitan Stadium, home of the Twins. Mike See of the Las Vegas Thunder has claimed Shea Stadium (AL - Yankee version) as his home park. He leaves Riverfront Stadium to do so. Mike Boling, manager of the Terre Haute Phillies has abandoned 3 Rivers Stadium (Pittsburgh), and is relocating his franchise in Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati) for 1975 home games. Manager Don Rahn of Niskayuna moves out of Jarry Parc (Mont. - N.L.) and into Pittsburgh's 3 Rivers Stadium for the coming season. Available Parks - Parc Jarry (Mon) - Astrodome (Hou).

May 20, 2012
1975 Managerial Replacement
DAYTON, OH - It is my privilege to announce that our ranks are once again complete with the appointment of veteran SPB manager Steve Lehman taking over the former Lafayette Blue Sox team. Steve has renamed the team as the Bloomington Hoosiers, and will relocate them back to Candlestick Park, one of their old haunts. I have added Steve to the email list for SPB I. Please welcome him to the "original" SPB league. The trading deadline for 1975 is now set for June 25th, with the season to begin on July 1st. John T. will add Steve L. as new manager, the trade deadline, etc. to the SPB I webpage soon. This makes the available SPB I parks as Metropolitan Stadium (Min-A) and Fulton County Stadium (Atl-N), both known as excellent hitters parks. If anyone wishes to change their home park, now is the time, before the season begins.

April 22, 2012
1974 Season in Review
DAYTON, OH - Thanks goes out to our beat writer Joe Dezarlo for providing us with a great Year in Review.  Thanks Joe!

April 15, 2012
1975 Call for protected rosters
FRANKFORT, IN - Now is the time to submit your protected rosters for the Phase II draft preparation. The draft is 2 weeks from today. Following is the list of how many players each team may protect this year:

20 Players:
Canton Moondogs (Tom Kackley)
Kenosha Eagles (Dave Lauer)
Niskayuna Nationals (Don Rahn)
Wilmont Dodgers (Greg Nolen)
Dayton Triangles (John Turnbull)

19 Players:
Blue Ridge Mountaineers (Steve Brunner)
Spirit Mountain Volcanoes (Marc Hollingsworth)
Schaumburg Saxons (Vin Onstott)
Rossville Cubs (Rick Ryan)
Terre Haute Phillies (Mike Boling)
Frankfort Tigers (Gary Plunkitt)
Ashville Tourists (Rich Applegate)
Evanston Black Sox (John Ungashick)
Lafayette Blue Sox (Steve Ehresman)
Amboy Dukes (Doc Schweitzer)
Hollywood Stars (Don Zminda)
Fairfax Peppers (Ron Peterson)

18 Players:
Las Vegas Thunder (Mike See)
Rockford Forest Cities (Terry Baxter)
Flushing Rats (Joe DeZarlo)
Cleveland Spiders (Chris Williams)
Gonzaga G's (John Dewan)

The deadline for protected rosters will be Saturday, April 21st, one week before draft day. You may send your lists in anytime between now and next Saturday. I will send out the P2 draft ready files next Sunday, or earlier if everyone submits them before hand. This will give you about a week to set up for Phase II.

February 18, 2012
1974 Voting Booth open!
DAYTON, OH - The final stage is set for the 1974 season, as the SPB Voting Booth is now open for the 1974 Awards and All Stars from our latest season. Please get you voting in soon, as we also have to vote in the near future on the SPB 60 league's 1951 season. Thanks to each of you for taking care of 1973's final act.

February 3, 2012
1975 New manager, updated!
DAYTON, OH - 1974 Manager Marc Robinson has decided to give up his 1974 team because of too many SPB Leagues running at the same time. He regrets having to leave but finds it difficult to manage in so many leagues running at the same time. Marc is remaining in his other leagues for now. Happy to say the new manager will be SPB veteran Greg Nolen taking over the former Dayton Flyers/Twin City Replacements franchise. He will rename the team as the Wilmont Dodgers. He will also drop Candlestick Park, and move into Anaheim Stadium as his home park. He is taking over this team immediately. Please welcome Greg to SPB I.

 January 1, 2012
1975 Team name changes
DAYTON, OH - The Lafayette Cheifs, along with changing their ballpark, is going back to an old moncker, and will now be known as the Lafayette Blue Sox. Don Rahn has also changed his team name from the Niskayuna Red Storm to the Niskayuna Nationals.  

January 1, 2012
1975 Ballpark switch
FRANKFORT, IN - The Lafayette Cheifs have pulled up stakes from Candlestick Park, and will move into Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium.

December 30, 2011
1974 World Series Champion Crowned!
FRANKFORT, IN - The Commissioner sends a hearty hats off to the Flushing Rats who beat the odds, and the Las Vegas Thunder in one of the best SPB I World Series to date. The Thunder, managed by Miracle Mike See, who led his team to 119 regular season wins, just could not quite quell Jumping Joe DeZarlo's hard driving Rats team. See was quoted as saying he felt "that he was always trying to come from behind" and he congratulated Jumping Joe for some crafty managerial decisions, especially in the 7th and final game.
If you have not yet read the game reports from Joe D., now is the time to do that, as he did an excellent job in writing up all 7 games. Congratulations Mgr. DeZarlo. Job well done!
The Commissioner also adds that both teams should be among the class of the 1975 teams as well. So that gives everyone a challenge to rise to the top, despite these powerful dynasty type teams.

December 23, 2011
1974 World Series set
DAYTON, OH - Congratulations goes out to the two 1974 Pennant winners, who will square of in SPB-1's 21st World Series.  The American League champion Flushing Rats,  skippered by Joe Dezarlo, will take on the National League Pennant winning Las Vegas Thunder, with Mike See at the helm.  Complete coverage will be available on the left menu.  Good luck to both managers!

December 23, 2011
1974 End of season reports
DAYTON, OH - As with the end of each season, the 1974 Overuse and 50% Use or Lose reports are now published and ready for your reading enjoyment.

December 23, 2011
1974 September/final stats and power rankings posted
DAYTON, OH - The stats and power rankings for September 1974 are now posted, along with the monthly awards.  The SPB I League office would like to congratulate the four divisional winners from our just completed 1974 season.

In the A.L. East, the winner easily was the Flushing Rats who won 102 games this season . Congratulations goes out to Joe DeZarlo!

In the A.L. West, the winner is the Gonzaga G's with 98 wins. Congratulations goes out to John Dewan!

In the N.L. East the Cleveland Spiders take another crown with 99 wins. Congratulations goes out to Chris Williams!

And last but certainly not least, the Las Vegas Thunder won an amazing 119 games to capture the N.L. West title. Congratulations goes out to Mike See!

Gaining honorable mentions were the 2nd place finishers:
A.L. East - Spirit Mountain Volcanoes, 83 wins, 19 games out. (Marc Hollingsworth).
A.L. West - Rossville Cubs, 95 wins, 3 games behind. (Rick Ryan).
N.L. East - Asheville Tourists, 92 wins, 7 games off the pace. (Rich Applegate).
N.L. West - Rockford Forest Cities, 105 wins, 14 game out. (Terry Baxter).

Tough Luck Finish: The Forest Citys finished an amazing 14 games off the pace of the Thunder. Tough luck Terry. In any other division you would have won it easily!!

July 5, 2011
Steve Rogers tosses Perfecto!
DAYTON, OH - Having a DMB No-hitter is always an exciting experience.  Tossing a perfect game is icing on the cake!  Here is the box score of the Dukes' hurler against the Phillies.  He needed only 82 pitches for the gem. Also included is the email traffic that accompanied the initial announcement. Congrats Doc!  

July 1, 2011
1974 Pre-season newsletter  
DAYTON, OH - Our esteemed beat writer, Mr. Joseph Dezarlo has crafted a mighty fine pre-season newsletter for your cranial consumption.  Great job Joe! 

June 25, 2011
Free Agent claim  
FRANKFORT, IN -

Part 1:
Unable to be traded and unhappy with their playing time outlook for the upcoming season, the following 3 players have ask for and been granted their unconditional release by the Las Vegas Thunder. They are free to sign with another team.....

1B/3B Ron Cash
2B Dwain Anderson
3B/2B/1B Carmen Fanzone

So all 3 of these players can be claimed by any team who needs/wants them. As always, with free agents, teams finishing lower in the 1973 SPB standings will have priority on claims if more than one team requests the player. Let me know ASAP if you wish to claim these players. Deadline for claiming these players is this Saturday, June 25th.

Part 2:
The way it has panned out is that the two lowest record teams from 1973 have staked claims on 2 of the 3 players. Moondogs and Red Storm will be receiving these two players. Waiting to hear from Tom of Canton on which one he prefers.

This only leaves D. Anderson, who has one claim so far. Since this has developed so quickly today, I am going to set the deadline for any further Anderson claims to be in by noon on Wednesday, 6/22. I will announce the full results tomorrow. There were 7 teams submitting claims for Fanzone, 4 for Cash, and so far 1 for Anderson.

Part 3:
All 3 players released earlier by the Thunder (M. See) have been claimed.
INF Carmen Fanzone was claimed by the Canton Moondogs. (Tom Kackley, Mgr.)
3B/2B Ron Cash was claimed by the Niskayuna Red Storm. (Don Rahn, Mgr.)
2B Dwain Anderson was claimed by the Lafayette Chiefs. (Steve Ehresman, Mgr.)
These players have been added to the claiming team rosters for 1974. They anxiously await the start of the season. 

June 12, 2011
74 Stadium Change  
FRANKFORT, IN - Mike Boling, manager of the Phillies is moving out of Shea (A.L. version, which is really Yankee Stadium. But the Yanks played in Shea for a couple of seasons during renovation, so Shea served both the Mets and Yanks during this time. Anyway, they will now be playing their home games in Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium starting with the 1974 season. Also, Vin Onstott has grabed up Shea Stadium (soon to be Yankee) for his Schaumburg Saxons, while cutting ties with the Atlanta park. So now the open parks in SPB I are California's Anaheim Stadium, and Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium. 

May 10, 2011
74 Draft day info  
FRANKFORT, IN - Due to the White Sox game on Saturday that most attending managers will take in, we will be starting the 1974 rookie draft earlier than the normal 11 Eastern time that we do for most SPB drafts. We will be starting this draft at 8:30 AM Central time, which is 9:30 Eastern and 6:30 Pacific time. An early rise for our West Coast members, but they are a sturdy bunch, and have dealt with earlier beginnings in the past.  This means we will ask all managers participating in the chat room to be there ready to begin by 8:25 AM Central time. We will need each manager to make their picks quickly throughout the rookie draft so that we are able to finish up with 2 1/2 to 3 hours (Max). We will need to leave around 11:40 at the latest to get to the game. At this time, I must also ask if your using a draft list, or designating another SPB manager to make your teams picks, to let me know ASAP about this, and if another manager is making your picks, let me know who is handling that. It is still not too late to change your mind and attend the Chicago draft. Let me know if you indicated earlier, that you would not be there, but would like to attend after all. Currently scheduled to be live at the draft are: John Ungashick, John Turnbull, Gary Plunkitt, Dave Lauer (draft only), John Dewan, Steve Brunner, Rich Applegate, and possibly Chris Williams. (still need to confirm this with us, Chris). Hopefully, you will have the time and opportunity to join us there. It will be a good time! John Turnbull will add the 2 Eagle pitchers cut to the 1974 rookie list soon.

May 9, 2011
74 Phase 2 call for protected rosters  
FRANKFORT, IN - This is the official notice that SPB I protected rosters are due between now and Saturday, May 14th. Cutoff time for you protected lists will be 8PM, this coming Saturday. Be on time or the Comish will be the one making the decisions for your team. 
Here is the amount of players your team can protect:

18 Players
Las Vegas Thunder (Mike See) received
Flushing Rats (Joe DeZarlo)
Blue Ridge Mountaineers (Steve Brunner)
Lafayette Chiefs (Steve Ehresman)
Cleveland Spiders (Chris Williams)

19 Players
Rossville Cubs (Rick Ryan)
Rockford Forest Cities (Terry Baxter)
Gonzaga G's (John Dewan)
Hollywood Stars (Don Zminda)
Kenosha Eagles (Dave Lauer)
Asheville Tourists (Rich Applegate)
Frankfort Tigers (Gary Plunkitt)
Schaumburg Saxons (Vin Onstott)
Terre Haute Phillies (Mike Boling)
Fairfax Peppers (Ron Peterson) received
Evanston Black Sox (John Ungashick)
Dayton Triangles (John Turnbull)

20 Players
Kansas City Bombers (Mike
Niskayuna Red Storm (Don Rahn)
Spirit Mountain Volcanoes (Marc Hollingsworth)
Twin City Replacements (Marc Robinson)
Amboy Dukes (Al Schweitzer)

Also, a note to remember that each team may protect 1 UNCARDED player in addition to the above number. (if you have an UNCARDED rostered player, of course.)
Finally both the Kenosha Eagles and Twin City Replacements had more than the allowed 38 players going into the drafts. Two players had to be cut from the Eagles. Mgr. Dave Lauer is releasing two pitchers, Steve Dunning and Ed Farmer. One player had to be cut from the Replacements, and Mgr. Marc Robinson has cut ties with 2B Buddy Hunter, who bids his fond adieu to SPB I, as he never plays enough in 1975 to merit returning.

March 18, 2011
73 Season in review 
DAYTON, OH - SPB-1 beat writer Joe Dezarlo has penned an excellent article, picking out the little "nuggets" of the 73 season.  A great read.  Thanks for the fantastic job Joe! 

March 9, 2011
74 Manager Change 
FRANKFORT, IN. - It is my duty to announce that long time manager of the Baltimore Stallions, Greg Henning has resigned due to a heavy work load. Greg has served us well in the past for several seasons in SPB I. He will be missed! At the same time, I am glad to announce that veteran SPB manager John Dewan has decided to take over this team. He will re-name the team as the Gonzaga G's, and will leave Anaheim Stadium behind as well. He will be playing his home games in Kansas City's Royals Stadium. John has been in SPB leagues for several years now and is returning to SPB I, after several absent seasons in this league. Welcome back John! This will leave the open parks as Anaheim (Angels) and 3 Rivers (Pirates). John Turnbull, our webmaster will make these changes soon to the SPB I web page. 

February 4, 2011
73 Voting booth open 
DAYTON, OH. - The voting booth for SPB I - 1973 season is now open. Be sure to cast both of the ballots (All Star & Awards) soon. Let's put a request up now for all voting to be done by February 21st, if not sooner. 

December 29, 2010
Team name change 
DAYTON, OH. - Tom Kackley has changed their team name from the Kansas City Bombers to the Canton Moondogs.   

December 29, 2010
1973 World Series Champion crowned 
DAYTON, OH. - Congratulations to  Joe Dezarlo, and his Flushing Rats for taking the 1973 SPB-1 crown in a hard-fought 7 games.  The Lafayette Chiefs has issued this press release: The Flushing Rats took the 1973 World Series 4 games to 3 games. Manager Ehresman acknowledged Joe DeZarlo's championship season. "No question, the better team won today," said Ehresman. "Always the bride's maid, never the bride," he continued. "Joe put together a great team, and he deserves this moment. My congratulations go out to him." Ehresman went on to acknowledge that Chris Williams and Mike See, the managers whose teams he defeated to get into the Series, also had fine seasons and, like DeZarlo, are worthy of the highest accolades. The 1974 trading season has officially begun!

December 26, 2010
Team Name change 
FRANKFORT, IN. - Manager Mike Boling is changing the his team name for the coming year.  In 1974 the old Piedmont Phillies will become the Terre Haute Phillies, in honor of the Philadelphia Triple III league farm club of the late 40's. 

December 26, 2010
1973 End of year reports 
FRANKFORT, IN. - At the end of each season, we look forward to the overusage and use or lose reports that help shape our rosters each year.  The report is listed HERE.   

December 26, 2010
Commissioner Congratulatory declaration 
FRANKFORT, IN. - Congratulations from the Commissioners office goes out to Steve Ehresman (Lafayette Chiefs), as his team advances into the NLCS series against the Thunder. The Chiefs all important play off win give Lafayette 98 victories on the year, while besting Chris Williams and the Cleveland Spiders by that single game margin, as the Spiders settle, rather unhappily, for 2nd place with 97 wins. In the N.L. Western Division, Mike See guided his always powerful Las Vegas Thunder to the easiest division crown this year, while winning a league high 108 games. Finishing a distant second was Terry Baxter's Rockford Forest Cities with 93 wins, 15 games off the winning pace. As for the A.L. East champs, Joe DeZarlo led his Flushing Rats back into the limelight while capturing 103 wins. This division also featured a tough race for the crown, with Steve Brunner's Blue Ridge Mountaineers who finished just 3 games back by capturing 100 wins. Last but certainly not least we have the A.L. West winners, where Rick Ryan led the Rossville Cubs to 95 wins while outdistancing Greg Henning's Baltimore Stallions, who finished 5 games back, with 90 victories. League Commish Plunkitt salutes all our top managers this year! Job well done!

December 22, 2010
NL East decided by 1 game playoff  
DAYTON, OH. - The Chiefs and Spiders, deadlocked all season, met in a one-game playoff to determine who would go on in the postseason.

Don Sutton took the mound for the Chiefs against the Spiders’ Mickey Lolich. 

The first inning lived up to the billing, as both teams were retired in order. However, the 2nd inning saw Lolich’s nerves give way in uncharacteristic fashion. Willie Stargell led off with a double, and was moved to third on Lee May’s infield single. Lolich induced Bill Robinson to ground softly to 1st base, where Dick Allen tossed to Tommy Helms, who returned the ball for the double play, scoring a run. Jorge Orta then singled, as did George Mitterwald. Facing the weak hitting Don Sutton, Lolich eased up, and Sutton parked the ball into the bleachers to put the Chiefs up 4-0. Toby Harrah continued the barrage, but Garrett struck out to end the inning. 

For the rest of the game, Don Sutton was dominating, completely mastering the bats of Tommy Harper, Gene Tenace, Joe Torre (2 Ks), Dick Allen (3 Ks), and Willie Crawford (2 Ks), and limiting the Spiders to only one hit, by Bucky f-ing Dent in the 3rd inning. Only in the 9th did the Spiders break through for two singles against Sutton, but Corbin came on to induce Hal McRae to fly harmlessly to Hank Aaron to end the game. 

Congrats to Steve Ehresman for a great season, as the defending champion Spiders go home to lick their wounds until next year. 

December 22, 2010
1973 September stats posted  
DAYTON, OH. - The final stats for the 1973 season are now posted.   The playoff matchups and coverage will be posted soon.  Good luck to the Rats, Cubs, Chiefs, and Thunder for advancing to the playoffs.   

August 24, 2010
New manager takes over in mid-season 
FRANKFORT, IN. - I am very happy to announce that veteran SPB manager Tom Kackley will be taking over the leadership of the Kansas City Bombers, formerly managed by Bob Calicchia, who had resigned during the May games. If your team is involved in playing the Bombers at any time during the remainder of the season, then be sure to send your MP's to Tom.  Thanks Tom for stepping in, and taking over this team! Welcome aboard in SPB - I

July 7, 2010
Manager replacement  
FRANKFORT, IN. - It is my privilege to announce that long time veteran SPB manager Mike Boling will be taking over immediately as manager of the Piedmont Phillies. The former manager Don Brenner has resigned suddenly. Mike will be sending out MP's for April games within the next few days, so bear with him on this.  If you had sent April MP's out to former manager Don Brenner, PLEASE be sure to resend them to Mike Boling ASAP, and he will get the April games in. Thanks everyone for complying with this late request. Thanks especially to Mike for taking this team on such short notice. Welcome aboard Mike in SPB I. It's nice to know the team is in capable hands. 

May 13, 2010
Call for Protected Rosters  
FRANKFORT, IN. - This is the official call for your protected rosters. The final day to submit them will be this coming Friday, 5/15. Have your protected roster to me no later than 9PM Eastern time on the 15th. Here are the numbers of players each team may protect:

20 Protected Players
Amboy Dukes - Al "Doc" Schweitzer
Twin City Replacements - Marc Robinson
Evanston Black Sox - John Ungashick
Baltimore Stallions - Greg Henning
Piedmont Phillies - Don Brenner

19 Protected Players
Lafayette Chiefs - Steve Ehresman
Kenosha Eagles - Dave Lauer
Schaumburg Saxons - Vin Onstott
Kansas City Bombers - Bob Calicchia
Blue Ridge Mountaineers - Steve Brunner
Fairfax Peppers - Ron Peterson
Niskayuna Red Storm - Don Rahn
Spirit Mountain Volcanoes - Marc Hollingsworth
Rossville Cubs - Rick Ryan
Frankfort Tigers - Gary Plunkitt
Ashville Tourists - Rich Applegate
Cleveland Spiders - Chris Williams

18 Protected Players
Las Vegas Thunder - Mike See
Dayton Triangles - John Turnbull
Hollywood Stars - Don Zminda
Rockford Forest Cities - Terry Baxter
Flushing Rats - Joe DeZarlo

You should also send ONE UNCARDED player with your protected roster. This is allowed every season, and this player does NOT count against your allowable protects. It is a freebie. 
An UNCARDED player is any player with a future year by his name on your team roster. These players did not play in 1973, but are held on rosters untill they play again.

For example, if your allowed 18 protected players, and you have a couple of UNCARDED players, send me the name of the one UNCARDED player (your choise) . In other words you send me a list of 19 players. Thanks.

Once I have all these rosters in, I will send out the Phase II ready files to all managers, if it takes untill Friday night, they will probably go out early on Saturday to each of you. Thanks everyone for making SPB I (our original SPB league) one of the most popular and reliable leagues around.