I reached out to Jesse Elicker, the winner of the 1st annual APBA Blog Pitching Grade Challenge. He and I traded several friendly emails and I am so glad we did. Jesse who predicted 19 of the 20 pitchers’ grades in the Challenge, was kind enough to answer a few questions about himself.
Who are you? Where are you from?
Jesse Elicker, 56, math teacher for 33 years. The love of probability and APBA go hand-in-hand. I live in Dillsburg, PA, about 24 miles north of Gettysburg, and have lived in south-central PA my whole life. When the APBA Game Company was in Lancaster I would often drive to the Millersville Road to pick up the new cards. I had the pleasure of meeting Veryl and Skeet, both were very kind and helpful.
How long have you played APBA?
I still play baseball (basic) and football (old boards), and BBW. Over the years I’ve replayed in baseball 1976, 1972 NL, am in August of 1977, and in September of 1973. In football I’ve completed a NFL 1975 replay and was into week 7 of 1976 but lost all my stats in a move.
Recently I’ve played a best of 70s tournament (77 Yankees won), 1973 Orioles actual lineup replay (basic), Fernandomania’s 1981 season (just his starts), and am currently in a best of 80s tournament (down to 8 teams). I’ve done two NFL team replays – 1979 Houston, 1976 Baltimore Colts.
Anything else that might fun for our readers to know?
The main reason I still play APBA is because the game holds so many memories for me. We had a league in school, and when I was 17 I joined the TCBA. I played in that league for 22 years, started my own BBW league, took over a 1-year old retro league in 1993 that still plays today, and have played in a few football (DOS) leagues. When I open a pack of those old cards, good memories come pouring out.
I’ve played around with APBA GO a few times, but haven’t yet taken “the plunge”. Soon I will :)
When I first read Jesse’s bio he wrote, I thought of The APBA Blog contributor Kevin Weber who is also a teacher. The APBA community is very diverse as far as occupations go but we definitely have our fair share of educators.
Jesse has heard from the APBA Games Company and his account on APBA GO has already been credited with his prize for winning the Challenge! Jesse, when you are ready, I would love to face you.
Congratulations, Jesse!!
