Home Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum

New Project - Recreate My Original Strato-O-Matic Baseball Lineup

One of the fondest memories I have from my childhood was playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball with my friends Sean and Chris. We had various years of players from the 1980s/90s and hosted an ultimate draft. My buddy Sean drafted mostly Yankees, while I tended to like the speed demons such as Vince Coleman and Tim Raines. Chris liked the Phillies. We would play one season at a time, alternating games, track every stat in a notebook and it was just a blast. Each of our homes were "stadiums" and we hosted specific foods which our mothers cooked. We would setup in the living room with a huge playing table, with a sport usually on TV in the background, and play until the wee hours of the night. I even created my own Strat-O-Matic cards from scratch (Bo Jackson, minor league Michael Jordan, etc.) using the basic mathematically formula the company used to produce their items.

Last night, I found an old Garry Templeton Strat-O-Matic card in my closet and the memories just flooded back. As an ode to my youth, I am going to collect a PSA/DNA Auto for each player I can remember on my original team. Here is who I can recall:

1B- Mark McGwire - 1987 Donruss
2B - Lou Whitaker - 1980 Topps
3B - George Brett - 1986 Donruss Highlights
C - Gary Carter - 1977 Topps
SS - Gary Templeton - 1985 Donruss (ungraded right now)
RF - Tony Gwynn - 1987 Donruss
CF - Eric Davis - 1985 Donruss
LF - Willie McGee - 1986 Donruss (w/Vince Coleman) - still need a nice single card
P - Dave Stewart - 1982 Topps
P - Mike Scott - 1988 Score
P - Dwight Gooden - 1985 Topps
P - Bob Welch - 1980 Topps
P - John Tudor - 1987 Topps
R - Rob Dibble - 1990 Score
DH - Pedro Guerrero - 1979 Topps
Bench - Cecil Fielder - 1989 Fleer
Bench - Vince Coleman - 1987 Leaf
Bench - Tim Raines - 1981 Donruss

image
Joe

IG: goatcollectibles23

The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.

Comments

  • mintonlyplsmintonlypls Posts: 2,146 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I remember playing Strat-o-Matic baseball and football for hours during the Summer and Fall. My first set of cards were from the 1964 stats. I ended up selling them in the mid 80s for $400. Lot of memories and fun!
    mint_only_pls
  • Originally posted by: mintonlypls
    I remember playing Strat-o-Matic baseball and football for hours during the Summer and Fall. My first set of cards were from the 1964 stats. I ended up selling them in the mid 80s for $400. Lot of memories and fun!


    That was one of my favorite parts of the game. Being able to build a team of stars from various eras was so much fun. I also tried the football and basketball, but nothing topped baseball. Time to jump on Ebay and see what they have!
    Joe

    IG: goatcollectibles23

    The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.
  • My friends and I played Baseball in the Summer and Hockey in the Winter. Hockey was really good. Strato was so much fun.


  • Great read. I never really got into football like I did baseball, but I'll see if I can find my old game. There is a Christian Okoye card somewhere in my closet.
    Joe

    IG: goatcollectibles23

    The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.
  • Just updated. I still need a solo Willie McGee PSA/DNA card and the Templeton needs to be subbed in. We'll call it 16/18 for now.
    Joe

    IG: goatcollectibles23

    The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.
  • craig44craig44 Posts: 11,443 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Now that is a cool collection.

    George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.

Sign In or Register to comment.