1913 Major League Indoor Base Ball Game in REA
 

noticed in REA there was a 1913 major league indoor baseball game that sold for $7800. pretty sure that's a record by a couple thousand dollars. could one of the game experts here explain why? did the promo flyer drive up the price. these games in average condition sell for around $3000 these days right? its not like this one was super nice, imo (though it is better than average).

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=56640

I was really surprised to watch the price jump from $2K or $3K, up to $6K pretty quickly last night. I can't imagine the ad was that much of a factor, since it was ripped into three pieces.

I have one of these games so I pay attention to any auctions when they pop up, but offhand I don't remember any coming to auction in the past year or so. Maybe it was just a matter of it being the first one to pop up in an auction in a while?

Maybe I can offer someone a nice bargain and sell mine for only $7K now?!

Actually, last night's REA price was nearly a couple thousand short of the record for that game
($9,625. at Hunt in 2004), but it was a very solid second (blowing away $4,563. at REA in 2012).
Both those earlier examples presented rather more nicely, not to say that last night's game
isn't a dandy thing -- but the one at Hunt was essentially pristine and spectacular.

You're correct that something in the $3,000.-$3,500. range is typical for the better examples
of Major League Indoor Base Ball. Best guess as to why the one in question went so high?
Two bidders with money to burn. Possibly one or both interested parties requested additional photos
-- the quantity and condition of the highly-prized "roster strips" may have been a factor, but we can't
determine that from the auction page. Also, just as suggested in the auction description, anyone
with $7,800. to spend on the game could surely afford to have the paper restoration done
on the promo sheet. Wishing we had a look at the back side of that...

ML Indoor
 

I, too, was shocked at the price realized. I track games closely and I thought this would go for the standard $3,000 or so. I felt lucky to pick mine up in a Grey Flannels Auction last summer for just under $2k. A very nice example went for $3150 just two weeks ago in another auction. No, I do not think the flyer impacted the price nearly that much, just two bidders who wanted it!

1913 Indoor Baseball Game
 

I won the 1913 Indoor Baseball game in the latest auction, came today in the mail. Had a question about the roster cards. There are 14 complete "roster cards" in this game and I am missing a Pittsburgh top half and Cincinnati and St Louis bottom halves. Any collectors have these to trade or sell ?

1913 Indoor Baseball Game
 

Attached find the same advertisement featured in the REA Auction from the 1913 Indoor Baseball Game in good condition. Pictures of the back as well. Does anyone know if the baseball metal figures are part of this game or a different one ?

Hi David, congrats on the game acquisition, and thanks for the look at the reverse of the promo flyer.

The player-figures are not associated with either Major League Indoor Base Ball or Major League Base Ball Game.
Beyond that, however, we're at a complete loss to identify their origin. We've seen several similarly-posed
fielders that were part of other games or were part of non-game "play sets," but all exhibit subtle but diagnostic
differences, and we think we've never seen player-figures exactly like yours.
We're assuming they're metal, so our best guess at the moment is that they're part of, or the entirety of,
a baseball version of a set of "lead soldiers," issued as such and not as part of any game.

Thanks for sharing this information on the metal baseball figures. I will keep trying to to identify them. Can you share the value of the roster "cards" ? Any sources to buy any more ?

Hi David, we've seen uncut roster strips show up rarely on eBay, and they've sold for rather surprisingly
low prices -- as low as two-three bucks apiece, up to around $25.
At both ends of the scale, they were in quite nice, newish condition, and included AL, NL, and IL strips,
but all sales we've seen were from later editions ("Indoor" was produced for only 1912-13, but the
otherwise identical "green box" edition was produced from 1913 through 1926, with the roster strips
in identical format updated annually).

Great information, thanks so much.

I own one of the Green Box editions which I refer to lovingly as the "poor man's edition." My game includes the 1916 lineup cards which are clearly dated at the top. Did all seasons include the year under the team name. At that time annual updates were available for 40 cents. My game included a coupon to mail in to get the next edition for only 25 cents.

Hi Mike -- we don't have exact figures for which seasons' roster strips sported dates and which ones didn't,
but definitely, sets from one or more seasons were printed with no date indicated.
We think that only the 1913 editions lacked a printed date, but we haven't seen strips from every season,
so we're not certain of that.

Just because pictures always make threads better, I'll share mine....

Not being quite as much of an expert on this game as others, what do you think of the condition from this picture? Is this about normal? One spot of surface loss in the top left, but no other big issues to note...

Scott it looks terrific to me!

Fine example, Scott -- on par with most that we've seen, and better than many!

Yes.... a top 25-30% example, I would say.... Very nice!

Thanks gents! Always good to learn more about this coolest of games!

I got lucky
 

Hi everyone

With the star power on board - 11 of the 16 players in the HOF - this might just be a favorite of board game collectors.

I totally respect the competition that ensues with a game like this. I'm guessing as a companion piece to cards.

I got lucky and picked this one up on eBay a few years ago for less than a grand.

Butch will probably remember better than I since he writes these things in his "little black book."

One of these days, I'll get in contact with one of the regulars from the Antique Road Show who has a shop in my town to see if it can be cleaned without damaging it?

Would be nice if I could get a better photo of it also.

https://us.v-cdn.net/6027503/uploads...4uer5s8a4y.jpg

Hi Mike

That's a great example. With all due respect, why would you want to have it cleaned and messed with? It displays beautifully as is, unless there's something in particular not showing up in the photo?
If it were mine, I'd be very happy with it the way it sits, but that's just my opinion.
And at that price, you got a substantial deal.
Congrats!

Brent

Some kind of gunk
 

Hi Brent and thanx.

Yes, there's some kind of gunk that I'd like to remove - top right - but am afraid of ruining the paper.

Otherwise, I like the "patina" that these old games elicit.

I got into board game collecting around 2008 after collecting cards for over 20 yrs.

I've found them to be fun and for the most part - affordable.

I will say - patience in searching for games at the right price is key IMO.

Hi Mike -- yeah, you stuck in your thumb and pulled out a plum there! Just about a thousand
for that very nice example, November 2014 on eBay. Bit of a stain above Walter Johnson's head
the only real noticeable flaw, minor though it is. A good paper conservator would likely be able
to completely clean that up, but if you go that route, make sure you're getting a real expert who's
worked on similar items, similar paper of similar age. Several members here have had broadsheets,
photos, posters, and such things restored beautifully in spite of much more severe damage, so
ask around for recommendations. We've no idea how much the cleaning would cost ya, though...

Ask Antique Roadshow consultant
 

Hi Butch

If I ever decided to do that?

One of the regular consultants from the show is here in my town and I'd for sure call him up for advice on that.

With all I have to do? I'm sure I can procrastinate this into the next decade. https://us.v-cdn.net/6027503/uploads...na4spgfbzz.gif