Nice pick-up, Kevin! As you can see, your version -- Play Ball ~ The Rainy Day Great American Game -- was made by
Evan L Reed Manufacturing of Sterling Illinois, in about 1919. Slightly later or even earlier editions were made by Reed
when based in nearby Danville Illinois.
The Reed Company and/or Leonard Kroff, the game's designer, sold or licensed production rights to
Frantz Manufacturing of Sterling, who produced the better-known version, The Great American Game ~ Base Ball,
beginning in 1923. Frantz -- still in business today, by the way -- had a burgeoning line of wood and metal toys
underway, and in about 1925 created Hustler Toys as a division of the Frantz company dedicated to toy production.
Because the Frantz and Hustler versions were of sturdy construction and rightfully popular in their day,
they're still plentiful, and depending on condition, decent examples lacking the very attractive box usually
sell for anywhere from $50. to $300. The inclusion of the box tends to put them in the $100. to $400. range.
Although the Reed version is much more scarce, the examples we've seen sell have gone for comparable prices,
right about in the middle of what the Frantz and Hustler versions have earned.
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