Now that this ended.

[sbfinley]

I considered going after this piece, but I decided against it and spent the cash on cards instead.

So now.

What is it?

What is its worth relative to the ending price?

Was the Bridges picture just placed upon the game or did he actually sponsor it?

And if it was Bridges sponsored...Does anyone else have a similar one?

Thanks
Steven Finley

[sbfinley]

Ha..
Might help if I offered the link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[base_ball]

Sure, it was endorsed by Bridges. It's from the mid-1930s, is scare, and tough to find in good condition as it's litho paper pasted on a back surface, which, I think, is wood. I got my copy a while ago (God knows where it is!) and paid around the same price for an example in lesser condition. To a baseball game collector, the eBay selling price would be a very good buy.

[jcmtiger]

It looks to me like the picture was glued to the board game. Something like this game board with Cobb's picture. I should check my baseball games book.

Just checked Baseball Games book by Mark Cooper and there it is on page 57. So, my initial info was wrong. He lists the retail price in excellent condition as $600.00 - $1000,00 which sound high.

Joe

[sbfinley]

Anyone have a clue how the game is played?

[Butch7999]

Hi Steven -- The Pitcher's Battle, made around 1935 by R. G. Kollmorgen, is a basic bagatelle/pinball game. The plunger/shooter that launches the ball is at the lower right. Bridges' picture is part of the original graphics, unlike the Cobb photo on the Peg Base Ball shown in jcmtiger Joe's post, which was presumably pasted on there by some youthful previous owner of that game.

The Cooper catalogue is indispensible for collectors of baseball games, but the prices listed in the price guide there are, with few exceptions, enormously and unrealistically high. An example of The Pitcher's Battle shows up in on-line auctions about every year and a half or so, averaging around $260. in nice shape. One did fetch a bit over $550. on eBay not quite two years ago, the only time we've seen it top $300., but Joseph is correct, the $150.+ on eBay a few days ago was a bargain for the buyer.

There's an alternate version of The Pitcher's Battle -- The Professional Player, made a few years earlier or later by H. C. Guetschoff. It features a portrait illustration of a snarling tiger (the large cat, not a Detroit ballplayer) where Bridges appears on The Pitcher's Battle, but the two games are otherwise almost identical. Kollmorgen's nephew visited our own Forum some time ago to talk about his uncle and the game.

[sbfinley]

Thanks for all the info guys.