When Remco introduced Bop Baseball in time for the 1961 holidays, their timing was perfect. Maris and Mantle had just thrilled young boys around the country with their chase for sixty home runs. It was at the top of this nine-year-old’s Christmas list.
Its components included a wood-framed rectangular masonite playing board, a wooden bat on a plastic disc with a protruding peg on the bottom that could fit into holes in the batter’s box on either side of home place. A cored circular disc served as the ball.
The game was simple: the pitcher fired the ball/disc ring from the mound hoping to hit the chime behind home plate for a strike. The batter tried to strike the disc so that it came to rest inside one of the hit circles. If the disc was outside a circle, the batter was out; if the line of the circle was visible inside the inner rim of disc, the batter was an out. Two small double-play circles located where the shortstop and second baseman would typically be positioned would eliminate the runner on first, even if the the line was visible. The DP could be devastating.
We played the game a lot. Score were high with few strikeouts and no walks. We broke two disc/balls and were working on a third when we discovered Harry’s Baseball.
