Best of the Non-Baseball Past Seasons
By Will Kolodzie
The Strat customer does not live by the baseball game alone. Some of the
more exciting gaming experiences, along with some of the more
strategically challenging moments, occur in the basketball, hockey, and
football versions.
1968 Football
An excellent season with incredible team performances and challenging
playoff games, 1968 forever carries the memory of the Jets shocking the
world by winning the Super Bowl. The NFC fielded strong contenders in the
Colts, Browns, Cowboys, and Rams. Arguably, 1968 presents one of the
better, if not best, Dallas teams. Joe Namath wasn’t the best quarterback
in the AFC but he possessed an excellent complement of weapons in Matt
Snell, Don Maynard, and George Sauer. The Chiefs and the Raiders fielded
very good teams during this season, too. All three of the AFC teams
provide hours of enjoyment.
1970-1971 Hockey
Boston finished the season with an incredible 121 points thanks to the 1-2
punch of Phil Esposito (76-76-152) and Bobby Orr (37-102-139). This is one
of the more enjoyable Strat past seasons for those interested in players
putting the puck in the net with wild, uninhibited abandonment. A 6-5 or a
5-4 game isn’t out of the ordinary in this set.
1985 Football
The Chicago Bears mauled everyone and everything in their path. They won
their three playoff games by a 91-10 margin, and that doesn’t even begin to
describe their dominance. The defense is a thing of beauty.
1984-1985
Basketball
The Lakers finally beat Boston in a NBA final. The Celtics just ripped the
competition and finished the season with 63 victories. The Lakers won 62
games and rode through the playoffs without any difficulties, as if they
were on a mission to beat the team in green. Rookies this season include
John Stockton, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Hakeem Olajuwon. Jabbar
played like a man in his early twenties!!
1978-1979 Hockey
The
Cinderella New York Rangers made it to the cup final but lose to a superior
Montreal Canadians squad. Brian Trottier, Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne and
Mike Bossy were the big guns of this season. John Davidson wasn’t a rock in
goal but he took the Rangers deeper into the playoffs than expected.
1980-1981
Basketball
The Celtics made a trade with the Warriors that forever changed professional
basketball before the start of the season. Boston obtained Robert Parrish
as their center and a draft pick that turned into Kevin McHale. Along with
Larry Bird, these three players provided the foundation for three
championship titles. This set also provides the earliest glimpse of Magic
Johnson, who unfortunately tore cartilage in his knee midway through the
season.
1966-1967
Hockey
The last of the “original six” teams, with strong performances from Stan
Mikita, Bobby Hull, contains a very strong Chicago team that didn’t win the
Stanley Cup. Even though the Blackhawks finished in first place for the
first time in franchise history, the Toronto Maple Leafs stunned them in six
games during the opening round of the playoffs
1973-1974
Basketball
A transitional year for the NBA with the retirement of Wilt Chamberlain and
the final days for Willis Reed, Jerry Lucas, Jerry West, and Oscar
Robinson. The title returns to Boston thanks to Dave Cowens and John
Havlicek. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arrived as a big-time threat and helped
Milwaukee win 59 games. The Celtics beat the Bucks in seven for the
championship.
1984-1985
Hockey
Wayne Gretzky scores 208 points in the season and breaks his own scoring
record from the previous season in the process. Mario Lemieux wins the
Calder Trophy as the top rookie by scoring 43 goals and 97 points. Tim
Kerr (54 goals, 20.2 pct) took the Flyers back to the cup finals but they
weren’t much of a match for the Oilers.
1984
Football
Don Marino and the Dolphins (14-2) ran a blitzkrieg over all opposition with
their tremendous passing attack. The San Francisco 49’ers (15-1) were just
a little better. San Francisco shifted to 5 defensive backs in the Super
Bowl and kept the Dolphins at bay in the Super Bowl. Of course, it didn’t
help Miami much with a running game that barely made it out of the backfield
for much of the contest.
We want
to know what you think. Send us your favorite non-baseball past seasons
and tell us why. We’ll publish all responses later in the month.
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