Welcome to Historical Sports Gaming!

What teams and athletes will rule the sports world in this historical recreation project?

The professional sporting landscape in North America saw a major shift during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Baseball saw everything from the lowering of the pitcher’s mound to expansion, divisional play and the eve of free agency.

In football, the merger of the American Football League and National Football League and the start of the Super Bowl pushed football even further in the national spotlight.

The success of the AFL led to the formation of a rival league, the American Basketball Association, in hoops. This came at a time where the National Basketball Association itself was expanding and the Boston Celtics great dynasty was coming to a close.

Hockey was also becoming a coast-to-coast sport as the National Hockey League rapidly expanded after featuring just six teams for 25 years. This rapid expansion came just prior to the advent of hockey’s own rival league, the World Hockey Association.

Individual sports in North America also moved shifted into a new era during this time period. The “open era” of professional tennis began in 1968 and was soon followed by the formation of Association of Tennis Professionals for men in 1972 and the start of the Women’s Tennis Association a year later in 1973.

In golf, the PGA Tour broke away from PGA of America in 1968, ushering in larger prize winnings for players during a time when some of the greatest golfers of all-time were in their prime. Changes also came in the LPGA in 1968, as the first non-American golfer, Sandra Post, joined the tour.

The year 1972 marked the start of the modern era for NASCAR as well. The stock car racing association stabilized its scheduled at 31 races through the elimination of dirt tracks and many small tracks, and began developing the modern point system that was finalized in 1975.

It is clear to see these changes and more helped usher in the “modern era” of sports. While many other changes have occurred over the past 50 years in all of these sports, I see the past 50 years as one, continuous stretch where North Americans filled stadiums, arenas and tracks across the continent to support their favorite teams and athletes.

I am unlike many people who were born in the 1980s. I enjoy reading books about sports in the “modern era,” re-creating sports history through PC text sim sport games and learning more about the athletes and their magnificent accomplishments. My obsession led me to create this publication and this “Historical Sports Gaming” project.

I began this project in late 2017 with dynasties in the NFL, NHL and WTA Tour. After a few months of embarking on this project, I decided to make a number of changes.

• The three dynasties were taking place in different time periods and had different rules. It was extremely confusing to follow all three and a little aggravating to play. I decided to halt the NFL and WTA dynasties as they didn’t fit with my original intent of the project.
• Starting with the end of the 1968–69 NHL season, I decided to center the articles around the league more as a whole rather than the team I was managing to better tell the story of the alternate history.
• In March, I decided to begin my NBA and MLB dynasties. The goal was to “catch up” those dynasties to April of 1969, where my NHL dynasty was. I would then simulate all three leagues in real time (example: I would play through November 1970 in the NHL and NBA dynasties at the same time).
• Other leagues, such as the NFL, NASCAR and tennis tours would be added when more complete historical simulation games are released.