** Interview with James Williams  **

Wolfman:  Mr. Williams, even though you were the sales manager at SOM, I am still curious if you personally had a strong interest in professional sports as of course, SOM makes games for all the major sports in the U.S.?

James Williams:  I love all sports especially the 3 majors, baseball, football and basketball.

Wolfman:  When you were younger Mr. Williams, which part of the country did you grow up in? What sports teams did you root for? Did you have any favorite professional sports players?

James Williams:  I grew up in Anderson, South Carolina.  I became a Dodgers fan after they won the World Series in 1955.  We always got the Baltimore Colts or Washington Redskins games on Sunday so I became a Redskins fan which I still am to this day.  I also remain a Dodgers fan.  My favorite players were Duke Snider, Charley Taylor and Wilt Chamberlain.  I also loved Jim Brown. I had no idea what I would be doing (in my future) but (for sure) I never expected to work for a sports game company.

Wolfman:  Did you ever physically participant in any sports when you were younger?  Since our newsletter covers the Baseball Game, we would be curious to know if you played Baseball and if so, what was your best position?

James Williams:  I played some Little League baseball as a kid.  I primarily played 3B and RF, of which I played the best at 3B.

Wolfman:  Now can you tell our readers how you first met Mr. Richman and began to work for Strat-o-matic? You mentioned in one of your prior emails that also your mother once worked for Mr. Richman too. Can you tell how our members exactly how your family became linked to the game company?

James Williams:  I actually started working for the company in the summer of 1964.  I worked there every summer thereafter when I was away from college for summer vacation.  When I graduated from college I worked there briefly before being drafted into the military.  After 2 years of military service I returned in 1970 to begin full time employment.  My mother was SOM's only employee I believe until Steve Barkan started in 1967.

(To add a bit more about my connection with the game company:) When I graduated from high school in 1964 I stayed with my mother in Brooklyn, New York and hoped to find summer employment. My mother, who was already working at SOM (their first employee) mentioned to me that Hal Richman wanted someone to type the orders for him. I had taken typing in high school and could type 60 wpm. She brought a small portable typewriter home and I would type the orders and brochure inquiries daily and then she would take them (my work) back (to the office) every day.

Eventually I started going in with her to Hal's father's house in Long Island where Hal had the business in the basement. I would file and type orders and did this all summer. Hal was just getting started then but he worked extremely hard and I admired his dedication. Subsequently I worked for SOM every summer. In 1965 he moved the business to Port Washington, NY. Then I would travel by train with my mother to work each day.

Wolfman:  Ok, so since you worked in the summers for SOM during their early years in the 60's, can you tell our readers a little bit more about what the company was like in those days? How was the game company organized then and what was the working environment like? What role did Mr. Richman play during these formative years?

James Williams:  Since I only worked in the summer when I was away from College I can only comment on when I was there. Hal and my mother did all the shipping and Hal did all the statistical work on the baseball game working many days until 11.00pm. He eventually hired others to help including Steve Barkan who I believe started in 1967. I became a full time employee in 1970 after College and military service. I basically ran the company when Hal was away and I helped with the statistical work on baseball and football which had launched a couple of years earlier. I also processed orders and shipped as well.

Wolfman:  Return to your title as the SOM Sales Manager, was this your primary role with the company or were their other duties you had? Which were the best retail outlets for SOM and did the game sell well in these stores?

James Williams:  The selling of our games was never my primary focus. I did so many things that retail was just one aspect of my job. We were very small in the retail market and I tried to expand our sales. We were sold in FAO Schwarz, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Kay-Bee toy stores and the now defunct Herman's Sporting Goods chain which had many stores. I demonstrated the game in some stores. The game sold well for many years before the video game boom.

My only assistance in developing the games were any ideas that came about from testing the games.  Eventually I oversaw the football game along with Mr. Richman as I was responsible to make sure the game functioned properly in all aspects.  I also was responsible for the basketball game from beginning to end doing almost all of the work.  Even in retirement I am completely responsible for the basketball game along with our computer programmer.  We all worked on the baseball game.

Wolfman:  So Mr. William did you learn how to play any or all of the sports games published by the game company (especially if you had to do demos of the games)? Would you consider yourself a good or astute game player, say good enough with the baseball game that you might be able to give our readers any tips how to play better?

James Williams:  I have played all the games having spent many hours testing them before production. I always thought I was a good pro football player and also college football. I first played the baseball game with my brother during the summer of 1962. We played it almost every day that summer and eventually wore it out. I would not consider myself good enough to give tips on any of the games as I have not played them in many years however.

Wolfman:  What was the most interesting or enjoyable job for you to do when you worked at the Game Company?

James Williams:  One of the most interesting things I did was test the games. We would play all day and collect statistics which would be analyzed later. I also enjoyed our coffee klatches where we formulated ratings for the baseball game. We all had opportunities to express our opinions on the fielding, running or throwing of the players.

Photo of James Williams with SOM Creator and owner, Hal Richman
(photo sent by Mr. Williams to be shared for this article)

Wolfman:  What type of person is Mr. Richman like (we haven't had a chance to interview him yet for the newsletter)? What was it like working under Mr. Richman? Also what can you share about Steve Barkan, who is another person that came on board to work at the company early on? What role does Mr. Barkan play with the game company?

James Williams:  Mr. Hal Richman is one of the nicest guys you would want to meet. I know you met him at the Convention in 1973. We still talk occasionally as he has a passion for Bucknell basketball and we discuss this as well as how the company is doing. He is very demanding as accuracy was always paramount in our endeavors. Everything had to proofed before submission.

He has an excellent mind for games as he also invented math games for kids as well as the entire SOM line except hockey. However, he did have some input in that also. Steve Barkan works on hockey and is one of the leading guys on the baseball game. We have worked many years together. He reconstructs all the old baseball seasons which he is excellent at doing. Steve's last day will be Dec. 31, 2013 when he will be joining me in retirement. (Please see Mr. Barkan's interview as he discusses his retirement with our advisor, Bruce Bundy.)

Wolfman:  Now I believe at some point in the 1980's was when the game company began to offer computer versions of their games. Could you discuss where the idea for this came from and how the computer versions of the games have developed over the years?

James Williams:  I guess the idea of computer games was inevitable. I had very little to do with the computer division so there isn't really any other comments I can make.

Wolfman:  Alright Mr. Williams. Another question please then. What do you feel are the reasons why SOM Baseball is one of the finest table and computer games in the world? What does SOM Baseball do that makes it better or more realistic than other similar types of games?

James Williams:  SOM's baseball game is the best because it is the most fun to play. It is the most accurate game and offers the greatest play value. The game flows as you don't get bogged down in a myriad of charts. Most charts can be memorized in a short time so you don't have the constant referral of many games. Hands down it offers the best combination of realism and play value. You become the manager and do make every decision that (major league managers such as) Girardi or Mattingly would.

Wolfman:  You mentioned before that you are very involved with the development of the SOM Basketball game. What were the circumstance which lead to your involvement with this game and still being active today?

James Williams:  I have always been a big basketball fan by playing and watching. I had the most knowledge of the players so I began rating them soon after Mr. Richman invented the game. I still do the basketball game because I enjoy it and it gives me some purpose in retirement. (Wolfman: any reason why your retired two years ago?)  I retired because I was just ready, just as simple as that.

Wolfman: Thank you Mr. Williams for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions. As a SOM fanatic, especially with the Baseball Game, I am sure our readers will be fascinated by your stories and work experiences you have shared here, linked to the game company.  Enjoy your retirement and thank you!

Summary from the Wolfman: I first made contact with Mr. Williams on LinkedIn as we became friends (LinkedIn is one of the popular social networks on-line for creating mostly business contacts). This is how I was able to initially communicate with him and received his permission to do this interview. If you would like to speak to Mr. Williams directly you can find him on LinkedIn on his personal page (his current company is JWL Consulting Co.) at:

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=16769978
 

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Interview Notes:

If you would like to learn more about the Strat-o-matic Game Company, the best place to visit is their website at:  www.strat-o-matic.com

Last week (the week of December 9th) Strat-o-matic released their "Range Rating" file (as either a Microsoft excel spreadsheet or Adobe PDF file) which has the fielding ratings of the hitters or players on the field but also list all the players who will receive cards, are extras or are just on the computer rosters. To get your copy of this file go to:

http://www.strat-o-matic.com/community/announcements/2013-baseball-range-ratings-preview