Running the 1960s Burgeson baseball game in an IBM 1620 emulator

You will need either OpenSIMH or a recent version of SIMH. Alternatively, my own IBM 1620 emulator in Python can also run the baseball game, so that is another option.

When using SIMH:

• Get the i1620 binary for your platform:
  • Windows: Download SIMH and extract the i1620 binary: Windows builds of SIMH
  • Linux, Mac: Build SIMH from source. Use make i1620 to only build that binary.
• Run i1620 base.simh. The game should start. Enter date, time and the names of nine players (or just a random first letter instead). Then the simulation will run.
• To quit SIMH, press Ctrl-E and then enter q and press Return.

Roster of players

The game includes a roster of 90 players:

ANSON           DELAHANTY       HEGAN           LOMBARDI        RUFFING
APPLING         DICKEY          HEILMANN        L WANER         RUTH
AVERILL         DIMAGGIO        HENRICH         MACK            SEWELL
BAKER           DUFFY           HERMAN          M. BURG         SIMMONS
BENSON          E COLLINS       HORNSBY         MCGRAW          SISLER
BERRA           FELLER          HUBBELL         MEDWICK         SPAHN
BOUDREAU        FOXX            JACKSON         MIZE            SPEAKER
BROUTHERS       FRISCH          J. BURG         MUSIAL          TERRY
BURKETT         GEHRIG          J COLLINS       NEWHOUSER       TRAVIS
C. BURG         GEHRINGER       JENNINGS        O DOUL          TRAYNOR
COBB            GORDON          JOHNSON         O ROURKE        TROSKY
COCHRANE        GREENBERG       KAMM            OTT             TUMBLIN
CRAWFORD        GROH            KEELER          P WANER         VAUGHAN
CRONIN          GROVE           KELL            RADBOURNE       WAGNER
CROSETTI        HACK            KELLY           RADCLIFF        WHEAT
CUYLER          HAMILTON        KELTNER         REISER          WILLIAMS
DANNING         HARTNETT        LAJOIE          RICE            YORK
D DEAN          HAYES           LAZZERI         ROBINSON        YOUNG

IBM 1620 software catalog entry (1971)

Files

Games

• Baseball
  • 11.0.032_BBC_Baseball_Simulation_and_Demonstrator.pdf: 1620 General Program Library: B B C Baseball Simulation and Demonstrator
  • 1620_11.0.032_bbc_baseball.crd: Baseball game (CRD format)
  • 1620_baseball.pdf: Original baseball game instructions
  • base.log.txt: Log of a sample program run
  • base.simh: Baseball game emulator script
  • base.txt: Baseball game (newer version 11.0.032; TXT format)
  • bbc1.txt: Baseball game (older version "BBC VERSION 1K 8/14/61" 11.0.007, same as the sample run in the manual; TXT format)
• Tic-tac-toe (2D)
  • 1620_11.0.013_tic_tac_toe.crd: Tic-tac-toe game (CRD format)
  • tic.simh: Tic-tac-toe game (emulator script)
  • tic.txt: Tic-tac-toe game on a 3x3 grid (TXT format)
• Tic-tac-toe (3D)
  • tic3d.simh: 3D tic-tac-toe game (emulator script)
  • tic3d.txt: 3D tic-tac-toe game on a 4x4x4 grid (TXT format)

GOTRAN

GOTRAN is a FORTRAN-like interactive programming language for the IBM 1620. The user enters a program and then after a final "END" line, the machine halts. Starting the computer with "c" runs the GOTRAN program. GOTRAN features some extra commands not present in standard FORTRAN, such as PLOT.

• C26-5594-1_IBM_1620_GOTRAN_Interpretive_Programming_System_1961.pdf: GOTRAN manual
• gotran.simh: emulator script
• gotran.txt: card deck
• gotran_demo.txt: GOTRAN demo run (see Fig. 16 in manual)

Other files

• cb2asc.py: Convert CHM column binary format to SIMH ASCII
• crd2asc.py: Convert CRD binary format to SIMH ASCII
• crd_format_hex.txt: Explanation of CRD file encoding (two bytes per punched card character)
• dis1620.py: Disassemble 1620 TXT file
• X26-5743-2_1620_Model_1_Reference_Card.pdf: IBM 1620 Model 1 reference card
• X26-5852-2_1620_Model_2_Reference_Card.pdf: IBM 1620 Model 2 reference card

YouTube videos about the 1620 baseball game

• The Story of the First Baseball Video Game Ever Made | Friday Night Arcade
• IBM 1620 Software Library: at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N12pQBiRd7A&t=2208 and later in the same video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N12pQBiRd7A&t=3813

Links

• IBM 1620 games (CRD format) from Bitsavers
• IBM 1620 image by Todd Dailey, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons