Total Conversion Mods

[Jim825]

 

You can adjust that field as a global edit within MVPEdit.

Really?  Which field is that?  I've used MVPEdit since it came out and don't remember ever seeing it, unless it's one of those hidden ones that only shows up on the Global Edit pull-down menu, rather than being visible on the tabbed windows.

[kyleb]

 

Really?  Which field is that?  I've used MVPEdit since it came out and don't remember ever seeing it, unless it's one of those hidden ones that only shows up on the Global Edit pull-down menu, rather than being visible on the tabbed windows.

Yeah, it's in the drop down. GblEdit>Filter>Field>Top Prospect.

[Jim825]

 

Yeah, it's in the drop down. GblEdit>Filter>Field>Top Prospect.

Cool, thanks!  

After all these years, I'll STILL learning new things about MVPEdit!  

[kyleb]

 

Cool, thanks!  

After all these years, I'll STILL learning new things about MVPEdit!  

And I'm just truly shocked that I taught YOU something new. What's it been, four or five years that I've been bugging you for help and advice? 

[Yankee4Life]

 

And I'm just truly shocked that I taught YOU something new. What's it been, four or five years that I've been bugging you for help and advice? 

You're shocked? So am I. Jim knows this game so well that if EA ever makes another one they'll go to him for help.

[csim11]

Has anyone noticed that the stats in TC 1971 mod are from 1970 instead which accounts for a lot of player ratings being inaccurate. 

However the team rosters appear to be correct. I have all of the other Total Classics mods and this is a first. I am still enjoying this

one though 

[Yankee4Life]

Before I review this new NCAA mod I want to give you a little background history. I have been here a very long time and I have seen literally every single mod that has been uploaded to this wonderful website that Trues operates. But I have to admit this mod that I am about to review right now is the one mod that I never expected to see the light of day.

 

Please allow me to explain.

 

The idea for this mod goes back seven years to 2009 when the design of this mod first began. The guys who first worked on this mod back then were all in on it and they had some very nice ideas on what they wanted to do but it did not take long for the energy, desire and effort to die down and very quickly and very quietly the NCAA mod was dropped.

 

The very next year rroy0824 tried to revive this mod and unfortunately the mod suffered the same fate. Interest in the mod, great ideas, offers to help and for one reason or another the NCAA mod was dropped again. It was at that time that I thought we would never see this mod ever completed. I didn't mind because I know that life gets in the way and people get sidetracked.

 

But even though interest for this mod died down for a second time in 2010 Rroy never quite let the vision for this mod go away. So, for the past few years with the help from bctrackboi11 and the assist from many of our top modders on the website the NCAA baseball mod has finally been added to the Total Conversion mods library here at Mvpmods.

 

You can download the mod right here. This took a few years to make because these guys had to remove all 124 teams that were in the game (the major leagues and the three minor leagues) and replace them with 124 collegiate teams. As you can well imagine this took quite a bit of time. With 124 new teams that meant that 124 new uniforms had to be made and naturally each team had more than one uniform to choose from. Considering the work that had to be accomplished just to add teams and the uniforms that go with them I am amazed that this mod was released before Christmas.

 

Installing this mod is once again extremely easy to do thanks to Jim825 and his user-friendly installer. Install this mod into a clean (no mods installed) copy of Mvp 2005 and sit back and wait for it to complete. That's it.

 

When I finally got into the game I saw that it was well worth the wait. Do you have a favorite college team or do you want to see if a certain one is in the game? It's easy to find what you are looking for because the teams were put in alphabetical order so you can locate your desired team in seconds. They are in four divisions as follows:

 

A-F

G-Missi

Misso-S

T-Z

 

For my exhibition game I picked the USC Trojans to play up against their rivals the UCLA Bruins and I had them play in Lindsay Nelson Stadium in Tennessee. I figured I would give them both a road game. I checked out the newly created college stadiums in this mod and there are a lot to choose from and they look like they will be very interesting to play in. There are some familiar stadiums in here too that are in other mods such as George Steinbrenner field in Tampa, the Yankees minor league stadium that hosts the Florida Four Classic and the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati that is the home for the Reds Collegiate Invitational.

 

The rosters for all the teams are fictional so if you are inclined to want to look up right-handed hitting shortstop Joe Coleman for the Seton Hall Pirates your search will get you no where. (Although if you look really close you will find there was a pitcher named Joe Coleman who played for seven different major league teams.)

 

The uniforms look fantastic thanks to bctrackboi. Check out a few of the teams before you decide on a game just to see for yourself.

 

The only thing that I did not like about this mod besides the Kanye West song in the jukebox was a glitch in the overlay that I was lucky enough to capture. It didn't last long but it got annoying. If it has anything to do with the overlay then all you really have to do is grab a new overlay and install it. I have no problem doing that since I never was ESPN's biggest fan.

 

I must assure you that this is a minor issue and it took nothing away from the enjoyment of my exhibition game.

 

I highly recommend this mod. It is a new twist on Mvp baseball that keeps this game fresh and alive.

 

Screenshots

 

Welcome to Mvp NCAA Baseball!

The overlay between innings looks very nice.

This is the glitch I was referring to. It would pop up from time to time.

 

[rroy0824]

Thanks for the kind words.  I'll try to fix the overlay if I decided to put out a patch in the future.

[Yankee4Life]

I want to apologize to Kyleb for the lateness of my review for his Total Classics 1995 mod. I have been under the weather lately and I really only have been healthy enough at times to make another contribution to my random thoughts thread and I was only doing that between random sneezing.

 

I downloaded the 1995 mod the first day it was released but I only had a chance to play it today and it was so good that I had to review it when I played my second game this afternoon. It is hard to imagine that twenty-two years have past since this season played out and looking back on it, it really was a classic season. As Kyleb touched upon in his description for this mod the '95 season began late and it also began with a lot of hard feelings towards the owners and players because the fans saw them both at fault for the cancellation of the 1994 season in August of that year and also the World Series in October. And truth be told both of them were no better than the other.

 

It is hard for anyone who was not around back then to imagine an October without a World Series but that's what happened. But the worst part that the players and owners found out was that the baseball fans survived. They were angry, but they came through this stronger than anyone expected. People found other things to do.

 

What baseball needed was someone who could get the crowds cheering again instead of booing and they found one in Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, who, on September 6th in a game against the California Angels, played in his 2, 131st straight game as he broke a record by Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig that many thought never would be broken. It took until the final month of the 1995 season but baseball finally made it back.

 

This is the backdrop that made the 1995 season classic.

 

Installation for this mod is made easy for you thanks to Jim825's installer. Just have a clean (unmodded) copy of Mvp '05 and then direct the installer where to go and that as the saying goes, is that. If I am making it sound super-easy it's because it is.

 

As soon as I got into the game I was hit by music I have never heard of and that was kind of surprising since 1995 is not a distant memory for me. Don't get me wrong, the choice of songs here are very good. It just that I never heard of Better than Ezra or Oasis before. I was still playing 80's rock back then. Twenty-two years later thanks to Kyleb and Mvp baseball I got introduced to 90's music.

 

There are a couple of things I want to point out in this mod because I think they need to be included in this review. First, the uniforms in the game. We have a new uniform maker here on the website and his name is BallFour. You may have seen his two threads on the main page. Along with resident uniforms Gods KcCityStar and Dennis James, his assistance on this mod was impressive. Any time you can get someone new to contribute to this great game it is always good for Mvp. I don't know which uniforms are his but if they are any like his minor league creations I am sure they look great.

 

Rising Sun is responsible for the overlay in this mod and this is one of the best overlays I have seen come through here in a long, long time. I provided a screen shot of it for everyone to see.

 

The portraits in this mod are fun to look at. They are not the standard MLB pressbox photos that we are used to seeing in other mods where the player is seated and we get a photo of his face. Not in the '95 mod. Bret Boone for example has his hat on backwards while sitting down, presumably in the dugout. it is a subtle touch but I think it makes this mod stand out.

 

I want to thank Kyleb and all the people who assisted him on this mod. You should be proud of your work. This one is a real keeper! Thank you.

 

Screenshots

Welcome to Total Classics 1995!

Here is a look at the superb overlay on TC 1995.

 

[kyleb]

Thanks for the kind words. I really do think this is the best mod I've put together. I took some serious time looking over stats for the 1995 season and then trying to replicate the results when simulating, even to the point of anomalies in that year - Albert Belle had a much better batting average against righties in 1995 than he did for his career, so I upped his ratings against RHP.

Another thing I really wanted to emphasize is just how good the best players really are. When you play against Greg Maddux, I want you to feel like your back is against the wall. His 1995 season was incredible and I want it to mean something when you play a game against him.

Hope everyone is enjoying the mod!

[Yankee4Life]

Last week was a very good week for total classics fans here because Dennis James and Jim825 released another gem in their long line of season mod hits, this time taking us back to the 1934 season where the Gas House Gang was king and the Sultan of Swat was just about on his way out.

 

Although there are many total classics mods already to choose from this mod here is a unique one because it is the first mod from the 1930's. There is a lot of history associated with the 1934 season and in my opinion it starts with two people. First, Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals. He may have given his manager Frankie Frisch a lot of grey hairs when he played for him but as Dean always said "it isn't boasting when you can back it up." And in 1934 that's exactly what he did when he went 30 -7 with a 2.66 ERA. Dean may have loved to laugh and have a good time but when he was on the mound he was all business.

 

But even while Dean was winning all those games the Cardinals were still in second place behind the New York Giants and this is where the second person comes into the picture. Bill Terry was the manager of the World Champion New York Giants of 1933 and he was feeling pretty good about the chances of his team repeating in 1934. During the off season he was giving an interview about the chances of each team in the National League winning the pennant and he analyzed each roster for the reporters, giving them what he thought were their strengths and weaknesses. Finally a reporter from Brooklyn asked Terry what he thought the Dodgers' chances were and his reply struck a cord in the entire borough of Brooklyn that Terry paid for dearly at the end of the season at the Polo Grounds. "Brooklyn?" Terry asked, "is Brooklyn still in the league?"

 

With two games left in the season their was a tie for first place between the Giants and Cardinals. St. Louis won their final two games at home against the Reds while the Giants were hosting the Dodgers -and hundreds and hundreds of their loyal fans to end the season. The Giants were razzed as bad as they were when they played in Brooklyn and they never had a chance. The Dodgers won both games to eliminate their hated rivals and the Cardinals won the 1934 pennant. You have to wonder if Bill Terry had not made that off the cuff statement in the off season if things would have been different.

 

Well, that's a little background for this year in baseball and you can download the mod right here so  you can try it out yourself. Again, and this is for the new people only, you need a clean copy of Mvp 2005 on your hard drive where you can install the mod. Jim has once again made the installer and as always it is very user friendly.

 

Once you get into the game the first thing that I notice is the jukebox music in the background. If you say to yourself that this music sounds kind of melancholy and downhearted then you're right. 1934 was right in the middle of the Great Depression and there was no money or jobs to be had. Lou Gehrig hit .363 with 49 home runs and 166 runs batted in in 1934 and he lead the American League in each of these categories but he was still forced to take a two thousand dollar pay cut in 1935. I'd be melancholy if something like that happened to me too.

 

The uniforms in this mod are exquisitely created and tailored by the master himself, Dennis James. He has a way of giving each classic uniform a modern but at the same time throwback look. I don't ask how he does it. I'm just appreciative and grateful of his work.

 

The two team I picked were the New York Giants visiting the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park. I saw why the Giants had such a good team with Mel Ott and Bill Terry in their lineup and Carl Hubbell on the mound. And every member of the Cardinals were a tough out. They were not champions for nothing.

 

I give this mod the highest rating I can give it and I highly recommend spending some time in it. Thank you very much Jim and Dennis!

 

Screenshots

Welcome to Total Classics 1934!

In-game overlay of TC '34. I like how the baseball in the overlay is not too big or too small but manages to stand out on its own just the same.

It's between innings and it is a close one between the Cardinals and the New York Giants.

[Yankee4Life]

With the exception of the first ten years of the twentieth century, the Total Classics team have covered every decade of the last century apart from the 1930's. Last year's Total Classics 1934 welcomed the depression-era decade into the group of total conversion mods. Last week thanks to Jim825, DennisJames71 and Kyleb they released the latest edition of the Total Classics family, Total Classics 1939.  

 

When you go to the download page to get this mod you'll read a brief history of the 1939 season. It was a pivotal year for baseball. One Yankee leaving the game under mysterious circumstances (Lou Gehrig) and another one emerging as a star in his own right (Joe Dimaggio.) Hall of Famers Lou Boudreau and Ted Williams were rookies in 1939 and Hall of Famers Tony Lazzeri and Heinie Manush both retired after the 1939 season.

 

But most of all this season was about a man who only played in eight games that year and hit .143. Sick as he was, somehow Lou Gehrig still managed to knock out four hits before benching himself in Detroit on May 2nd, 1939. He would never play again. Gehrig was such a special player that in that same year he was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame in a special election.

 

So with a little more history about the 1939 mod to think about it's now time to get into the mod to see what it's about. Installing these mods are exceedingly user friendly. If only all installations for every computer program would be so easy we would all be better off. For novices who are new to Total Classics, you will need a clean (unmodded) copy of Mvp 2005 on your hard drive. Unzip the mod and run the explodeme.exe file and point it in the direction of the unmodded copy of Mvp '05. Then sit back and let the installer do what it needs to do.

 

The familiar team of Jim and Dennis did their usual fine work on this mod but this time they were assisted by Kyleb. Kyleb's impressive resume includes the 1995 and 1997 Total Classics mods as well as being the head modder for the Mvp 2012 and 2013 season mods.

 

While always in the background the jukebox music always has your attention and that doesn't matter what mod you are playing. The selections here have a bluesy and big band sound which was of course indicative of the period. Four of the selections are from Artie Shaw, a popular band leader and clarinetist of the time.

 

Everything in this mod is above scale. The uniforms look wonderful and I have to say that the research done to acquire the correct stadium select screens have to be commended because I have looked for some of these myself on my own and they are hard to find. Nothing about this mod like the player portraits, cyberfaces, team logos, TC 39 overlay, etc are lacking in anything. It is one of the best mods around and that is saying a lot compared to the other great ones that have come before it.

 

This mod has been out a week but I have been so busy playing games in it that I have not done a write up until now. I chose the Philadelphia Athletics to play against the White Sox in Chicago. The combination of the wind blowing out, good hitters on both teams and two struggling pitchers (Nelson Potter for Philadelphia; 8-12 with a 6.60 ERA in '1939 and Thornton Lee, who was 15-11 with a 4.21 ERA in '39) was a recipe for a slugfest. And that is exactly what happened as Chicago came back to win the game in the bottom of the tenth.

 

I have a habit of saying that such-and-such a mod is one of the best around. It may seem repetitive but all of these mods have a few things going for it that you will find in every one of them and that is attention to detail. That alone makes the Total Classics series stand out above anything.

 

Download Total Classics 1939 today! Thank you to all of the modders who were a part of making this mod so good beginning with Jim, Dennis and Kyleb.

 

Video File.

Luke Appling hits a bases loaded triple in the fifth inning.

 

Screenshots

Welcome to Total Classics 1939!

Seventh inning stretch at Comiskey Park.

 

[laroquece]

Excellent review Y4L 

[Jim825]

A great review as always.  Thanks!  

[Yankee4Life]

Well folks, they did it again. The undefeated team of Jim825 and DennisJames71 sprung another wonderful season mod on us and what can I say except that we are lucky to have two guys so involved and devoted to classic baseball for the Mvp 2005 game.

 

Only these two guys could make this particular season fun to play and spend time in. If you've played any of their previous collaborations you'll understand what I mean immediately. The mod itself can be downloaded right here and when you arrive at that page you'll see a brief history of the season and the ever-important installation instructions.

 

I knew this mod would eventually be made and when it did it would bring back the memories that I had on that early August day when I first heard the news that to this day still upsets me when I read or hear about it. That is when baseball took a back seat for the remainder of the year.

 

When the 1979 season is mentioned Thurman Munson is always the first thing I think about. But even before the tragic death of the Yankee captain on August 2nd the Yankees were a lethargic team. There were no comebacks for them in store this year and that started with the late April fight between Cliff Johnson and Rich Gossage that caused him to miss twelve weeks of the season. Ron Guidry, all-world in 1978, volunteered to go to the bullpen to help the team until the intimidating reliever returned. That didn't even help because Baltimore was running on all cylinders all season long. Like the rest of the American League East the Yankees had no chance.

 

The National League belonged to Willie Stargell as he led the Pirates with his bat (32 home runs and a .281 average) and the way he inspired his team. He introduced the giving away of small stars to other Pirate players that became known as Stargell Stars. These were given for game-winning hits, well pitched games, saves, good fielding plays, etc. Players would take a lot of pride with the amount of stars they had on their hats. It obviously worked since they won the World Series.

 

Anyhow, those are some of my memories of the '79 season. At least it ended well with Earl Weaver's team losing in seven games.

 

To install this mod is very simple and easy. Once again you need a clean (unmodded) copy of Mvp 2005 and you let the installer that Jim has included in the mod do all the work for you. It installs quickly and you will be up and running in no time.

 

The stadiums here in this game bring back a lot of memories and are very well done. I've almost forgotten how many stadiums in the National League had artificial turf but play a few games in the senior circuit and you'll see what I mean.

 

Dennis James made the uniforms for the game. Do I really need to say anything else besides that? If you don't know by now how skilled this man is when he makes a uniform then you either are brand new to this website or you have not played Mvp in a few years and have forgotten how good he is. Dennis has taken uniform making to an art form and I appreciate his work very much.

 

The loading screens looked great and I liked that it showed the player's baseball card in the picture. The overlay was nice too. A simple looking overlay always works in the total classic mods and this one with ABC Sports fit perfectly. ABC did a hell of a job covering baseball.

 

The music in the mod? Oh good Lord. Now I got to confess that I sent Jim and Dennis some songs from 1979 and Dennis already had some in mind but how can I explain this? The music from the 1970's was terrible. Hippie music at the start of the decade and disco music as the decade came to a close. So what Jim and Dennis did here was make songs from Sister Sledge and The Knack a big part of the sound of the game. It worked, it really did. I want to thank Jim and Dennis for making me appreciate 1980's music even more after I played a few games in this mod.

 

The game I played was the Minnesota Twins visiting Baltimore. It was a very close game and Dennis Martinez and Jerry Koosman (a twenty game winner in '79) were locked in a pitching duel but like they did so often that year, the Orioles chipped away and won the game.

 

Thank you Jim and Dennis once again for another wonderful total classics mod! Download TC '79 today!

 

Screenshots

 

Welcome to Total Classics 1979!

 

 

 

We are scoreless in Baltimore with the heart of the Orioles order coming up.

 

 

 

Another perfect classic overlay, this one of ABC television. They did an outstanding job broadcasting baseball during this time.

 

 

 

[Yankee4Life]

Oh good Lord. It is less than a week and I am back here writing in this thread. Trust me, I am not complaining because writing about the Total Classics mods is a true travail d'amour, a labor of love. The respect I have for the men who make these mods for us is something I can never put into words the way I really want to so I make sure I give them the thanks and admiration they deserve. And if I can give more attention to these mods with this little thread that I started ten years ago then I am happy to do so.

 

I have watched Total Classics grow since the beginning when Boss Fuzz created it. The first mod he made can still be found in Total Classics Phase 10, the jewel of the Total Classics family.

 

We've had a lot of people create these season mods including notables such as stecropper, Jim and Dennis James and now Kyleb. He has released two classic mods in the past, the 1995 and 1997 mods but this mod here, the 1948 season mod is the first one he has done out of the steroid era and from the look of this mod one can only hope he continues to make mods from this time period.

 

The download page for this mod gives a very good summary of what happened in 1948. What is most remembered about that year is the one game playoff in Boston that decided the American League pennant. Ted Williams lead the league with a .369 average. I only bring this up because Stan Musial of the Cardinals hit .376 and won the National League MVP and he did all that virtually unrecognized for the entire season. This was the last year that both champions of each league challenged again for awhile. Cleveland won a pennant in 1954 while the Braves won their next one in Milwaukee in 1957. Both Chicago teams finished in last place so it must have been easy to get tickets that year on the north and south side.

 

Now let's get into the mod. You install it just like you would any other classics mod. Have a clean copy of Mvp 2005 with no mods, no nothing installed on it. This clean copy should be the installation you get right out of the box. When that is done you install the mod over it and a minute or so later you have the 1948 mod.

 

Everything in this mod takes you back seventy-one years. Crosley Field, Briggs Stadium, Griffith Stadium, they are all here and when you play a few games in these parks you almost get the feeling that watching baseball back then was a lot more fun. The background images and loading screens are very well done and look great.

 

Before I play the game that I use as my featured game I like to explore the mod a bit to see what's what and the more I looked the more I liked this mod. The uniforms look like a Dennis James special. In other words they look great. Sharp, accurate and they look good.

 

Now for the all important music. I've heard some of these songs in various movies that I've seen but I'm, not familiar with all of them of course. But I listened to all of them as I am accustomed to do when I review the mods and they all have that 1940's sound to it.

 

As an added bonus the Legends of the Booth mod is included here just so you don't have to listen to Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper.

 

In the exhibition game that I played I had the New York Giants traveling to Boston to play the Braves.

 

Screenshots

 

Welcome to Total Classics 1948!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle innings here in Boston and the Giants are shutting out the Braves.

 

 

 

By now the veterans of the Total Classic series of mods should be used to seeing this particular overlay. It looks good, doesn't get in the way and tells you only what you need to know. There are a lot of overlays in our download section but this one holds up to any of them. However, if I was given a say I would change the color of the teams and inning display to a lighter one that is easier to see.

 

 

 

[dennisjames71]

My apologies that I had been preoccupied until this past Saturday with my son's 1st birthday party and the 4+ months of planning for that.  But I wanted to personally thank you Y4L for your excellent and thorough review for TC 1979 and 1948.  It was and is always a pleasure to work with both Jim and Kyle on these 2 Total Classics projects.  Both of these guys share the same passion and professional quality to detail as I do when it comes to the Total Classics mods and I know I can speak for myself and them, that we enjoy bringing these contributions to the fans of the genre and just MVP Baseball gaming in general.  Again, thank you as always for taking the time to shine the spotlight on our projects and to promote these great efforts.  It's very much appreciated and I hope you are having fun with these games.

-DENNIS

[Yankee4Life]

Dennis it was my pleasure and I completely understand you not being here. Your family and son come first and I hope the little boy enjoyed the party you gave him. Just think, by this time next year you'll have taught him to make his very first uniform. That kid's got a future! 👏 😀

[Yankee4Life]

I just got done taking a look on Amazon to see how much MVP baseball 2005 is being sold for and believe me even after fourteen years you still cannot buy this game with your spare change. For example a used copy in good condition will cost you $49.95. A used copy in extremely good condition will cost $145.01 and a brand-new out-of-the-box copy costs $177.14.

 

There is a reason why I am starting out this review quoting prices for MVP. It's because even after all this time people still want to play this game thanks to the contributions of people like Dennis James and Jim825. While we have had many modders giving so much to this game it is the Total Classics season mods that make this game stand out and shine. Every time a new season mod comes out it is like you are getting a brand-new game and all you have to do to get it is download it. MVP users have been spoiled because of the work that these two fine people have been putting out for years now. And just a few days ago the 1919 season mod became the newest addition to the Total Classics family. There's a lot of history in this mod and Dennis and Jim managed to capture the feel of how baseball was one hundred years ago. And I'm sure that once people find out that another season mod has been uploaded to this website the price to buy this game on Amazon is going to go up.

 

There are certain seasons in baseball history that stand out more than others because of what happened during that year. In 1941 it was Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. In 1951 it was Bobby Thomson's dramatic homerun against Brooklyn to win the pennant. And in 1919 it was Joe Jackson and the other members of the Chicago White Sox who became known as the Black Sox. Books have been written about this season and the events leading up to the throwing of the World Series and I highly recommend when the off-season comes to pick one up and read about it. You will discover if not for the miserly ways of Charles Comiskey things could have turned out differently. But that is history and now it is on to the 1919 mod.

 

You can download the mod right here. Before you install it please make sure that you have a clean copy of MVP 2005 on your computer. That means a right out-of-the-box installation with no mods installed. Jim's installer will handle everything. All you have to do is point it to the directory where you want it installed. Once that simple procedure is done you can get into the game.

 

The feature game that I used to review this mod was the Philadelphia Athletics going to Comiskey Park to take on the Chicago White Sox. But before I got into that game I did what I usually do before I review a mod. I played a few games first and then I looked around to check out the rosters of all the teams to see how many people I recognized. I knew some but I didn't know them all because some of the players in the major leagues one hundred years ago have been lost to history. Like the 1915 mod that Dennis and Jim made they created All-Star teams for both leagues even though the first All-Star game would not be played until 1933. Night games are also an option in this mod but every game that I played I played during the day. That's because the first night game in baseball did not occur until 1935 and I wanted to stay is accurate as I could to this particular year.

 

The uniform department was once again taking care of by Dennis James and the only way that you are not familiar with the quality of his work is if you are a new member here. His uniforms speak for themselves at all I have to say is that they keep getting better and better.

 

The jukebox is a mixture of Jazz and Blues. I am not a fan of either Jazz or Blues and if I was alive one hundred years ago I would've also complained when prohibition started because the only way to listen to this stuff is when you've had a few drinks too many. Please don't assume that I am being critical of the mod because of the music. Absolutely not. This music represents what people were listening to a century ago and it belongs in this mod. I am someone who feels that the music chosen for a mod is a big part of the charm and charisma of it and while I may not listen to this music I understand that it gives the proper sound and feel of a game played in 1919 and to me that is a lot more important than what I like or don't like.

 

Dennis and Jim have once again included the Legends of the Booth mod to give this mod the complete classic feel.

 

I would like to think Jim and Dennis for making a another wonderful mod. I appreciate the time and effort that the two of you put into it and the only request that I make from people who download this is to thank the two of these guys if you have not done so already.

 

Screenshots

 

Welcome to Total Classics 1919!

 

What a lineup the White Sox had. It makes you wonder how much baseball history would have changed if this team stayed together and challenged the Yankees in the early 1920's.

 

 

 

 

Joe Jackson may have been 0 for 2 so far in this game but he delivered a run-scoring single in the 8th to extend Chicago's lead to 6 - 1.

 

 

This is Athletics first baseman George Burns. Burns played for sixteen years in the major leagues for five teams from 1914 to 1929 and had a lifetime average of .307. Now maybe it's me and maybe I'm seeing things but this guy's cybersface looks a lot like the young version of George Burns the entertainer.

 

Between innings at Comiskey Park and the hometown White Sox have the lead. Each player in the 1919 mod has 0 as a uniform number. That is because uniform numbers were not worn my players at that time.

 

Joe Jackson is featured in the good-looking custom made overlay by Dennis James.

 

 

 

[Yankee4Life]

Watching years of baseball documentaries about the 1955 baseball season and the Dodgers of that year and reading accounts from players who played during that time, the name Sandy Amoros would regularly be brought up. I don’t know how many times I have seen replays of him running toward the left field foul line at Yankee Stadium, right arm extended, and at the last possible second catching Yogi Berra’s fly ball that the quick-thinking Dodgers turned into a double play. It was the climatic play of the 1955 season and for Amoros having it take place in the seventh game of the World Series was the highlight of his career that ended five years later at the conclusion of the 1960 season.

 

But that was one player, one play, that made up this exciting 154 game season and thanks to the endless talents of Jim825 and DennisJames71 the 1955 season mod is the latest compilation of their work added to an already impressive anthology of season mods already available on our website.

 

Before I go on with the installation instructions with the mod I should point out that Dennis has already uploaded a uniform patch that addresses some minor uniform tweaks, so you may want to grab that after you download the mod. Install that patch with Kraw’s TiT program and you are good to go.

 

To install this mod on your computer is a very simple and easy procedure. You will need a clean copy of Mvp (or right out of the box installation) with no mods on it. Extract the explodeme.exe file into the directory where you have your clean copy waiting and let Jim’s install do its job.

 

Ok, now that we got all that out of the way you are ready to play the game. If you want you can now install the uniform patch that Dennis made but if you don’t want to just yet you can just get in and see what’s what.

 

I have always told people in the shoutbox that these mods are very sneaky. Sure, they’re fun to play but if you don’t watch out you are going to learn a few things. I am far from being an expert on anything in here but when I am playing a Total Classics mod I have a piece of paper next to me and I write down the names of players I am not familiar with like starting pitcher Sam Jones of the Cubs in the game I am detailing here. I confess I never heard of him and after looking him up I found that he was a twenty-one game winner in 1959. I also found out something from one of the recording artists that was used in the mod but I will save that for later.

 

One thing you will notice is that you’ll see the color blue just about everywhere in this mod. Blue in the background images and blue in the overlay because 1955 was Brooklyn’s year.

 

The music chosen for the mod was to me a typical blend of 1950’s songs. I don’t know much about the artists from that time except for Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and of course Elvis. But I was vaguely familiar with all the artists that were picked for the mod except for someone named Georgia Gibbs who sung a forgettable song named “Tweedle Dee.” As is my custom I like to play a few games in each new mod to get a feel of it and almost every time I started the game I heard this song and I had to turn my speakers down until the game started because Tweedle Dee was not for me and if any kid out there has a grandparent that complains about the kind of music you have on your playlist then just have them listen to this song one more time and it should keep them quiet for awhile.

 

As per custom, Dennis James made the uniforms for this mod. I have been admiring his work for quite some time now and I have to say that the work he does on the Total Classics mods stand out above all other things he has done and considering that he made yearly updates on uniforms and stadiums, his classic uniforms are above all my favorite. Especially check out the work on the Cleveland Indians uniforms contained in this mod because it is well worth the look.

 

The New York Giants took a trip to Wrigley Field in Chicago to take on the Cubs in the exhibition game that I decided to play and as Mel Allen said in the Legend of the Booth mod the weather was “warm and pleasant.” Baseball back then must have been a pleasure to watch. No pitch counts, no designated hitter, no inter-league play, etc. Johnny Antonelli pitched for the Giants and he threw a six-hit shutout against the Cubs which really was not that hard just as long as you pitched around Ernie Banks. Antonelli was from my home town and every year the ball club would have a Johnny Antonelli night because he owned a tire dealership and was also a local boy who made good. I never met him but if I had I would have had a few dozen questions for him. That’s why I picked him to start the game for the Giants. You can see the results of the game by the screen shots below. Not a lot of people are familiar with his career and that’s the reason why I brought him up. There are a lot of players like Antonelli on each team and you’ll discover them for yourself when you take the time to play the mod.

 

I want to thank Jim and Dennis for this mod and I encourage you to try this out for yourself and to please leave a nice comment for them to let them know their work is appreciated.

Screenshots

 

Here we go, our first look at Total Classics 1955.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between innings at Wrigley.

 

The custom overlay and pitch selection for the 1955 mod.

 

[Jim825]

Thanks for the review.  Glad to hear you are enjoying the mod.  Also, thanks for last year's TC1919 review.

[Yankee4Life]

I have to admit that with the inclusion of the 1963 mod in the Total Classics stable of historical seasons I was met with a feeling of sadness and before I go any further I should clear up what I mean. I have read countless books on baseball history and biographies about famous players and at an early age I knew that the 1963 season did not end well for the Yankees. It was the very first time in their history that they were swept in World Series play and if you take a look at this page on Retrosheet that details the four games in that season’s fall classic. The Dodgers won and they hardly got their uniforms dirty.

 

Ignoring this I downloaded Total Classics 1963 with the full expectation of being suitably impressed with the effort of Dennis and Jim and once again they delivered like they always do. That shouldn’t be news to anyone here because when these two guys put out a mod you can be sure that it is looked over and tested to their high standards before we have a chance to download it.

 

Now that it has been uploaded to the website I will go through the steps to install the mod so you can get into it in a matter of minutes. For those of you who can do this part blindfolded and in the dark please go ahead and skip this paragraph. First you will need a clean copy of Mvp 2005 installed on your system. A clean copy is a right out of the box installation with no mods installed. Extract the explodeme.exe file that is included in the 1963 mod into the directory where you have your clean copy waiting and let Jim’s install do its job.

 

Depending on the speed and age of your system that did not take long and now you have the mod installed and ready to be played. Before I did the write-up for this game I played a few games with different teams each time and I do not like to use World Series teams in exhibition play. That’s because mostly everyone knows the Yankee roster during this time period. Mantle, Maris, Ford, etc, etc but it is harder to name a lot of players from the ‘63 Athletics or ‘63 Angels for instance. Check those teams out and you’ll be surprised at how many familiar names there are that you know.

 

One thing about these Classics mods that I can not point out enough is how much you will learn about baseball’s history while playing these enjoyable seasons. It doesn’t matter what mod you have be it the 1934 mod, the 1951 mod, etc. You will always discover a player that you’ve never heard of and what I do is write the guy’s name down and then look him up later. For instance Jerry Lynch of the Pirates, whom I screen captured tripling off of Bob Gibson. I’ve never heard of him but when I read about him I found out that he was one of the best pinch-hitters in baseball and that was for all time. Who knew? And I have to thank Jim and Dennis for this. It’s easy to know about the famous players but the not so familiar ones get lost in history.

 

Now that you are into the game and before you pick your teams the music from the ‘63 season is piped through your speakers. You’ll notice that four of the songs on the playlist have to do with the beach or surfing. That’s because in 1963 it was the start of the beach party movies, which were highly forgettable films featuring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. Also groups like The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean were very popular with the vocal surf music style. Jim picked a good selection of songs for this mod.

 

The uniforms were created by Dennis James and it is my belief that he has not made a bad uniform yet. Check out the Reds home jerseys for a real treat. The loading screens are very well done with the picture of a player and his baseball card from 1963. This is an exciting mod to play from the team select screen until the end of your game.

 

As I said previously I played some games before doing this write up and the game I chose to showcase was the St.Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates in Forbes Field. It was a close game until the Cardinals decided that the game should be a blowout.

 

I highly encourage you to download Dennis and Jim’s latest work of art because that is exactly what it is. Thank you very much Jim and Dennis!

 

Screenshots

 

Welcome to Total Classics 1963!

 

 

 

 

 

The 1963 Total Classics overlay is shown here and as usual it is a simple, easy on the eye display that does not distract from the action on the field.

 

 

 

Between innings overlay. The game is tied now but the Cardinals soon had something to say about it.

 

Bill White of the Cardinals. White had a very good career from 1956 to 1969. He was an eight-time All-Star and won seven gold gloves. He announced Yankee games from 1971 to 1988 and was one of the best announcers they had at the time along with Phil Rizzuto and Frank Messser. He also was elected president of the National League in 1989.

 

 

[Jim825]

Thanks for the great review. Like you, Dennis and I learn a lot about baseball history when we work on these mods. 

[Jose_canseco33]

sorry guys, its been years since I was last on.. good to see this page is still going strong! Can anyone guide me to the MVP 05 mods? I tried to download it, but nothing happens.. thx!  Is there a tutorial or a link I can follow.. thx again!

[Jim825]

Which mod are you trying to download?