The Origins of Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football is quite possibly the most important development of the last 10,000 years. Sure one could make an argument for a number of other noteworthy inventions such as fire, or the wheel or birth control, but none of these innovations have ever provided me with that feeling of excitement you get on Sunday morning’s in the fall.

Just a quick side note: Fire was actually harnessed by man much earlier than 10,000 years ago. If you don’t think evolution is the devil’s hoax and you want to learn more about how we evolved from monkeys into the mouth-breathing, extra-value meal eating, paper pushing marvels of science we are today, read anything by Ian Tattersall (I don’t get paid if you click), curator of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC.

Anyway, you know the feeling, your bets are placed, your lineup is set, you got Peyton Manning playing indoors against the Niners… and as if God himself owed you bigtime from last nights hold em’ game, the old lady is AWOL until at least halftime of the Sunday night game.

Ah, yes…. I’m getting excited already and I haven’t even mentioned beer or pizza.

With the 07-08 season looming just out of reach like the finale to a free porn sample that cuts out after 10 seconds, I felt obliged to dig into the history of this glorious past time.

Apparently the origins of fantasy football can be traced all the way back to 1962 when Bill Winkenbach, a businessman with some vested interest in the Raiders laid out some rules that would evolve into the GOPPPL (Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Procrastinators League). Great name - it’s interesting that even during its inception, fantasy football is given no love as an worthy past time. I checked a bunch of sites but the best info seems to be at How Fantasy Football Works so definitely check out that site.

NFLPlayers.com actually has the original rules and draft results from the first ever fantasy football league posted on their site which you should definitely check out. I like to imagine “Billy Wink” and the boys sitting around grilling their buddies for their terrible picks over full glasses of aged scotch in a smoky hotel room. Sometimes I picture scantily clad hotel employees handing out cigarettes and getting lightly spanked. I can hear it now - “Blum your so f’d you old dog - your rolling with Frank Gifford and Ronnie Bull at halfback”…er… or something like that.

It looks like U.K. fantasy football has been around for about 16 years. I don’t know much about those chaps but I can tell you from experience that in Ireland it is very difficult to find a sports bar featuring American football. It’s all rugby and soccer. Now football is obvious number one on my list, but when you sit and watch some rugby player with blood gushing from his face, charge headlong, and unpadded I might add, into a 6-ft monster on the other team, you can start to understand why most Europeans are dumbfounded that American’s can sit and enjoy a baseball game.

Back on topic, to Bill Winkenbach and the other OG’s of fantasy football - thank you for this wonderful gift. It makes it a much nobler decision to choose multiple TVs and 1pm whiskey shots at the bar on Sunday afternoon over my mother-in-laws 70th birthday when I know I’m fighting to preserve over 50 years of tradition. Salut!