My Personal Nostalgia Sports Thread

[Mr KLC]

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Wagerallsports]

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Wow

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Enikk]

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Story behind this? Seen google images Sidd Finch

Glad to see these posts again bud!!

 

[Mr KLC]

Story behind this? Seen google images Sidd Finch

Glad to see these posts again bud!!

In early 1985, Mark Mulvoy, the managing editor of Sports Illustrated, noticed that a cover date that year would fall on April 1. He asked George Plimpton to commemorate this with an article on April Fools' Day jokes in sports. When Plimpton found himself unable to find enough examples to craft an article, Mulvoy gave Plimpton permission to create his own hoax.

Plimpton reported that Hayden Siddhartha "Sidd" Finch was a rookie baseball pitcher in training with the New York Mets. He also wore only one shoe—a heavy hiker's boot—when pitching. Finch, who had never played baseball before, was attempting to decide between a sports career and one playing the French horn. What was astonishing about Finch was that he could pitch a fastball at an amazing 168 miles per hour (270 km/h), far above the record of a "mere" 104 miles per hour (167 km/h), with pinpoint accuracy, and without needing to warm up. The Mets' scouting report gave Finch a "9" on fastball velocity and control—"8" is the highest score on the scale.

According to Plimpton, Finch grew up in an English orphanage and was adopted by an archaeologist who later died in a plane crash in Nepal. After briefly attending Harvard University, he went to Tibet to learn "yogic mastery of mind-body" under "the great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa", which was the source of his pitching prowess. Finch decided not to pursue a baseball career, instead choosing to "play the French horn or golf or something."

The story was accompanied by photographs of Finch, including one featuring a young Lenny Dykstra and another of Finch talking with the Mets' actual pitching coach, Mel Stottlemyre. The Mets played along with the hoax, even providing a uniform and number (21) for Finch.

Sports Illustrated photographer Lane Stewart recruited his friend, Joe Berton, who was a junior high art teacher from Oak Park, Illinois, to portray Finch. Berton posed as Finch for the photographs (usually with his face averted from the lens). Berton stands at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and wears a size 14 shoe.

The story was released in late March 1985. Mets fans were overjoyed at their luck in finding such a player, and flooded Sports Illustrated with requests for more information. Many people fell for the prank. A New York sports page editor complained to the Mets' public relations director for allowing Sports Illustrated to break the news. Two general managers called Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth asking about Finch. The St. Petersburg Times sent a reporter to find Finch, and a radio talk show host claimed he saw Finch pitch.

The Mets gave Finch a locker between George Foster and Darryl Strawberry. The three major networks, CBS, NBC, and ABC, and the local St. Petersburg, Florida, newspapers sent reporters to Al Lang Stadium for a press conference about Finch. At the April 2 press conference, Berton announced his retirement.

The subhead of the article read: "He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball." The first letters of these words spell out "Happy April Fools' Day—a(h) fib". Despite this clue and the obvious absurdity of the article, many people believed Finch actually existed. The magazine printed a much smaller article in the following April 8 issue announcing Finch's retirement. It then announced it was a hoax on April 15.

 

[Tanko]

Love this stuff Mr. KLC. Followed it on the site across the street.
Thanks for post it here. It brings back a lot of memories.

 

[Enikk]

Story behind this? Seen google images Sidd Finch

Glad to see these posts again bud!!

Fictional I see

Sidd Finch: The Greatest April Fools' Joke in Sports

Perhaps the greatest April Fools' joke in sports history, George Plimpton's April 1, 1985, article in Sports Illustrated detailed the fascinating tale of an unknown Mets pitching prospect named Sidd Finch. Photographer Lane Stewart and the "real" Sidd Finch, Joe Berton, reminisce about how the...

www.si.com

 

[Enikk]

Damn, the year before they won it all too. 1986 Mets my favorite childhood team and from than on my set-up at plate was similar to Strawberry

 

[Shortstop]

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Welcome aboard, Mr.KLC…

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Tanko]

Sounds normal. Maybe he was always drunk?

 

[Mr KLC]

 

[Enikk]

Loved the Miggy play