Obscure sports trivia

According to Donaldson, the New England Patriots writers saw a rudimentary version of fantasy played in the Seattle press box either in 1979 or 1980 on a road trip, then refined the rules for their league. Like The Wave, I don't know who deserves the trademark.

I know I ran our league basically from the AP agate, typing it on the radio station's IBM Selectric and mailing out the weekly newsletter every Tuesday morning (half of the league was in California, the other half on the East Coast) so maybe they'd know the standings by Saturday and could call me Sunday morning with changes. The first few player drafts were done by mail. We conference-called later, and it might have lasted long enough for an IM draft. But yeah, it was definitely different before the Internet, and especially before the big boys (Sportsline, ESPN, Draft Kings) got involved.

 

Mudcat Grant, Wally Bunker, Marty Pattin, Dick Selma. What in common?

 

I found it by accident. I was thinking they all May have been 1960s pitchers who were adopted and looked at one of their bios. When I saw one of them, I knew the same fact for two others...so peeked on the fourth. Very good piece of trivia.

 

Yeah, I've replayed the 1969 season in a baseball sim, so I guessed pretty quickly and didn't want to spoil it for others.

 

They threw the first pitch for the four 1969 expansion teams. Grant (Expos), Bunker (Royals), Pattin (Pilots) and Selma (Padres).

 

Working the same corner, who were the opening day starting pitchers for the Blue Jays and Mariners in 1977?

 

Diego Segui (M's); Bill Singer (Jays). I think Segui is the only guy to play for the Pilots and Mariners.

 

Yep, yep and yep.

 

Just got a Pilots hat last week for my birthday. Looking forward to wearing it. It's a little darker blue than what they actually wore but the design is the same and it will work. What a cluster the ownership of that team was, almost from the moment the team was awarded the franchise. Undercapitalized from the get-go.

And just as I type this a guy attending our game today (summer wood-bat collegiate) shows up with an identical hat! He's sitting next to a guy in a Jacoby Ellsbury jersey. Too much bad karma for me to go near them.

 

I knew Singer but not Segui. Didn’t know Diego Segui was a pitcher if I’m being honest.

 

Hall of Famer Nestor Chylak was the home plate ump in that game

 

Father of David Segui, who also played for Seattle at one point in his career.