At its most basic, fantasy football is a game in which football fans use their knowledge of the sport to compete against each other in formats that relate to the actual performance of professional football teams. The goal of the fantasy football player is to select which athletes or teams will have the most impressive performances during a given week. In order to be successful at fantasy football, a fantasy player must follow the weekly happenings of the NFL and make better choices than his opponent makes.
Modern fantasy football can be traced back to the late Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach, an Oakland area businessman and a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders. In a New York hotel room during a 1962 Raiders eastern cross-country trip, Winkenbach, along with Raiders Public Relations man Bill Tunnel and Tribune reporter Scotty Starling, developed a system of organization and a rulebook, which would eventually be the basis of modern fantasy football.
Photo courtesy Milford Plaza Hotel
The Milford Plaza Hotel, where Bill Winkenbach
created fantasy football.
Focusing on AFL offensive skill players, Winkerbach's blueprint laid the groundwork for what would come to be known as the GOPPPL (Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Procrastinators League). Upon his return to Oakland, Winkenbach organized the inaugural eight teams, which consisted of individuals who met one of the following qualifications:
An administrative affiliate of the AFL
A journalist with direct relation to pro football
Someone who has purchased or sold 10 season tickets for the Raiders' 1963 season
As stated in the original rules, the purpose of the league was "to bring together some of Oakland's finest Saturday morning gridiron forecasters to pit their respective brains (and cash) against each other" in the hope that it would lead to "closer coverage of daily happenings in professional football" [ref]. The original rulebook stated that there were to be two league officials: a secretary who would keep scores, verify rosters, maintain records, and handle all monies and a commissioner who would preside over all league meetings, appoint any necessary committees, and mediate any league disputes. As the owner of a small business, Winkerbach had all the necessary tools (phone lines, typewriters, a mimeograph machine) to become the first fantasy football league commissioner. Following the assembly of the original eight teams in 1963, Winkerbach invited all of the team owners to the basement of his home to participate in an inaugural GOPPPL "draft."
In the first fantasy football draft, participants drew cards marked 1-8 for the privilege of choosing their drafting positions. The draft proceeded in a ladder order with the 1st position draftee making the 1st selection, the 2nd position draftee making the 2nd selection, and so on until the 8th position draftee makes the 8th selection. During the second round, the draft order reversed, with the 8th draftee starting with the 9th selection and the order continuing backwards from the first round until eventually returning to the 1st draftee whose next pick would then be the 16th. Each subsequent round, the order would reverse with the last position draftee of the previous round making the first selection of the next round until each team's roster was full. This ladder order was implemented in order to make the teams equal and to promote a higher degree of competition. In subsequent years, after roster cuts were made, the team with the lowest record the previous season would have the opportunity to draft first. Teams were able to draft 20 players:
Four offensive ends
Four halfbacks
Two fullbacks
Two quarterbacks
Two kick/punt returners
Two field goal kickers
Two defensive backs/linebackers
Two defensive linemen
Since many players played at different positions in the 60s, the same player could play for different teams at different positions (for example, the #1 draft pick George Blanda played quarterback for one team and place kicker for another). Upon successful completion of the draft, each team was to submit their weekly lineup to the secretary before noon each Friday. Teams would compete on a weekly basis, and at the end of the season, teams would hold a championship to crown the league champion.
The GOPPL used the following method of payoffs for scoring:
50 cents for rushing touchdown by any player
25 cents for any player receiving a pass for a touchdown
25 cents for any player throwing a touchdown pass
Double the above for any score from more than 75 yards out
25 cents for each field goal
$2.50 for a kickoff or punt return for touchdown
$2.50 for a touchdown by a defensive back or linebacker on pass interception
$5.00 for a touchdown by defensive lineman
Next, we'll learn how fantasy football went public.
