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By - Jeff Mertes
The hobby now referred to as fantasy football is linked to the Oakland Raiders while they were still members of the old AFL. It all began in The Manhattan Hotel (now Milford Plaza) on a rainy October evening when Bill Winkenbach, then 50 years old and a Raiders limited partner as well as successful businessman, Bill Tunnell, Oakland’s P.R. man, and Scotty Stirling who covered the Raiders for the Oakland Tribune got together for a few cocktails and began hammering out rules and league organization for what would become the GOPPPL (Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League) in 1963.
The stated 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. Inasmuch as this league is formed only with owners having a deep interest and affection for the Oakland Raiders Professional Football Team, it is felt that this tournament will automatically increase closer coverage of daily happenings in professional football.”
League rules stipulated that participants had to meet one of three prerequisites – 1) Affiliation with an AFL professional football team in an administrative capacity; 2) A direct relationship to professional football in a journalistic capacity; or 3) Either have purchased or have sold ten (10) season tickets for Oakland’s 1963 season. Although meeting one of the first two criteria would have put you in pretty exclusive company, the third category was probably even tougher to meet considering the ineptness of the Raiders since their inception in 1960 while compiling a 9-33 record. In 1962 Oakland had posted a puny 1-13 ledger. Selling ten tickets for the 1963 season wasn’t easy, and buying 10 may have been purely an act of masochism. Plus, an inexperienced offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers had been hired to guide the Raiders. Prior to regular season play in ’63, who would have imagined that the woeful Raiders would win ten of fourteen games to lay the foundation for the silver and black legend? Oh yeah, the new head coach was some guy named Al Davis.
Anyway, the GOPPPL was formed with eight franchises owned by Winkenbach, Tunnell, Stirling, George Ross (Oakland Tribune sports editor), Bob Blum (Raiders radio announcer), George Glace (Raiders ticket manager) as well as ticket sellers/purchasers Phil Carmona and Ralph Casebolt. Andy Mousalimas (owner of the Kings X Sports Bar) teamed-up with Stirling, and a young front office worker, Ron Wolf (indeed, the same guy who went on to become “whiz kid” general manager of the Green Bay Packers) was a partner of Ross’s.
The first ever fantasy football draft took place in Winkenbach’s basement in August of 1963. It was highly recommended that owners spend time thoroughly researching statistics and come prepared to the draft because, “Inasmuch as this test of skill and knowledge of the players in the AFL and NFL leagues will be backed by coin of the realm, it behooves each club owner to study carefully…all available statistics, schedules, weather conditions, player habits and other factors, so as to preserve one’s prestige and finances.” In 1963, most of the preparation amounted to buying a Street & Smith’s football annual.
The inaugural draft sheet (below) seems to indicate that the Ross-Mousalimas team drew the number one pick spot, and Glace picked eighth (last) in the first round.
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Sterling/Mousalimas
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Ross/Wolf
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Winkenbach
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Blum
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| OE |
Shofner, Del--NYG |
Collins,Gary--Cleve |
Randle, Sonny--St. Lou |
Powell, Art--Oak |
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Turner, Bake--NYJ |
Kocourek, Dave--S.D. |
Codgill, Gail--Det |
Graham-Art--Boston |
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Capalleti, Gino--Boston |
Walton, Joe--NYG |
Alworth, Lance--S.D. |
Retzlaff, Pete--Philly |
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Romeo, Tony--Boston |
Howton, Billy--Dallas |
Ferguson, Chas--Buff |
McGee, Max--G.B. |
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| HB |
Hennigan, Chas--Hou |
Lincoln, Keith--S.D. |
Mason, Tommy--Minn |
Gifford, Frank--NYG |
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Clarke, Frank--Dallas |
Barr, Terry--Detroit |
Stone, Donnie--Den |
Moore, Tom--GB |
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Perkins, Don--KC |
Flatley, Paul--Minn |
Casey, Bernie--S.F. |
Mingo, Gene--Den |
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McElhenny, Hugh--NYG |
King, Phil--NYG |
Cannon, Billy--Houston |
Bull, Ronnie--Chi |
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| QB |
Blanda, George--Hou |
Dawson, Len--KC |
Rote, Tobin--S.D.t |
Flores, Tom--Oak |
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Unitas, John, Balt |
Parilli, Babe--Boston |
Tarkenton, Fran--Minn |
Starr, Bart--G.B. |
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| FB |
Johnson, John H.--Pitt |
Brown, Jim-Cleve |
Larry Garron--Boston |
Gilchrist, Cookie--Buff |
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Smolinski, Mark--NYJ |
Spikes, Jack--K.C. |
Mathis, Bill--NYJ |
Smith, J.D.--S.F. |
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| K |
Mingo, Gene--Denver |
Martin, Jim--Baltimore |
Kramer, Jerry--G.B. |
Blanda, George--Hou |
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Brooker, Tommy--K.C. |
Mercer, Mike--Oakland |
Khayak, Bob--Wash |
Davis, Tom--S.F. |
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| KR |
Cannon, Billy--Houston |
Suci, Bob--Houston |
Woodson, Abe--S.F. |
Gibson, Claude--Oak |
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Garron, Garren--Boston |
Glick, Gary--S.D. |
Mitchell, Chas--Denver |
Lowe, Paul--S.D. |
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| DB |
Taylor, Rosie--S.F. |
Williamson, Fred--Oak |
Grayson, Dave--K.C. |
Morrow, Tommy--Oak |
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Glick, Gary----S.D. |
Banfield, Tony--Hou |
Gonsoulin,Austin--Den |
O'Hanley, Ross--Boston |
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| DL |
Hussman, Ed--Houston |
Jelacic, Jon--Oak |
Faison, Earl--S.D. |
Costa, Dave--Oakland |
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Dee, Bob--Boston |
Branch, Mel--K.C. |
Petrick, Bob--S.D. |
Mays, Jerry--K.C. |
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Carmona
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Casebolt/Downing
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Tunnell
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Glace
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| OE |
Dial, Buddy--Pitt |
Ditka, Mike--Chi |
Taylor, Lionel--Den |
Burford, Chris--K.C. |
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Miller, Bill--Buffalo |
Dewveal, Willie--Hou |
Phillips, Jim--L.A. Rams |
Dowler, Boyd, G.B. |
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Thomas, Aaron--NYG |
Arbanus, Fred--K.C. |
Groman, Billy--Den |
Warlick, Ernie--Buff |
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Kramer, Ron--G.B. |
Orr, Jimmie--Balt |
Norton, Don--S.D. |
Robinson, Jerry--S.D. |
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| HB |
Mitchell, Bobby--Wash |
Conrad, Bobby Joe--St.Louis |
Daniels, Clem--Oak |
Brown, Tim--Philly |
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Haynes, Abner--K.C. |
Lowe, Paul--S.D. |
McDonald, Tom--Philly |
Colclaugh, Jim--Boston |
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Dubenion, Elbert--Buff |
Maynard, Don--NYJ |
Moore, Lenny--Balt |
Hoak, Dick--Pitt |
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Jackson, Frank--K.c. |
Lisbon, Don--S.F. |
Tobin, Bill--Houston |
Lewis, Dan--Detroit |
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| QB |
Kemp, Jack--Buffulo |
Tittle, Y.A.--NYG |
Johnson, Chas--St. Louis |
Ryan, Frank--Cleve |
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Wade, Billy--Chicago |
Brown, Ed--Pitt |
McCormick, John--Den |
Wood, Dick--NYJ |
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| FB |
Triplett, Bill--St. Louis |
Tolar, Charlie--Hou |
McClinton, Clint--K.C. |
Taylor,Jim--G.B. |
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Joe, Billy-- Buff |
Alan Miller---Oak |
Marconi, Joe--Chicago |
Webster, Alex--NYG |
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| K |
Capalleti, Gino--Boston |
Groza, Lou--Cleve |
Chandler, Don--NYG |
Michaels, Lou--Balt |
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Spikes, Jack--K.C. |
Blair, George--S.D. |
Guesman Dick--NYJ |
Yoho, Mack--Buff |
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| KR |
Adderly, Herb--G.B. |
Lincoln, Keith--S.D. |
Brown, Tim--Philly |
Jackson, Frank--K.C. |
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Roberson, Bo--Oak |
Christie, Dick--NYJ |
Jancik, Bob--Hou |
Frazier, Charlie--Hou |
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| DB |
Wood, Willie--G.B. |
Woodson, Abe--S.F. |
Lynch, Dick--NYG |
Zeman, Bob--Denver |
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Suci, Bob--Hou |
Krakoski, Joe--Oak |
Harris, Dick--S.D. |
Gibson, Claude--Oak |
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| DL |
Ladd, Ernie--S.D. |
Eisenhauer, Larry--Bost |
Sestak, Tom--Buff |
Allen, Dalva--Oak |
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McMurtry, Chuck--Oak |
Schmidt, Henry--S.D. |
Bell, Bobby--K.C. |
Antwine, Houston--Bos |
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Oddly, George Blanda was drafted by two teams, as a quarterback for Ross-Mousalimas and as a place kicker for Blum. This was permitted because players could only be used at their designated positions.
Weekly lineups were submitted by noon Friday and included two ends, two halfbacks, a quarterback, a place kicker, a kick returner, a defensive back/linebacker and defensive lineman. Results were based only on actual scoring. Glace won the inaugural GOPPPL title and, as stated in the post-season banquet invitation, had to buy drinks for everyone in attendance (wives, included). A trophy was custom made featuring a carved face on a wooden football with a dunce cap that had to be prominently displayed by the last place finisher each year.
The league implemented performance scoring in the early 1970s, stimulated by Raider Pete Banazak’s specialty of finding paydirt from inside the five yard line without accumulating much yardage on the gridiron’s other 95 yards.
As to the GOPPPL’s competitive level, Stirling noted somewhat tongue in cheek, “Competition was fierce. Friendships were destroyed. There were some divorces. But guys used to try like hell to get in.”
Fantasy football’s popularity quickly spread mainly via leagues and competitions run by Mousalimas at The Kings X. It soon took hold across the bay in San Francisco, and ultimately throughout the nation.
Did that original group of Raiders fans have a clue as to what they had created? Did they ever fathom that fantasy football would captivate what is estimated to be as many as 20 million participants? Winkenbach, who continued to participate until his death at age 81 in 1993, was very surprised at its popularity even back then. Imagine the ‘wink’ he would have if he could see his brainchild today.
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