Sidd Finch....a story for the ages

[BRADSANDBOTHE]

Since this was brought up on our tour thread,

I thought it would be great to post the 1985 S.I. article here for everyone to read.

For those of you who have never heard of Sidd Finch, I ask this of you....

Read this Article,

It was in the April edition of Sports Illustrated in 1985 and it was written by George Plimpton who also authored the [u:57e872f9de][b:57e872f9de][i:57e872f9de]"Paper Lion"[/i:57e872f9de][/b:57e872f9de][/u:57e872f9de]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/news/2000/07/24/finch_flash/

Read article before reading what is posted below this point and remember it was printed in 1985.
Keep in mind, there were really no such thing as home personal computers, no internet, and very few ways of getting news, sports or other information for that matter except on local news and week-end sports shows including the "Game of the Week" on Saturdays.




This article had special meaning to me because I am a Cardinal fan and our big rival at that time was the NY. Mets. The Mets had Strawberry, Dykstra and most importantly Dwight Gooden. I was very interested in what the Mets were going to do to try to beat the Cardinals to win the Pennant. Then came this article.....in the Sports Illustrated magazine.....Everyone was on the edge of their seats reading about the new Mets' prospect coming into spring training that year........

Read the Article first....and I will give you a hint on what was to follow......

Now go back and look at the Very End of the Article and look at the Date it was issued.......4/01/1985

Now go back and Look at the Name of the Article.....The Curious Case of Sidd Finch.....Now look at the description directly below the Title

Each word of that description gives away the secret of the Article.....the first letter of each of the words spells it out for you....
H A P P Y A P R I L F O O L S D A Y

Of course those of you who know about this, the gig is up, but this is intended for those younger folks that haven't heard of Sidd Finch before

I hope you all enjoy the brilliance of the Article as it was intended and sit back and just be amazed that the country including baseball was in an uproar about this new prospect.....It was a great time

[Runnin Rebel]

Thanks for the mention...I post a screenshot of Sidd throwing on the beach EVERY April Fool's Day as a reminder of one of the greatest journalist pranks pulled by the master himself, George Plimpton.

Like you said, it was a simpler time. ESPN was just branching out, there was no internet or immediate transfer of news so a story like this could build until the truth was revealed. What a fun story.

[Roscodog]

Thanks for posting the story, I genuinely enjoyed reading it. I love the internet , but something like this really does make you think back to a simpler time.

[Coffeeholic]

One of the true classics of Sports Literature Puckin Drunk! Thanks for the link... I haven't read this since it was first published!

I actually beleived this story when I frist read it way back when. I was going around telling everybody about this incredible, mystical pitching prospect the Mets had that was going to re-write the record books! :roll:

[BRADSANDBOTHE]

I was a freshman at Mizzou in spring of '85 myself and very clearly remember reading the story in my dorm room and then going up and down the halls telling everyone who was interested.

The magazine was passed around for a good long while and many a discussion came about because of it.

It kinda makes you wish things were as innocent as they were back in those days when the true talent of a good storyteller could just take you on a ride that was like riding a rollercoaster for the first time.

I miss people like Plimpton, and Jim McKay (Olympics), and while we still have a few out there like Dick Enberg and Vin Scully, they are a dying breed and should be remembered with respect and admiration in the ability to take you above and beyond the story and put you right in the middle of it.

I am glad to see that people can still remember the time and the feelings the story above instilled in you. I remember it as if it were yesterday myself.

[STEPHENANDERSON 2]

Wait..... this was a prank...... no wonder I could not get him on any of my fantasy leagues. :shock: 8)

[askaufman]

As an ex-sports reporter I remember this story well and how brilliant it was. It fooled me as well and saddens me our great writers our dying off. Now instead of writing they want to appear on TV too which to me with few exceptions has ruined sports journalism. ESPN has ruined journalism to the point it trains our kids to look at the sports world in 30 second sound bites.

[BRIANSIELSKI]

I remember when that came out. My college roomate (a ROTC Marine) was totally hooked by it. I told him he's a dumb jar-head. After a few hours, he figured it out (the Happy April Fools Day in the title).

Thanks for the nostalgia trip.

[markp65]

Bodie I remember how my fast my teenage Cardinal's fan heart was sinking as I was reading this piece when it was originally published. I called up one of my Met fan pals to cry the blues. After I finished conceding the NL East to his Mets (Gooden! Strawberry! And now this freak of nature! Not fair!) my friend quietly instructed me to take a peek at the publication date of the magazine:

April 1.

Now if only THIS year's Cardinals game summaries and boxscores were fake!