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Posted

HA! Awesome!

 

Like many hockey players drafted in the 11th round of the 1974 NHL Draft, Taro Tsujimoto never actually made it to the big time. But unlike the other players drafted with him, Tsujimoto didn't exist.

 

His name is in the record books because of Punch Imlach, the former general manager of the Buffalo Sabres. Imlach was so fed up with tedious late rounds of the draft that he decided to poke some fun at the league.

 

He pulled a Japanese name from the local phone book and made up an imaginary team. Then, he simply told NHL President Clarence Campbell that his draft pick was Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas.

 

Sure, no one had ever heard of Tsujimoto, but that didn't stop the NHL from making the selection official. Several weeks later, Imlach revealed his prank, but Sabres fans didn't care.

 

For years after the draft, Buffalo crowds would break into chants, demanding "We want Taro!"

 

 

With regards to the first story about the fake Georgia Tech student, who was paying his tuition?!? Seems like a far way to go for a joke, but I guess that's what makes it a really good joke.

Posted

Reminds me of Olof Pilar the U of R football player that NFL scouts were in a lather over about thirty years ago yesterday.

 

It wasn't 30 years ago... But I still remember it well. :)

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