For you local guys, the draft's logistics are still under review. Paz will still be in Colorado, so we won't be on Heights Blvd. I'm considering a couple of other spots, including Cactus Cove, where we have our postseason meetup, the RBar on Houston Avenue just north of Washington (my 'home' bar where I hang out to watch soccer), or a few other spots over on the west side of town. I was at New Magnolia Brewing last week, and it would be a good option, but I can't ask these places to turn down their music. My fallback plan is to have everyone draft from their own location.
In any case, I'll try to set up a Zoom room. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. An in-person draft is always more fun than a fully remote one, but we've been down this road a time or two.
Notice: The previous entry ("Hi-Lites and Lo-Lites" posted last Monday and those going back for a bit) contained some pertinent links in the text. The problem was that they were color-coded to match the rest of the text, so they did not stand out. One example is the paragraph referencing DraftKings, etc. which included a link to a 1989 story about an Austin-based league having its draft busted by the cops.
I've fixed it so that links are now coded as red text.
More Memories... I found a few other notes I'd made that were intended to become part of that memories post. And those led me down a few more 'rabbit holes'. The following is a continuation of that idea.
Did I Win?... In the pre-Internet days, when results went out via "snail mail", most owners got their newsletter/stat sheets by Thursday. But Steve was our first out-of-town owner, and he had a Manhattan PO box which he didn't check regularly. So in most cases, when he called to turn in a lineup, he always began by asking how he'd done the week before. Seems awfully quaint now, doesn't it?
Speaking of calling in lineups, for a few years, my job at the Houston Post had me working quite a few Sunday mornings. The job of recording the lineups fell to my wife, Lorraine. Interpreting what she had written down was, in many cases, an adventure. Leaving her a copy of the rosters so she could just check off starters helped some. But buying an answering machine saved our marriage. I still recall buying the thing at Service Merchandise in Baytown. Somewhere in my closet, I still have a couple of the little tape cassettes it used, probably filled with crummy phoned-in lineups!
The Weather Weeks... Since we kicked this thing off in 1980 we've had 582 regular season lineup weeks. (sidenote...to me that sounds even crazier than '45 years'!). We would have had 583 if it hadn't have been for a week we lost due to Mother Nature.
In November of 1992 (the Saturday before Thanksgiving to be exact) a mile-wide F4(!) tornado rolled through my neighborhood. I was home with my three little ones that afternoon. I've got a lot of memories of that nightmare but those are not the point here. Needless to say we ended up not playing that week.
Strike One...The NFL Strike/Lockout of 1982 cancelled six weeks of NFL games. And, as a result, we adjusted to a single playoff game, the Hughes Bowl.
Strike Two... Another stoppage was the reason we cancelled four weeks in 1987. We were able to have a full two-round playoff, which was the usual deal at that time.
Big Numbers... (or "That's a Lot of Kickers under the Bridge!" ) In total, we've had 119 playoff weeks over the years. Added to the regular season weeks, that gives us 701 total weeks of Hughes League play. I got curious and did some digging. Here is what I came up with re: the number of lineups per franchise and owner...
Most Lineups Submitted by Franchise:
- Flyers 626
- Nats 625
- Giants 620
- Heroes 617
- S'menn 615
But, as most of you are aware, 'franchise' in Hughes terms is different from 'ownership' and 'management'. The Flyers had Rick (1980) and James (circa 2017/18) as GMs during the club's history. The Nationals have been run by Steve, Dave, and Dan. Likewise, the Strawmenn have a history that includes lineups from Mark, Sheri (Mark's wife), and Mike.
So I did a bit of calculating and came up with this list of the folks who have turned in the most lineups over the years.
Most Lineups Submitted by Individual:
- Rick: 628
- Ben: 617
- Jimmy: 602
- Paz: 594
- Keith: 572
Rick gets credited with 8 weeks as Flyers' GM in the 1980 season. I dug through the newsletters and found that I made the change in the Week 8 edition. (We played 16 weeks that first season). It's impossible to sort out the Nats' early history as far as who was turning in lineups week-to-week in any given season. But both Dan and Dave probably have a couple of seasons' worth to add to whatever total they have as 'soloists'. They are likely at or over 500 lineups each. I am probably somewhere in the Top 5, but it's hard to figure. Subtract a couple of 'James seasons', Rick's eight games in '80, and I'd be in the 590ish range.
None of this amounts to anything important, but I always have fun playing with numbers like these.
Canon's Kid... Only one 'civilian' has ever made it into an EHFL lineup. In Week 4 of the 1993 season, one-day-old Chad Canon debuted as a running back for his father Tommy's team, the Bowie Knives. Tommy was in dire straits at the RB spot and had missed the e-claim window (he had a good excuse, he was becoming a dad!), so he called and told me to just stick the 'new guy' into his lineup. Funny thing... the Knives beat the Flyers 28-25! Chad Canon will forever be an undefeated Hughes League player!
- The first-ever draft pick was Earl Campbell by The Bushwackers.
- The first-ever trade was a swap of 6th-round slots between the Strawmenn and Flyers. The Flyers were to be compensated with a 6-pack but that never happened!
- The first player waived was Atlanta RB Haskell Stanback by the Flyers.
- The first trade to include actual players saw the Lepers (Nic) dealing Cleveland RB Charles White (and a 2nd round pick in 1981) to the Bustouts for Richard Caster, TE from the Oilers.
- Our first Supplemental draft was held at Don's Seafood (!). Fancy! The Nats had the first choice (via a trade with the S'menn) and took Seahawks' WR Sam McCullum.
Oh, and I've linked to the 1st Hughes News issue many times. But did you know it was sent out with a handwritten second page and stat sheet? Here they are. You can click to enlarge.
My cuties... Ellis....
a-ha - Take On Me
Couple of thoughts - keep the old stories coming. Great reads. Maybe add one about "Scoring" e.g. last play of game in HB to create a tie (the first and only?) that claimed a winner by QB yards. A good song choice can be "We Are The World" as it is turning 40 and was few years after we started.
ReplyDeleteThere have been a couple of crazy HB finishes. Great suggestion.
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