The First 195 NFBC Participants: A Remembrance
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:56 am
I've often said that without the support of 195 owners who put their faith in a person they had never met, a contest that was untested, and in prize money that they trusted was guaranteed that the National Fantasy Baseball Championship never would have lived to see a second season. We needed their trust and support that first year to move forward with this plan and THEY are the reasons we are still here in 2013.
That's right, 195 owners trusted in us and believed in this live event format enough to put their money down and trust that the $100,000 grand prize would be there at season's end. We guaranteed the prizes based on 300 entries and even though we fell well short of our goal, we paid out in full and paid quickly during what turned out to be a fantastic debut season. We lost a lot of money that first year, but it was a great starting point and we proved to our owners that we were true to our word with the prize payouts. The next year we sold out the Main Event and we've sold it out now for 8 straight seasons.
It's a beautiful story, but it was definitely nerve-wracking that first season.
So who were those first 195 owners? Let's honor them here today and again in Las Vegas on March 22-24 at the live events. Many are still playing with us 10 years later (possibly 70 or more), while some stayed for a few years before parting ways. Still, it's great to look back and remember all of the names. Here are the lists and their draft orders for each 2004 Main Event:
Las Vegas League 1:
1. Charles Gallagher (Peggy Gallagher)
2. John Menna
3. Jessie Herron (Dustin Ashby)
4. Meat Loaf (Alan Driggers)
5. Steve Wells
6. Jason Krieger
7. Brett Washburn
8. Lewis Lipsey
9. Jeremy Chen (Tri Huynh)
10. Carl Lampley
11. Harold Goodman
12. Jeff Thomas
13. Scott Stauffer
14. Boaz Levey
15. Dohn Terrell Jr. (Jim Christie)
Las Vegas League 2:
1. William Tyrer
2. John Dean
3. Charles Papenfus (Toby Lee)
4. Michael Cameron
5. Christopher Stephenson (Andrew Nolan)
6. Perry Van Hook (Tom Loversky)
7. Henry Cantrell Jr. (Leslie Smith)
8. Alan Alpers
9. Eric Peden
10. Korey Gardner (Jimmy Gardner)
11. George Beason
12. Emmett Ruland (Michael Cohen)
13. Mike Williams (Scott Gunaca)
14. Rick Thomas
15. Bruce Barnard (David O'Connor)
Las Vegas League 3:
1. Terrance Haney
2. Todd Zola
3. Nate Ravitz
4. Gary Cowham (Tom Connors)
5. Phillip Barto
6. Richard Kloppenburg
7. Aaron Smith
8. John Crane
9. Heath Shaffer (Andrew Orozco)
10. Thomas B. Smith (Chris Worstell)
11. David Longood
12. Kevin Rogers
13. Scott Zeidman (Eric Ogaway)
14. Mark Yagan (Barry Fishman)
15. Scott Lambie (Kirk Vanden Heuvel)
Las Vegas League 4:
1. Raymond Freer
2. Lance Goebel (Herb Goebel)
3. Doug McCready
4. James Hoffstetter
5. Kenneth Norred
6. Rey Diaz
7. Norm Kent
8. Mark Lally (Daryl Williams)
9. Bradley Shairson (Willie Hoffman)
10. Shawn Childs (Kevin Deckel)
11. Wayne Edwards
12. James "Ken" Bayes (Jeffrey Rackliffe)
13. Rick Kanfer
14. Gene McCaffrey (John Menna)
15. Matthew Berry
Las Vegas League 5:
1. Kevin Dukesherer
2. Sharon Williams (Dan Williams)
3. Kenneth Magner (Bob Saxton)
4. Mike O'Connor
5. Michael Lewis
6. Clark Olson
7. John Swol
8. James Vassallo (Chris Schinker)
9. Larry Katz
10. Donn Johnson (Robert Berlin)
11. Richard Williams
12. James Malcolm (Jack Lyons)
13. Hojin Kyung (Aram Penaranda)
14. Adam Hollander (Tom Shelby)
15. J.T. Visco
New York League 1:
1. Leonello Savo Jr.
2. Peter Lukowicz (Reed Turrin)
3. Artie Rastelli
4. David Zwickel
5. John Rundle (Tom O'Connor)
6. Howard Rubin
7. Donald Haworth
8. Patrick Tremaglio (Kevin Sullivan)
9. Steve Siniski (Jason Kessler)
10. Don Mathis (Judy Mathis)
11. Eddie Gillis
12. James Bores
13. Glen Schroter
14. Matthew Ross
15. Paul Weber
New York League 2:
1. Wilbur Soto
2. Christopher Fleming
3. Leonard Ringle
4. Eric Price (Nick Cassavetes)
5. Alexander Hayden
6. Michael Fishman
7. Mark Janik (Vito Luongo)
8. Michael Edelman (Mike Cuellar)
9. Brom Keifitz
10. Kevin Grady
11. John Hogan (Rafael Toro)
12. Lenny Diveglio
13. John Bolcato (John Kadubec)
14. Scott Renda (Dajan Prorokovic)
15. Andy Shane
New York League 3:
1. Matthew Fleming
2. Lawrence Edelman
3. Will Robertson
4. Ray Murphy (Scott Monroe)
5. Joey Liner (Lee Pollack)
6. Martin Bedell (Nick Malatesnic)
7. Al Riccobono (Rocky DiFeo)
8. Brian Ross
9. George Vagelokos (Jake Rie)
10. Douglas Jaffe (John Franchi)
11. Jing Feng (Jerry Tu)
12. Bill Begley (Jim)
13. Michael Pisano
14. Salvatore Vella
15. Gregory Paley
New York League 4:
1. Kevin Cummings
2. Rick Cordella
3. Chris Plouffe
4. Yoni Bornstein (Sammy Zahler)
5. Stephen Jupinka
6. Brian Oldenski
7. Scott Israel (Jason Kass)
8. Michael Samuels
9. Ari Benjamin (Lauren Benjamin)
10. Jeff Dobies (Jonathan Friedman)
11. John Wojtowicz (Eric Pallotti)
12. Brian Walton
13. Joseph Saporito (Chris McGowan)
14. Mike Ladd (Brian O'Donnell)
15. Scott Alpers (Jeff Goeke)
Las Vegas/New York League:
1. Jay Bufis, NY
2. Michael Warren, NY
3. David Fox, NY
4. David Cushard, LV
5. Rob Wolf, NY
6. Charles Cart, NY
7. Joe Esposito, LV
8. Shane Pullen, LV
9. Scott Jordan, LV
10. Brant Goldsmith, NY
11. Jeff Rackliffe, LV
12. Rob Conti, NY
13. Steve True, NY
14. Larry Chialli, NY
15. Chris Jones, NY
Chicago League 1:
1. Tony Silvia (Troy Agler)
2. David Bowen (Scott Jordan)
3. Aaron Seefeldt
4. Gerry Scotto di Marco
5. Shawn Lechner (Chris Litsey)
6. Phillip McDonald
7. Christopher Hyden
8. Jeff Howard
9. Ryan Zeid (Jerry Sloan)
10. Carl Mische
11. Win Murray
12. Frank Perez (Jeff Husserl)
13. Steve Glover (Tyler Burgess)
14. Vern Newman
15. Craig Neustadt (Glen Brown)
Chicago League 2:
1. Nathan Noy
2. Steve Kraut
3. Stanley Kaye (Mike Kaye)
4. Dave Gawron
5. Bob Miggliozzi
6. Thomas Greenwald (Greg LaBonar)
7. Keith Guilian (Andy Mullett)
8. Dominic Cirigliano
9. John Engstrom
10. Glenn Florczak (Jeanne Florczak)
11. Chad Meyer (Parnelli Baker)
12. Greg Morgan (Dale Morgan)
13. Thomas Wachter (Terry Kent)
14. Charles Gillespie (Brian Rudd)
15. Todd Nord
Las Vegas/Chicago League:
1. Edward Mick, Chi.
2. Howard Markowitz, LV
3. George Kleeman, Chi.
4. Chris Deffendahl, LV
5. Jay Gray, LV
6. Greg Glukhovsky, LV
7. Jim Ruland, LV
8. Matt Pike, LV
9. Robert Mauri, LV
10. John Piontek, LV
11. Edgar LaTorre, Chi.
12. Jeff Price, LV
13. Anthony Swain, LV
14. Chris Liss, LV
15. Jeff Dietz, Chi.
Does anyone remember anything about these leagues? Any fond memories that you can share from Draft Day 2004?
That's right, 195 owners trusted in us and believed in this live event format enough to put their money down and trust that the $100,000 grand prize would be there at season's end. We guaranteed the prizes based on 300 entries and even though we fell well short of our goal, we paid out in full and paid quickly during what turned out to be a fantastic debut season. We lost a lot of money that first year, but it was a great starting point and we proved to our owners that we were true to our word with the prize payouts. The next year we sold out the Main Event and we've sold it out now for 8 straight seasons.
It's a beautiful story, but it was definitely nerve-wracking that first season.
So who were those first 195 owners? Let's honor them here today and again in Las Vegas on March 22-24 at the live events. Many are still playing with us 10 years later (possibly 70 or more), while some stayed for a few years before parting ways. Still, it's great to look back and remember all of the names. Here are the lists and their draft orders for each 2004 Main Event:
Las Vegas League 1:
1. Charles Gallagher (Peggy Gallagher)
2. John Menna
3. Jessie Herron (Dustin Ashby)
4. Meat Loaf (Alan Driggers)
5. Steve Wells
6. Jason Krieger
7. Brett Washburn
8. Lewis Lipsey
9. Jeremy Chen (Tri Huynh)
10. Carl Lampley
11. Harold Goodman
12. Jeff Thomas
13. Scott Stauffer
14. Boaz Levey
15. Dohn Terrell Jr. (Jim Christie)
Las Vegas League 2:
1. William Tyrer
2. John Dean
3. Charles Papenfus (Toby Lee)
4. Michael Cameron
5. Christopher Stephenson (Andrew Nolan)
6. Perry Van Hook (Tom Loversky)
7. Henry Cantrell Jr. (Leslie Smith)
8. Alan Alpers
9. Eric Peden
10. Korey Gardner (Jimmy Gardner)
11. George Beason
12. Emmett Ruland (Michael Cohen)
13. Mike Williams (Scott Gunaca)
14. Rick Thomas
15. Bruce Barnard (David O'Connor)
Las Vegas League 3:
1. Terrance Haney
2. Todd Zola
3. Nate Ravitz
4. Gary Cowham (Tom Connors)
5. Phillip Barto
6. Richard Kloppenburg
7. Aaron Smith
8. John Crane
9. Heath Shaffer (Andrew Orozco)
10. Thomas B. Smith (Chris Worstell)
11. David Longood
12. Kevin Rogers
13. Scott Zeidman (Eric Ogaway)
14. Mark Yagan (Barry Fishman)
15. Scott Lambie (Kirk Vanden Heuvel)
Las Vegas League 4:
1. Raymond Freer
2. Lance Goebel (Herb Goebel)
3. Doug McCready
4. James Hoffstetter
5. Kenneth Norred
6. Rey Diaz
7. Norm Kent
8. Mark Lally (Daryl Williams)
9. Bradley Shairson (Willie Hoffman)
10. Shawn Childs (Kevin Deckel)
11. Wayne Edwards
12. James "Ken" Bayes (Jeffrey Rackliffe)
13. Rick Kanfer
14. Gene McCaffrey (John Menna)
15. Matthew Berry
Las Vegas League 5:
1. Kevin Dukesherer
2. Sharon Williams (Dan Williams)
3. Kenneth Magner (Bob Saxton)
4. Mike O'Connor
5. Michael Lewis
6. Clark Olson
7. John Swol
8. James Vassallo (Chris Schinker)
9. Larry Katz
10. Donn Johnson (Robert Berlin)
11. Richard Williams
12. James Malcolm (Jack Lyons)
13. Hojin Kyung (Aram Penaranda)
14. Adam Hollander (Tom Shelby)
15. J.T. Visco
New York League 1:
1. Leonello Savo Jr.
2. Peter Lukowicz (Reed Turrin)
3. Artie Rastelli
4. David Zwickel
5. John Rundle (Tom O'Connor)
6. Howard Rubin
7. Donald Haworth
8. Patrick Tremaglio (Kevin Sullivan)
9. Steve Siniski (Jason Kessler)
10. Don Mathis (Judy Mathis)
11. Eddie Gillis
12. James Bores
13. Glen Schroter
14. Matthew Ross
15. Paul Weber
New York League 2:
1. Wilbur Soto
2. Christopher Fleming
3. Leonard Ringle
4. Eric Price (Nick Cassavetes)
5. Alexander Hayden
6. Michael Fishman
7. Mark Janik (Vito Luongo)
8. Michael Edelman (Mike Cuellar)
9. Brom Keifitz
10. Kevin Grady
11. John Hogan (Rafael Toro)
12. Lenny Diveglio
13. John Bolcato (John Kadubec)
14. Scott Renda (Dajan Prorokovic)
15. Andy Shane
New York League 3:
1. Matthew Fleming
2. Lawrence Edelman
3. Will Robertson
4. Ray Murphy (Scott Monroe)
5. Joey Liner (Lee Pollack)
6. Martin Bedell (Nick Malatesnic)
7. Al Riccobono (Rocky DiFeo)
8. Brian Ross
9. George Vagelokos (Jake Rie)
10. Douglas Jaffe (John Franchi)
11. Jing Feng (Jerry Tu)
12. Bill Begley (Jim)
13. Michael Pisano
14. Salvatore Vella
15. Gregory Paley
New York League 4:
1. Kevin Cummings
2. Rick Cordella
3. Chris Plouffe
4. Yoni Bornstein (Sammy Zahler)
5. Stephen Jupinka
6. Brian Oldenski
7. Scott Israel (Jason Kass)
8. Michael Samuels
9. Ari Benjamin (Lauren Benjamin)
10. Jeff Dobies (Jonathan Friedman)
11. John Wojtowicz (Eric Pallotti)
12. Brian Walton
13. Joseph Saporito (Chris McGowan)
14. Mike Ladd (Brian O'Donnell)
15. Scott Alpers (Jeff Goeke)
Las Vegas/New York League:
1. Jay Bufis, NY
2. Michael Warren, NY
3. David Fox, NY
4. David Cushard, LV
5. Rob Wolf, NY
6. Charles Cart, NY
7. Joe Esposito, LV
8. Shane Pullen, LV
9. Scott Jordan, LV
10. Brant Goldsmith, NY
11. Jeff Rackliffe, LV
12. Rob Conti, NY
13. Steve True, NY
14. Larry Chialli, NY
15. Chris Jones, NY
Chicago League 1:
1. Tony Silvia (Troy Agler)
2. David Bowen (Scott Jordan)
3. Aaron Seefeldt
4. Gerry Scotto di Marco
5. Shawn Lechner (Chris Litsey)
6. Phillip McDonald
7. Christopher Hyden
8. Jeff Howard
9. Ryan Zeid (Jerry Sloan)
10. Carl Mische
11. Win Murray
12. Frank Perez (Jeff Husserl)
13. Steve Glover (Tyler Burgess)
14. Vern Newman
15. Craig Neustadt (Glen Brown)
Chicago League 2:
1. Nathan Noy
2. Steve Kraut
3. Stanley Kaye (Mike Kaye)
4. Dave Gawron
5. Bob Miggliozzi
6. Thomas Greenwald (Greg LaBonar)
7. Keith Guilian (Andy Mullett)
8. Dominic Cirigliano
9. John Engstrom
10. Glenn Florczak (Jeanne Florczak)
11. Chad Meyer (Parnelli Baker)
12. Greg Morgan (Dale Morgan)
13. Thomas Wachter (Terry Kent)
14. Charles Gillespie (Brian Rudd)
15. Todd Nord
Las Vegas/Chicago League:
1. Edward Mick, Chi.
2. Howard Markowitz, LV
3. George Kleeman, Chi.
4. Chris Deffendahl, LV
5. Jay Gray, LV
6. Greg Glukhovsky, LV
7. Jim Ruland, LV
8. Matt Pike, LV
9. Robert Mauri, LV
10. John Piontek, LV
11. Edgar LaTorre, Chi.
12. Jeff Price, LV
13. Anthony Swain, LV
14. Chris Liss, LV
15. Jeff Dietz, Chi.
Does anyone remember anything about these leagues? Any fond memories that you can share from Draft Day 2004?