John Pausma Is The 8th Inductee To The NFBC Hall of Fame

[Greg Ambrosius]

We are honored to announce today that John Pausma of Tinley Park, Illinois will become our eighth inductee into the NFBC Hall of Fame next month. John has competed in the NFBC since 2006 and has become one of the winningest owners in our contest's first 18 seasons. John is currently 10th on the NFBC's Career Earnings list with $336,333 as he has amassed an amazing 64 -- yes, that's SIXTY FOUR -- NFBC league titles. Congrats John.

John has won a pair of NFBC national titles over the last decade, winning the NFBC Main Event in 2018 and the NFBC $50s Draft Champions National Championship in 2021. John topped 510 teams for the Main Event overall title in 2018 and he topped 2,832 teams for the $50s DC title in 2021. He's also finished second overall in three national championships: the 2014 NFBC Primetime, the 2017 NFBC Draft Champions National Championship and the 2018 Rotowire Online Championship. In 2018, he almost won the $75,000 cash bonus for winning both the Main Event overall title and the Rotowire Online Championship overall title, falling just one spot short of that goal.

He also finished third in the NFBC Auction Championship in 2021. He ranks 16th on KJ Duke's Main Event Career standings list as he has won three Main Event league titles, in 2012, 2013 and 2018.

One of the criteria for earning a Hall of Fame spot is "Excellence in several NFBC formats; consistency in multiple formats." In that regard, there are few equals to John Pausma as he has won in 10-team formats. He's won in 12-team formats. He's won in 15-team formats. He's won in draft leagues and he's won in auction leagues. He's even won in Keeper Leagues. His resume is littered with league titles in just about every format. They include:

** 3 Main Event league titles
** 2 NFBC Primetime league titles (12 teams)
** 2 Auction Championship league titles
** 15 Rotowire Online Championship/NFBC Double Play league titles
** 17 Cutline Championship league titles (10 team format)
** 12 $50 Draft Champions league titles (12 team format)
** 6 Draft Champions league titles (15 team format)
** 3 Satellite League titles
** 2 Draft Champions Online Auction titles
** 1 Keeper League title
** 1 MLBC League title

Add it all up and it's:
64 NFBC League titles
2 NFBC National titles
3 NFBC runner-up national finishes
1 NFBC third place national finish

And best of all, he's evolved into different formats through the years. After his 2018 NFBC season, I actually told him that he was worthy of the NFBC Hall of Fame. He replied that "I'm not worthy yet" and he convinced me!! He did have a strong resume after the 2018 season, but since then he's strengthened it to the point where there was no way he could talk us out of his HOF nomination!!

In 2019, he dove into the Cutline in a big way and won 4 of the 10 Cutline leagues he competed in, with all 10 teams finishing in the Top 5 of his leagues and making the playoffs. He won six league titles in 2019, adding two Online Championship league titles. In 2020, he won a total of nine NFBC league titles, winning six of the 14 Cutline leagues he entered, while adding two more Rotowire Online Championship league titles and his first NFBC $50 Draft Champions league title.

Then in 2021, he dove head-first into the 12-team format and crushed it. He won 11 of his 14 NFBC $50 Draft Champions leagues and finished 1st and 5th overall. He cashed in all 14 NFBC $50 DC leagues, finishing 2nd, 3rd and 3rd in the three other leagues he didn't win. He entered 12 Rotowire Online Championship leagues in 2021 and won three league titles, while finishing second in six leagues. That meant he cashed in 9 of 12 Rotowire OC leagues that year. In the three other leagues that he didn't cash in, he finished third. He entered 26 Cutline and OC leagues in 2021 and didn't finish lower than third in any of them. Remarkable.

He also won his second NFBC $1400 Auction Championship league title in 2021 and led the overall competition for a large part of the season before finishing third overall. He won 3 of 14 Cutline leagues that year as well, with 11 of the 14 teams qualifying for the playoffs. Oh, and he won one of his four NFBC $150 Draft Champions leagues for a total of 19 league titles in 2021.

That will boost the resume -- and the pocketbook. Well done, sir.

Like some of our other NFBC Hall of Famers, there was a learning curve to winning in the NFBC for John. He first joined the NFBC in 2006 with Jack Haan and he finished third in one $1,000 Satellite League and 8th in the Chicago Main Event. He won his first league title in 2007 when he won a $100 Winner-Take-All Satellite League, earning a FREE Main Event entry. He also finished second in the Chicago $650 Mixed Auction as he entered only two leagues that year.

He won a $250 Satellite League in 2008, finished second in a $250 Online Auction League and then did two live events, staying in Chicago. He finished 4th in the Chicago $650 Auction League and 12th in the Chicago Main Event.

He joined 10 NFBC leagues in 2009 with Jack and didn't cash in any of them, but by 2010 he started branching out. He won one NFBC Online Double Play league and he finished second in the NFBC Chicago Main Event, while finishing 48th overall. He also finished second in the Chicago Auction League, second in a $125 Satellite League and third in a Chicago Live Double Play league. He also met a bunch of new NFBC owners when he traveled to St. Louis for that first weekend's live events, finishing 5th in the St. Louis Main Event League.

He won two more league titles in 2011 and in 2012 he went back to St. Louis (where I believe Kay Adams was one of the facilitators) and won the St. Louis Main Event league, while finishing 4th overall. He also won a $150 Slow Draft DC (yes, we actually called them that) and finished third in the NFBC XII Online league.

He won back-to-back Main Event league titles in 2012 and 2013, winning a Main Event Online league title in 2013 and finishing 8th overall for his second straight Top 10 finish. He also won two Rotowire Online Championship league titles that year, finishing as high as 67th overall.

In 2014, he won three more league titles, including an NFBC Primetime Online league title as he finished 2nd overall. He also added two Rotowire Online Championship league titles, while finishing 54th and 73rd overall.

He traveled to Las Vegas in 2015 for the first time and did the gamut at Chicago and Las Vegas, competing in the Main Event, Auction Championship and Primetime at each location. He also branched into the Ultimate League that year, and although it wasn't his best year, he was hooked on the back-to-back weekends of live events in Chicago and Las Vegas.

He won three league titles in 2016, while again competing in Las Vegas and Chicago, and then won nine league titles in 2017. He was in contention in multiple national championships that year, finishing 2nd in the NFBC Draft Champions National Championship, 8th in the NFBC Auction Championship and 14th and 16th in the Cutline Championship. It was the first year he won an NFBC Auction Championship league title and he added 5 Cutline league titles that year, one Draft Champions league title and two ($250 and $500) DC Online Auction league titles.

He became one of the elite players in NFBC history in 2018 when he won the Main Event overall title and finished second overall in the Rotowire Online Championship. He won five NFBC league titles that year, including his third Main Event, a $750 Rotowire OC Live league title, a $350 Rotowire OC league title and two Cutline league titles. He finished 8th overall in the Auction Championship, 2nd and 22nd in the Rotowire OC and 27th in the Cutline Championship. Amazing season indeed.

He has been better since, winning six league titles in 2019, nine league titles in 2020 and 18 league titles in 2021. We may have actually waited too long to induct him into the Hall of Fame, but the wait was well worth it. Congrats John.

John now becomes the 8th NFBC player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He joins:

NFBC Hall of Famers
2010 - Steve Jupinka, Shawn Childs
2012- Lindy Hinkelman
2015 - David DiDonato
2017 - Dave Potts
2019 - Mark Srebro
2020 - KC Cha
2022 - John Pausma

John is planning on again competing in Chicago on March 18-19 and will be in Las Vegas March 24-27 as well. Let's get the old gang back together in Chicago and honor John appropriately. We will then do it up right in Las Vegas and officially induct him into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 26th before the 11 am Main Event at the Bellagio Las Vegas. He gave a great acceptance speech in 2019 when we awarded him his Main Event overall championship plaque and we expect nothing less this year!! Can't wait to bring him up with the other past overall champions and Hall of Famers on that special day. Let's make it happen MLB.

We have been stingy in placing our champions in the NFBC Hall of Fame because it's the ultimate honor in a very tough format. That explains why we've inducted only eight players in 18 years. It's a high bar to receive this honor.

But we look for people who dominate over time and dominate in multiple formats. Our previous Hall of Famers have done just that and John certainly has done that over 16 years in the NFBC and then some. It's an impressive resume, but one that will grow in time. It's also an honor to induct a fellow Cheesehead because although John resides in Illinois, he's a Wisconsinite through and through, having grown up in Waupun, Wisconsin, down the road a bit from our Iola, Wisconsin offices. If he wears a Brewers' jersey to the induction, we won't mind at all.

CONGRATS to John from all of us here at the NFBC. Sorry we delayed this induction a few years, but you've done it the old fashioned way: YOU EARNED IT. And we know that you'll keep earning it.

Please welcome our newest NFBC Hall of Famer: John Pausma!!! Well done, sir, well done.

[cfolson]

Congratulations John! Definitely one of the best.

[The Mighty Men]

He started winning once he wisely dumped me and went solo. Smart call. Congrats, buddy!

[Navel Lint]

Like most of us, I joined the NFBC because I thought I knew the game and that I would be highly competitive in this format of fantasy baseball . However, it's not until you play in the NFBC against players like John Pausma do find out what competitive fantasy baseball really is.

As a player that has played against John in Chicago for the past 14 years in all different formats, I can tell you first hand that he is a great player. He knows the game inside and out, he can win from any draft slot, he can win wire-to-wire, or he can grind out stats for 26 straight weeks until he takes the top spot. But most importantly, he does it with class and style. John is honest, he is humble about his success in the NFBC, and he has a sharp humor that has me laughing all the time.

I've felt myself lucky to compete against John all these years, but I've been even luckier to call him a friend. This season I will be competing in my first events in Las Vegas. Not only do I hope not to be drawn in the same league with John, but I also get to see a friend receive a well earned spot in the NFBC HOF

Congrats John!!!

[pigsrus]

Welcome to the club, John. Very well deserved.

[DOUGHBOYS]

A better player could not possibly have been picked.
John has been one of the most consistent winners year after year.
He also wins on the Dark Side (but I won't hold that against him )
On top of everything else, John is one of the easier NFBC players to root for. A quiet assassin with a quick smile and good demeanor.
Well done, NFBC, in making a great choice.
And well done, John, for being acclaimed as something most of us already knew you are...One of the best.

[Ando]

Well deserved, Paus. Congrats to a great player and champion. Not a bad guy, either.

[COZ]

Like most of us, I joined the NFBC because I thought I knew the game and that I would be highly competitive in this format of fantasy baseball . However, it's not until you play in the NFBC against players like John Pausma do find out what competitive fantasy baseball really is.

As a player that has played against John in Chicago for the past 14 years in all different formats, I can tell you first hand that he is a great player. He knows the game inside and out, he can win from any draft slot, he can win wire-to-wire, or he can grind out stats for 26 straight weeks until he takes the top spot. But most importantly, he does it with class and style. John is honest, he is humble about his success in the NFBC, and he has a sharp humor that has me laughing all the time.

I've felt myself lucky to compete against John all these years, but I've been even luckier to call him a friend. This season I will be competing in my first events in Las Vegas. Not only do I hope not to be drawn in the same league with John, but I also get to see a friend receive a well earned spot in the NFBC HOF

Congrats John!!!

Well said, Russel. Great player & a better guy. A little known fact about John, for those of us who have the pleasure of texting in-season with him, and as someone on the receiving end of much of it, he also has an underrated snarky game. His in-season management & ability to overcome injuries or underperforming players and be in the hunt by September year-in year-out never ceases to amaze me. Congratulations JohnP. As Greg said, you earned it.

[Ultrarunner]

Congratulations on this well deserved and well earned honor, JP! Looking forward to seeing you walk the stage again

[Sack]

Congrats JP:

Well deserved honor to one of the very best in both sports. A true gentleman that I always look forward
to seeing at the live events every year. Great choice!

Way to go CHAMP!


Ken Magner

[JohnP]

Thank you to all who have posted and reached out to me. What a great community this is and I am so thankful and humbled for this honor and your kind words. I look forward to seeing many of you in person soon!

[Glenneration X]

I can't think of anyone who deserves this more. John is such an incredibly nice guy, you don't even realize what an absolute assassin of a player he is. So happy to see one of the great players and even better people of this great community get such an amazing and deserved honor.

Congratulations John. You're the Man. And looking at the list of prior inductees, you're in incredible company that you've earned the right to be alongside.