Since today is April 1st, a lot of morning radio shows and other media outlets will try to pull one over on their audiences with various April Fools bits. They rarely work.
However, arguably the greatest April 1 hoax in journalistic history was pulled off by Sports Illustrated and writer George Plympton.
SI featured an article about Sidd Finch in its April 1, 1985 edition. The story described Finch as an eccentric young pitching prospect with the New York Mets (that’s him pictured throwing bare-foot in the picture).
Plympton’s SI piece was full of bizarre details about the colorful prospect. He was a reclusive, Buddhist, Harvard dropout who hit 160 mph on the radar gun.
Although the story was a complete work of fiction, thousands of people actually called the Mets office at the time seeking more information.
Here’s the story in its entirety 23 years later:
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119283/index.htm
Tags: baseball
