HOBART — Fantasy sports like football, basketball, soccer and baseball are played by many people around the world.
For one league here in the Green Bay area, through sickness, health and any other life complication – fantasy baseball has brought them together for decades.
“It’s great,” said Mike Willems, who has been in the league since it’s inception. “I see them often enough, but getting together like this for the draft, this is the most precious time of the whole baseball season. Sitting here and drafting.”
The De Pere Clan fantasy baseball league is in it's 43 season (1981). They have seven original members still remaining. They are a rotisserie league which is the most common way to play fantasy baseball, which means teams are ranked from first to last in different statistical categories. The first fantasy baseball league began in 1970, but as far as they know, they're the oldest rotisserie league that is still running.
“In 1996, Daniel Okrent’s (the creator of rotisserie league baseball in 1979) group quit, that was their last year and I said wait a minute, that makes us the oldest league in the country, because we never stopped,” said Joe Guyette. “There might be somebody just as old, but there’s nobody older and we take great pride in that.”
And they all remember the first player taken in their first draft – Willie Wilson, an outfielder who starred for the Kansas City Royals.
Some remember their first selection for their team.
“First player I took, Gary Templeton, San Diego Padres, was traded to St. Louis,” said league commissioner Jerry Henrigillis.
“Tony Armas,” said Mike Schantz.
“Oh god yea, Mike Schmidt,” Guyette said.
And some don’t.
“I can’t even remember that far back,” laughed Dale Willhelm.
What they definitely do remember is how long it took to put stats together before fantasy sports went online – two full days.
“We had go to get the newspapers and check the box scores,” Said Henrigillis. “We had to go get the sporting news. When we got together, it was all written in pencil or pen.”
“That was just grueling doing that by hand,” Guyette said. “It was just very very difficult. Took forever to get them done and then in 2007 (when they started keeping track online) I said yay here we go and it’s been great ever since.”
Despite how grueling that was, they all enjoyed it deep down. because that was time shared with each other.
“Now that I look back at it, some of the best times were getting together with the guys, doing the stats, sending out for pizza,” Henrigillis said.
“That was always one of the fun parts, getting together with some of the guys and writing them all out,” said Schantz.
And every year they still love getting together to draft their teams, this year it took place at D2 in Hobart.
“This is like christmas morning,” said Henrigillis. “You’re coming to unwrap your gifts, you get to draft the players.”
And you better study up long before the draft starts.
“You usually put in hours of studying before this draft. It’s not like you just do it with a day of studying,” said Willems before the draft. “I’ve been studying for like the last month.”
“This is absolute wacko what goes on here,” said Guyette. “Somebody will always make fun of your pick and then somebody will go oh great pick and then you’re like did he really mean that? It’s fun.”
But the only thing that really matters to them, being together and enjoying their mutual love for America’s past time.
“What I find amazing is, at age 77, we still have that many people still playing and they have their mind, their sharp. I’d put this league up with anybody that would like to challenge us,” Henrigillis said.
