Fantasy football is simpler than it looks on the surface. Fans use their knowledge of the sport to compete. You pick athletes or teams. If they perform well, you win. If they flop, you lose. Success requires tracking the NFL weekly. You must make better choices than your opponent. It is a game of wits and cash.
The roots of this obsession are older than most people think. Modern fantasy football traces back to Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach. He was an Oakland businessman. He was also a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders. The year was 1962. The setting was a New York hotel room. The Raiders were on an eastern cross-country trip.
Winkenbach sat with Bill Tunnel, the team’s public relations man, and Scotty Starling, a Tribune reporter. They developed a system. They wrote a rulebook. This document became the basis for modern fantasy football.
The GOPPPL League Rules
Winkenbach focused on AFL offensive skill players. His blueprint created the GOPPPL (Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Procrastinators League). The name is a mouthful. The concept was simple.
Back in Oakland, Winkenbach organized eight teams. Who qualified to join? You had to meet one of these criteria:
- An administrative affiliate of the AFL
- A journalist with direct relation to pro football
- Someone who purchased or sold 10 season tickets for the Raiders’ 1963 season
The goal was straightforward. The original rules stated the purpose was to “bring together some of Oakland’s finest Saturday morning gridiron forecasters to pit their respective brains (and cash) against each other.” Winkenbach wanted closer coverage of daily happenings in professional football. He wanted fans to care about every game.
Managing the First League
The rulebook defined two roles. A secretary kept scores. They verified rosters. They maintained records. They handled all monies. A commissioner presided over meetings. They appointed committees. They mediated disputes.
Winkenbach was the natural choice for commissioner. He owned a small business. He had phone lines. He had typewriters. He had a mimeograph machine. He had the tools to run the operation.
In 1963, the eight teams assembled. Winkenbach invited all the owners to his home. They gathered in the basement. There, they participated in the inaugural GOPPPL “draft.”
That basement draft started something massive. It turned casual fans into obsessive analysts. The GOPPPL was just the beginning. The NFL would never be the same.
