Taro Tsujimoto

Last updated

Taro Tsujimoto [lower-alpha 1] is a fictitious Japanese ice hockey player who was selected in the 1974 National Hockey League Amateur Draft as the 183rd overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres. The decision to draft a non-existent player was made by Sabres general manager Punch Imlach, who was frustrated by the absurd length of the draft, and in the late rounds decided to have fun and draft someone unusual. Together with Sabres director of communications Paul Wieland, they created Taro Tsujimoto, a twenty-year-old Japanese forward who played for the fictional Tokyo Katanas of the Japan Ice Hockey League. The name was inspired by Japanese American Joshua Tsujimoto, who owned a grocery store Wieland would regularly drive by. Taro Tsujimoto quickly became an inside joke for Sabres fans, and is a beloved figure in team history.

Contents

1974 Amateur Draft

In 1971, the World Hockey Association (WHA) was founded, [lower-alpha 2] and began signing amateur players before the National Hockey League (NHL) could officially sign them in the Amateur Draft. To counter the WHA, NHL president Clarence Campbell decided to conduct the 1974 draft in secret over a phone call instead of in person. This decision made the overall process painfully slow, as Campbell would call each team individually to tell them which previous players had already been selected before they could make their pick. [1] The draft went on for twenty-five rounds, and took three days to complete. [2] Buffalo Sabres general manager Punch Imlach was frustrated by the absurd length of the draft, and in the late rounds decided to have fun and draft someone unusual. He asked Sabres director of communications Paul Wieland to help create a fictitious player and their backstory. [1] Imlach's tenth-round draft pick, Derek Smith (who went on to spend five years with the Sabres and play a key role in their Prince of Wales Trophy-winning season in 1979–80), was the last player left in the draft pool that Imlach wanted; he felt that none of the remaining available players had any realistic chance of making the team. [3]

Wieland wanted the player to be of Japanese descent, and he knew what the last name would be. As a college student driving Route 16 from Buffalo to St. Bonaventure, Wieland would regularly pass by a grocery store owned by a Japanese American named Joshua Tsujimoto. [1] Imlach's secretary called Tsujimoto, and asked for permission to use his family name without revealing the club's true intent. The secretary also asked what were popular first names in Japan, to which Tsujimoto responded with the name Taro. [4] The official backstory for Taro Tsujimoto was that he was a twenty-year-old forward from Osaka, who put up fifteen goals and twenty-five points in the season before the draft. [5] Tsujimoto played for the Tokyo Katanas, a fictional team in the Japan Ice Hockey League. Imlach approximated the word katana was the closest to the word sabre in the Japanese language, as they were both types of swords. [1]

Taro Tsujimoto was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the eleventh round of the 1974 Amateur Draft, as the 183rd overall pick. [2] Campbell did not question the decision, and proceeded as normal. [1] Imlach and Wieland decided to not inform any staff members of the ruse, including Sabres president Seymour H. Knox III. [6] Once the draft had concluded, various sports and news outlets published the list of players selected in the draft, a list that included Tsujimoto. [1] Many journalists took an interest in Tsujimoto, as he would have been the first Japanese player to be drafted by an NHL team. [7] [lower-alpha 3] As there was practically no NHL scouting in Asia at the time, no one could disprove the pick. [5] It was not until the start of training camp that Imlach acknowledged the fake draft pick. Campbell did not find the hoax funny, and the NHL would eventually change the pick to an "invalid claim" for its official record-keeping purposes. [2]

The Hockey News noted in a 2014 article that the Sabres could have opted for one of several potentially impactful players instead of wasting the selection on a joke. For instance, Dave Lumley was selected as the 199th pick by the Montreal Canadiens, Stefan Persson was selected as the 214th pick by the New York Islanders, and Warren Miller was selected as the 241st pick by the New York Rangers. Both Lumley and Persson contributed to multiple Stanley Cup-winning teams in the 1980s, while Miller played in 262 NHL games. [5]

Legacy

Tsujimoto quickly became an inside joke for Sabres fans, with many fans still wearing custom jerseys to this day. [5] For years after the draft, Sabres fans at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium would hang banners stating "Taro Says..." followed by a witty comment against an opposing team or player, and would chant "We Want Taro" when games became one-sided. [5] [9] In 2011, Panini America created a Taro Tsujimoto hockey card, and included it within select box sets as a collector's item. [10] In 2013, the New Era Cap Company sold Tokyo Katanas hats to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Tsujimoto's draft selection. [4] Wieland himself referenced the joke in his 2019 autobiography Taro Lives!: Confessions of the Sabres Hoaxer. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert Perreault</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1950)

Gilbert Perreault is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 17 seasons with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. He was the first draft pick of the Sabres in their inaugural season in the NHL. He is well known as the centre man for the prolific trio of Sabres forwards known as The French Connection. The trio helped the Sabres reach the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punch Imlach</span> Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (1918–1987)

George "Punch" Imlach was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (2004).

The 1973 NHL Amateur Draft was the 11th NHL Entry Draft. It was the first to be held on a separate day from other league activities on May 15, 1973, at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, so it would not overshadow the rest of the league meetings. Previously, the league had held the amateur draft in mid-June. It also marks the second time the meeting took place at the Mount Royal Hotel rather than the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

The Japan Ice Hockey League (JIHL) (日本アイスホッケーリーグ) was an annual ice hockey league that began in 1966 and ended in 2004 when it was replaced by Asia League Ice Hockey. Only Japanese teams competed in the JIHL.

The 1972–73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. Two new teams, the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames, made their debuts. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two in the Stanley Cup Finals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Richard</span> Canadian ice hockey player (1952–2002)

Joseph Alfred Gilles Jacques Richard was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Flames, Buffalo Sabres, and Quebec Nordiques. After an impressive junior career, Richard was considered a potential NHL superstar, but, except for a single season late in his career, he failed to live up to the promise. He led a troubled life both in hockey and after. Six years after retiring, in 1989, he was arrested for attempting to smuggle cocaine and then in 2002, Richard died in a car accident driving back from a party celebrating his 50th birthday.

Réal Cloutier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Cloutier spent five prolific seasons as a winger in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Quebec Nordiques. After the WHA folded, he played an additional five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), still at a point-a-game scoring pace, with the Quebec Nordiques and the Buffalo Sabres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony McKegney</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Anthony Syiid McKegney is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1978–79 until 1990–91. He is the first black player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season.

The WHA Entry Draft was the entry draft for the World Hockey Association. The professional league operated from 1972 to 1979, but only held its annual draft from 1973 through 1978.

The 1974 NHL Amateur Draft was the 12th NHL Entry Draft. It was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. In an effort to prevent the WHA from poaching players, the draft was conducted early and in secret. This failed to prevent tampering as information leaked out via agents and other sources over the three days of the draft. As a statement of frustration at the slow, secretive conference call format, Buffalo General Manager Punch Imlach claimed "Taro Tsujimoto" of the "Tokyo Katanas" of Japan using the 183rd overall pick. NHL officials immediately validated the selection, but weeks later Imlach admitted that Tsujimoto was a fabrication. The selection was ruled invalid by the NHL and removed from their records.

Robert F. Sauvé is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, and currently a player agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Edwards (ice hockey)</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Donald Laurie Edwards is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Allan Robert Smith was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played nearly 500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA).

Morris Steven Titanic is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was selected 12th overall in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and played 19 games with them between 1974 and 1975. The Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association drafted him in the 2nd round, 17th overall of the WHA Draft the same year, but he never played in that league.

Hiroyuki Miura is a Japanese former professional ice hockey defenceman.

The 1970–71 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' first in the National Hockey League (NHL). They joined the league on May 22, 1970, along with the Buffalo Sabres. After not being awarded an expansion team in 1967 when the league added six teams, Vancouver finally joined the NHL in 1970 for a price of $6 million. The Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League were promoted to the NHL, though the ownership group of the WHL Canucks, not willing to pay the $6 million to join the NHL, sold the team to Medicor, a group controlled by Thomas Scallen.

The 1970–1971 Buffalo Sabres season was the Sabres' 1st season in the National Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the National Hockey League (1967–1992)</span> History of the Canadian league

The expansion era of the National Hockey League (NHL) began when six new teams were added for the 1967–68 season, ending the Original Six era. The six existing teams were grouped into the newly created East Division, and the expansion teams—the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues—formed the West Division.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese katakana: ツジモト　タロウ; hiragana: つじもと　たろう
  2. ↑ The WHA was founded in 1971, but teams would not begin playing until 1972.
  3. ↑ It was not until 1992, 18 years after the hoax, that an actual Japanese player would drafted into the NHL; Hiroyuki Miura was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1992 NHL Draft, but would never play a game for them; it would be another 14 years for a Japanese player to see NHL action, when goalie Yutaka Fukufuji played four games for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2006–07 season. [8]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gallivan, Peter (September 24, 2019). "Unknown Stories of WNY: The man behind the Legend of Taro Tsujimoto". WGRZ . Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 McIndoe, Sean (2018). The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL: The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League. Random House of Canada. pp. 105–106. ISBN   978-0-7352-7391-7.
  3. ↑ Michalak, Scott (February 10, 2011). "The House of the Rising Sun." Buffalo74. Retrieved September 12, 2023. Michalak quotes Imlach's autobiography Heaven and Hell in the NHL.
  4. 1 2 Tsujimoto, Ben (January 16, 2013). "Slashing into the season: New Era releases Tokyo Katanas hat". buffalo.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Elliot, Josh (November 15, 2014). "Imaginary Pick Buffalo Sabres Taro Tsujimoto Turns 60". The Hockey News . Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Ryndak, Chris (February 16, 2023). "Paul Wieland, original Sabres public relations staffer, passes away at 84". National Hockey League . Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Ronberg, Gary (March 15, 1983). "Unlike Taro, Tsujiura Is Real Thing". The Buffalo News . p. D-3.
  8. ↑ Douglas, William (May 8, 2022). "Color of Hockey: Fukufuji continuing to grow game in Japan". National Hockey League . Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  9. ↑ Stubbs, Dave (June 27, 2009). "Imlach immortalized in NHL draft lore". Montreal Gazette . p. 6.
  10. ↑ Leahy, Sean (July 3, 2011). "The Taro Tsujimoto rookie card: Honoring an unreal player". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved June 29, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.