Phillies Appreciation Society became original Rotisserie League

(NY Daily News): "It has been almost 29 years since the phenomenon now known as fantasy baseball first came into being on E. 52nd St. at a restaurant called

• La Rotisserie Francaise.

There, a group of New Yorkers calling themselves the "Phillies Appreciation Society" conceived a game that has spawned an entire industry.

At the end of the inaugural season, participants in

• the original Rotisserie League gathered

for a party to "reward" the co-owners of the winning team - Peter Gethers and Glen Waggoner - by dousing the two men in a shower of the chocolaty drink Yoo-Hoo.

• Someone apparently thought it was appropriate to pour a bottle of Yogi Berra's favorite ballpark beverage over the heads of those who shrewdly selected a make-believe team composed of the real-life major leaguers with the best collective season.

Then again, someone apparently thought it was appropriate to select make-believe baseball teams....

• ...the original Rotisserie League draft...took place on
• April 13, 1980, at the palatial apartment of legendary book editor Cork Smith near Park Ave. and 93rd St....

Fantasy baseball exploded in concert with the popularization of the abstracts compiled by stats guru Bill James and, especially, the rise of the Internet. Now, of course, Web sites such as Yahoo!, ESPN and CBS Sportsline and others offer league management and statistical analysis, tips and realtime scoring (some information and services are free, some come with modest fees) and fantasy leagues exist for all kinds of sports"...'How Fantasy Became Reality, Rotisserie's Rise' Vinton

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