Taro Tsujimoto[a] 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.
In 1971, the World Hockey Association (WHA) was founded,[b] 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.[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.[3]
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.[3] Many journalists took an interest in Tsujimoto, as he would have been the first Asian-born player to be drafted by an NHL team.[7] Whenever Imlach was asked about Tsujimoto, he came up with outlandish stories, such as how Tsujimoto trained in the Himalayas.[1] As there was practically no NHL scouting in Asia at the time, no one called Imlach's bluff.[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]
TSN noted in a 2019 video that the Sabres could have drafted two other players instead of wasting the selection on a joke. Dave Lumley was selected as the 199th pick by the Montreal Canadiens, and Stefan Persson was selected as the 214th pick by the New York Islanders. Both players contributed to multiple Stanley Cup-winning teams in the 1980s.[1]
Legacy
Tsujimoto quickly became an inside joke for Sabres fans, with many fans still wearing custom jerseys to this day.[1][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][8] In 2011, Panini America created a Taro Tsujimoto hockey card, and included it within select box sets as a collecter's item.[9] 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]
^The WHA was founded in 1971, but teams would not begin playing until 1972.
Footnotes
^ abcdef"The Legend of Taro Tsujimoto Buffalo Sabres Draft Pick 1974". TSN. January 15, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
^ abcMcIndoe, 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. ISBN978-0-7352-7391-7.
^ abcGallivan, Peter (September 24, 2019). "Unknown Stories of WNY: The man behind the Legend of Taro Tsujimoto". WGRZ. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
^ abTsujimoto, Ben (January 16, 2013). . buffalo.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
^ abcdElliot, Josh (November 15, 2014). "Imaginary Pick Buffalo Sabres Taro Tsujimoto Turns 60". The Hockey News. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
^ abRyndak, Chris (February 16, 2023). "Paul Wieland, original Sabres public relations staffer, passes away at 84". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Ronberg, Gary (March 15, 1983). "Unlike Taro, Tsujiura Is Real Thing". The Buffalo News. p. D-3.
^Stubbs, Dave (June 27, 2009). "Imlach immortalized in NHL draft lore". Montreal Gazette. p. 6.
^Leahy, Sean (July 3, 2011). "The Taro Tsujimoto rookie card: Honoring an unreal player". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
August 25, 2023
taro, tsujimoto, fictitious, japanese, hockey, player, selected, 1974, national, hockey, league, amateur, draft, 183rd, overall, pick, buffalo, sabres, decision, draft, existent, player, made, sabres, general, manager, punch, imlach, frustrated, absurd, length. Taro Tsujimoto a 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 1 1974 Amateur Draft 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Notes 4 2 Footnotes1974 Amateur Draft EditIn 1971 the World Hockey Association WHA was founded b 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 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 3 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 3 Many journalists took an interest in Tsujimoto as he would have been the first Asian born player to be drafted by an NHL team 7 Whenever Imlach was asked about Tsujimoto he came up with outlandish stories such as how Tsujimoto trained in the Himalayas 1 As there was practically no NHL scouting in Asia at the time no one called Imlach s bluff 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 TSN noted in a 2019 video that the Sabres could have drafted two other players instead of wasting the selection on a joke Dave Lumley was selected as the 199th pick by the Montreal Canadiens and Stefan Persson was selected as the 214th pick by the New York Islanders Both players contributed to multiple Stanley Cup winning teams in the 1980s 1 Legacy EditTsujimoto quickly became an inside joke for Sabres fans with many fans still wearing custom jerseys to this day 1 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 8 In 2011 Panini America created a Taro Tsujimoto hockey card and included it within select box sets as a collecter s item 9 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 EditSidd Finch a fictitious baseball player created as an April Fools Day prank in 1985References EditNotes Edit Japanese katakana ツジモト タロウ hiragana つじもと たろう The WHA was founded in 1971 but teams would not begin playing until 1972 Footnotes Edit a b c d e f The Legend of Taro Tsujimoto Buffalo Sabres Draft Pick 1974 TSN January 15 2019 Retrieved December 7 2019 a b c 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 a b c Gallivan Peter September 24 2019 Unknown Stories of WNY The man behind the Legend of Taro Tsujimoto WGRZ Retrieved December 7 2019 a b 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 a b c d Elliot Josh November 15 2014 Imaginary Pick Buffalo Sabres Taro Tsujimoto Turns 60 The Hockey News Retrieved December 7 2019 a b Ryndak Chris February 16 2023 Paul Wieland original Sabres public relations staffer passes away at 84 National Hockey League Retrieved June 29 2023 Ronberg Gary March 15 1983 Unlike Taro Tsujiura Is Real Thing The Buffalo News p D 3 Stubbs Dave June 27 2009 Imlach immortalized in NHL draft lore Montreal Gazette p 6 Leahy Sean July 3 2011 The Taro Tsujimoto rookie card Honoring an unreal player Yahoo Sports Retrieved June 29 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Taro Tsujimoto amp oldid 1171233681, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
