April Fool's Day: Throwback to the time George Plimpton fooled the entire sports community

Just like every year, April Fool's Day brings back the memories of how legendary journalist George Plimpton arguably created the biggest hoax in the sporting world. Plimpton's cover story on a young pitcher named Sidd Finch, who could throw a baseball 168 mph, was so believable that almost the sporting community fell to the prank.

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April Fool's Day: The Sidd Finch story

35 years on from the legendary prank by SI, let's take a stroll down the memory lane and try to figure out how George Plimpton managed to fool the entire New York Mets community. Gladly, we don't need to travel all the way back to 1985. SI re-released the 'The Curious Case of Sidd Finch' written by Plimpton in 2014 to commemorate the greatest prank in sports history. 

Here's how Geroge Plimpton and his team created a prodigious pitcher out of thin air. Firstly, then-managing director of SI, Mark Mulvoy, gave Plimpton the liberty to create a hoax. Secondly, SI photographer Lane Stewart recruited his friend, Joe Berton to play the part of Sidd Finch. The Sidd Finch story was accompanied by a series of photos which managed to convince even the eagle-eyed fans that a generational talent is trying out for the Mets. 

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April Fool's Day: The hoax that shook the Mets fanbase

"The phenomenon the three young batters faced, and about whom only Reynolds, Stottlemyre and a few members of the Mets' front office know, is a 28-year-old, somewhat eccentric mystic named Hayden (Sidd) Finch." George Plimpton wrote in his 1985 original copy (re-released in 2014). 

Plimpton added, "He may well change the course of baseball history. On St. Patrick's Day, to make sure they were not all victims of a crazy hallucination, the Mets brought in a radar gun to measure the speed of Finch's fastball. On March 17, the gun was handled by Stottlemyre. He heard the pop of the ball in Reynolds's mitt and the little squeak of pain from the catcher. Then the astonishing figure 168 appeared on the glass plate. Stottlemyre remembers whistling in amazement, and then he heard Reynolds say, "Don't tell me, Mel, I don't want to know".

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Plimpton had all his bases covered. He had a stunning back story, pictures of Finch with Mets trainers and most importantly he created a genuine doubt in the mind of the readers', whether Finch would choose baseball or continue with his passion for playing the French horn. 

Unsurprisingly, George Plimpton fabricated a story that was so believable, it was reported, after the story was released, Mets supporters flooded SI with requests more information on a certain pitcher. 

And Plimpton had an April Fool's Day treat for all. The subheader of the article featured, 'He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent lifestyle, Sidd's deciding about yoga and his future in baseball.' The first letters of these words spell out Happy April Fools' Day - talk about a well-executed prank. 

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