Sidd Finch Hoax

The Sidd Finch Hoax

Sidd Finch was a fictional baseball player created in 1985 by George Plimpton in the April 1st edition of Sports Illustrated. The article was called "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch".

According to the story, Sidd Finch was raised in an English orphanage, learned yoga in Tibet, and could throw a 168 MPH fastball.

The story continued during spring training as a rookie pitcher for New York Mets. It was reported Finch only wore one shoe (a hiker's boot) when he pitched and was torn between playing baseball or playing the French Flute.

Many people fell for the prank including a New York sports editor who complained to the Mets for allowing Sports Illustrated to break the news. Two general managers fell for it as well and called Commissioner Peter Ueberroth asking about Sidd Finch. The St. Petersburg Times sent a reporter to find Finch and a radio host claimed he actually saw Finch pitch.

The Mets even gave Finch a locker between George Foster and Darryl Strawberry. CBS, NBC, and ABC sent reporters to Mets spring training in Tampa Bay for a press conference.

Despite the absurdity of the article, many people believed Finch actually existed. Sports Illustrated printed a much smaller article in the April 8th issue announcing Finch's retirement.

On April 15 they announced it was a hoax.

Happy April Fools!