The History of Fantasy Sports: And the Stories of the People Who Made It Happen

by Larry Schechter

Overview

Fantasy sports have become as ingrained in American culture as baseball and apple pie. And they have spread worldwide. There are versions of these games for football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, cricket, bull riding, bass fishing, Iditarod and many more. It is one of the most popular forms of entertainment today.

But the millions who play mostly have no idea about the people and events that created this phenomenon. The History of Fantasy Sports provides the first complete telling of how we got from the spontaneous ideas for games years ago, to the multi-billion-dollar industry of today.

Larry Schechter spent 18 months researching and interviewing dozens of key players, pioneers, and entrepreneurs to uncover their stories. This reader-friendly book is ready to take its place alongside some of the best in sports history. You will be entertained and inspired by these stories of humble beginnings turned multi-million-dollar enterprises. Schechter does a great job of capturing the passion, obsession, and love of the game behind these businesses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798218424718
Publisher:	Lawrence Schechter
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	318
File size:	706 KB

About the Author

Larry Schechter is the author of the 2014 Amazon bestseller Winning Fantasy Baseball. He has been called one of the best fantasy baseball players in the world. Larry was a two-time winner of the CDM Sports national salary cap contest, defeating 7,500 teams in 2002 and 6,000 teams in 2005. He has competed in the two most prestigious experts leagues, winning the USA Today-sponsored LABR league three times and the Tout Wars experts league six times. One of his keys to success in fantasy baseball is attention to detail. He used that ability in researching, conducting interviews, and writing The History of Fantasy Sports.Larry is now retired and lives in Florida. You can follow him on X @LarrySchechter.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. In the Beginning

2. The Origins of Fantasy Baseball

3. The Origins of Fantasy Football

4. The First Commercial Games

5. Newspaper Games

6. CDM Sports and the Landmark Legal Case

7. First Fantasy Sports Publications

8. First Fantasy Sports Books

9. Advanced Metrics

10. Commissioner Services

11. Fantasy Radio and TV Shows

12. News Services

13. First Football Websites   

14. High-Stakes Games

15. Major Media Companies

16. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association

17. Legal Battles and Legislation

18. Injury Experts

19. Innovative Entrepreneurs

20. Experts Leagues    

21. Daily Fantasy Sports

22. Fantasy Sports Worldwide 

Epilogue

Bibliography