1990 Season

The Erie Medical Fantasy Football League was founded in July 1990 by Mike Bell (below right). According to Bell, "the league started for probably the most selfish of reasons - I wanted to play and see what it was like!" The league's founding father was familiar with Rotisserie League Baseball but knew of very few fantasy football leagues in existence at the time. "One day I was in a bookstore and stumbled across a lone copy of Cliff Charpentier's book," Bell said. "I bought it immediately." This publication served as a bible for the fledgling stages of the Erie League, as Bell used it to develop rules, schedules, and a scoring system. The league's name was derived from Erie Medical Supply, the place of business (originally located in Twinsburg) where several of the charter members were employed. Bell set up the league office in his Hudson, OH. home.

Charter Members

Bell established Club Fugazi, the first franchise in league history. He then recruited Jim Damicone (King Salmons), Keith Kuratko (Punishers), Ray Loew (Fornicators), and his dad Dave Bell (Bonecrushers). "After that we were scrambling for enough team owners," Bell said. "My girlfriend (Marci Matthews - Marci's Team) and both her brothers (Parker Matthews - Arabian Nights, Streeter Matthews - Blue Streaks) were kind enough to oblige me, which is somewhat hilarious because none of them are football fans!"

Streeter Matthews brought in his sister's boyfriend at the time, Todd Shell (Bulldogs). Shell was followed by Ken Tench (Cruisers) and Jeremy Burne (Bastards). "The biggest shock, looking back, was that my sister (Kim Bell - Kim's Krunchers) actually played in that first season," Bell said.

The 1990 Draft

The draft took place in late August 1990 at the Erie Medical Supplies building in Twinsburg, with Damicone's King Salmons selecting WR Jerry Rice with the first overall selection. Other first round picks included: RB Eric Metcalf (#2 - Bastards), QB Boomer Esiason (#3 - Cruisers), RB Roger Craig (#4 - Bonecrushers), QB Joe Montana (#5 - Bulldogs), QB Warren Moon (#6 - Blue Streakers), QB John Elway (#7 - Marci's Team), RB Dalton Hilliard (#8 - Club Fugazi), QB Dan Majkowski (#9 - Arabian Knights), QB Dan Marino (#10 - Fornicators), WR Sterling Sharpe (#11 - Kim's Krunchers), and QB Randall Cunningham (#12 - Punishers).

The original scoring system was basic, meaning points were only awarded for touchdowns, field goals, and extra points. The first week of action in the Erie League took place on Sunday, Sept. 10, 1990 with the following results: Kim's Krunchers 54, Punishers 24; Bulldogs 39, Arabian Knights 12; Fornicators 25, Marci's Team 19; King Salmons 34, Blue Streakers 31; Bonecrushers 30, Bastards 26; Cruisers 27, Club Fugazi 9.

Click here to read the league's first ever newsletter.

The King Salmons became the first team in league history to break the 60 point barrier with their 65-30 win over Club Fugazi in Week 5. Shell won the first scoring championship as his Bulldogs produced 505 points (36.1 average) over the 14 game season.

Division Champs

The first division champions were Shell's Bulldogs (11-3) in the American and Damicone's King Salmons (11-3) in the National. Click here to see the rest of the 1990 standings. The regular season spanned 14 weeks, followed by playoffs during NFL weeks 15 through 17. Although the Bulldogs had won the scoring championship and clinched the top seed, they would later become the first #1 seed to lose in the first round, dropping a 25-12 decision to the Punishers.

Fantasy Bowl 1

Kuratko's Punishers went on to win Fantasy Bowl I over Damicone's King Salmons by a score of 29-26. "I remember winning the inaugural Fantasy Bowl over the King Salmons all because of one trade I made with Jim," Kuratko (left) said. "For some reason he was infatuated with Eric Green so he offered me Derrick Fenner for Eric Green and we made the trade. Derrick Fenner had 12 points and Eric Green had 0 points. That trade was the difference." Fenner was named MVP of Fantasy Bowl I for his two touchdown performance, while PK Chip Lohmiller scored 17 points in a losing effort for the King Salmons, a title game record for kickers.