Taro Tsujimoto

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Taro Tsujimoto is an imaginary ice hockey player that was legally drafted by the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres in the 11th round of the 1974 NHL Entry Draft.[1][2]

The Sabres' general manager at the time, Punch Imlach, was reportedly fed up with the slow drafting process via the telephone. He decided to have some fun and contacted public relations director Paul Wieland for the translation of Sabre in Japanese and a common Japanese name.[3] When the 11th round surfaced, Imlach chose to select star center Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas.[1] The NHL made the pick official, and so it was reported by all major media outlets including reputable magazine The Hockey News.[1][2]

Imlach did not clear the air about the fake draft pick until weeks later. He admitted that he had found the name Taro Tsujimoto in a Buffalo phone book, and the team name Tokyo Katanas translated into English as Tokyo Sabres. The NHL would eventually change the pick to an "invalid claim" for its official record-keeping purposes, but this was after Tsujimoto's name had appeared in several of NHL Guide and Record Books.[1][2] Tsujimoto is still listed among Sabres' draft picks in the Sabres media guide.[4]

Taro quickly became an inside joke for Sabres' fans and staffers.[3] For years after the pick, fans would chant "We Want Taro" when games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium got one-sided.

[edit] External Links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Meltzer, Bill (2006-06-15). Asia Hockey League: Pioneering hockey's great frontier. hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  2. ^ a b c 1974 NHL Draft Pick. hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  3. ^ a b Bailey, Budd, Celebrate the Tradition: 1970-1990, Boncraft Inc., 1989, p. 40.
  4. ^ History. Buffalo Sabres and the National Hockey League (2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
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