The history of fantasy sports is full of ups and downs that led it to become the gaming juggernaut it is today. This game of skill allows participants to take on the role of coach or manager of a team they’ve built from the ground up. Participants build their team roster by drafting and trading players and scoring points based on the real-life performance of their players. You can play a virtual game or a virtual season of a spot depending on whether you choose to participate in daily fantasy or traditional fantasy sports.
Although it’s hard to imagine fantasy sports without the internet, this gaming genre got its start long before the internet went mainstream. Depending on who you ask, you’ll get varying timelines related to the evolution of fantasy sports. What’s undeniable is that fantasy sports in the 21st century look very different than they did a few decades ago. In today’s world, players dedicate hours to managing their teams and playing daily fantasy football where they can choose a new roster each time they play. While a lot has changed, the thrill of participating in this game has remained the same. Keep reading to learn all about the history of this fascinating game.
The Beginning: Early Fantasy Sports
In March of 1962, Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach and some of his colleagues from the Oakland Raiders Organization met in the Milford Plaza Hotel in New York City, where they wrote up the basic rules for what has become fantasy football, marking the beginning of fantasy sports.
Although this meeting was the beginning, Daniel Okrent is generally considered the father of fantasy sports. Okrent founded Rotisserie League Baseball, which later became roto, made up of journalists who picked a team of baseball players. He named the league for the restaurant, where the founders gathered to talk about the details of the game. Despite being the founder, the father of fantasy sports never won his own league.
Fantasy sports gained traction during the 1980s as an increasing number of sports journalists started to participate in the activity. By the end of the 80s, more than a million people were playing fantasy sports. More sophisticated ways of gathering stats increased the game’s popularity. In 1997, RotoNews.com (now known as RotoWire) began operating, attracting more visitors than the NBA’s official website. Yahoo! Took notice and entered the fantasy sport seen, and the game became even more popular during the early 2000s dot-com boom.
The New Millennium
Although the turn of the century was marked by economic instability, by 2003, fantasy sports had become a mainstream hobby, with about 15 million participants spending an average of $150 a year on the game, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Professional sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA began to take notice because fantasy football players often spent more time watching football than non-fantasy players leading to increased viewership.
The Dawn of Daily Fantasy Sports
Until the late 2000s, season-long fantasy games were the most popular type of fantasy sports. This began to change as new gaming companies entered the scene and went head to head to attract new players. By late 2013, the first daily fantasy sports millionaire was crowned when Travis “TSpiedo” Spieth won a million-dollar grand prize in a daily fantasy sports competition.
Daily fantasy sports have continued to grow in popularity thanks to the ease of accessing contests on mobile devices. Of course, the possibility of winning millions of dollars has attracted many players too. As of 2021, there’s no indication that fantasy sports are going to slow down. Many analysts expect the market to continue to grow as companies make inroads in Latin America and Asia. So, the story goes on.
