Toyota Hall of Fame: Legends of Fantasy Football

Toyota Hall of Fame

Toyota Hall of Fame: Legends of Fantasy Football

Inductee Class 2012

Inductee Class 2011

Honorary Inductees 2011

Mike Blazic

For me, my Love of football started at a very young age. My dad played football, not in the NFL, but in a semi-pro league. I watched him play and dreamed of the day that I too would be playing, but in the NFL! I started by playing in the street on our block, like most kids do. At a young age I realized that I had a gift & could really throw the ball, both far and accurately. I’d call the plays & deliver the ball... touchdown! As I grew older I competed in the annual Punt, Pass and Kick competitions. I would take 1st Place in all of our local contests-year after year!

My love of the game continued to grow stronger and I knew that I was on my way to a career in the NFL!

I played in grade school, then high school, college, but NEVER made it to the NFL. I, like my dad before me, could only make it to the semi-pro level of competition. I played until the age of 26. I had gotten married and started a career with the federal government. So at 26, I gave up on my dream of a life in the NFL.

Then in the late 1980s, a friend I had played high school football and he asked if I’d help him out with his Fantasy Football team. I’d not heard of this type of football, but was drawn to it due to my Love and Passion of the game! I did all the research I could to assist him. This lead to his winning the league championship! Word spread and now another friend was asking if I too could help him. Of course I would and this lead to his 1st championship! I knew I could no longer play the game that I loved so much, so why not stay connected in this way?

So I bought my 1st computer. Now I was ready to get in the game! I prepared for my 1st "live" draft. Newfound information abounds! I read EVERYTHING I could leading up to that draft. I was hooked for life! I was like a child again, waiting for Christmas! That’s how much I would look forward to those drafts and I still do!

I started that 1st season with 3 teams. I won 2 league championships and I was on my way!

Every season I upped my number of teams so I could have MANY MORE Christmases! Three teams became 6, which became 9. Then on to 12, then 13! This lead to 15 and now this season I’m up to 18 teams! That’s A LOT of Christmases!

This takes, as you can imagine, a lot of time to work the waiver wires, read the injury reports and attempt to make the necessary trades that will bring home the championships!

Through the years, I’ve had several undefeated seasons, while averaging 7 league championships! My love of the game of Fantasy Football continues to grow stronger, season after season! That is why it would be such an ultimate honor to be selected into the Toyota Legends of Fantasy Football Hall of Fame!

I would Not then rest my laurels, but strive to make the hall proud, season after season and championship after Championship to the very end!

With much appreciation,

Mike "Blaze" Blazic

Jeremy Pflug

I am the king of the trade. I turn one trade into a frenzy of trades and in the end, I always come out on top. This year alone I have already accomplished this. I traded 2 bench players for a top notch QB - I already had the #1 QB though so why trade for another one??? Simply put... I already had another trade ready for that QB to bring in better position players, which absolutely shores up my lineup, without losing any of my big fantasy point players. I am also the "Bye Week King.” I consistently find players sitting in free agency that no one knows about that can fill in for a week and get 10+ points. I have picked up wide receivers that hadn’t caught more than 2 balls in any week and somehow I have a niche for finding those diamonds in the rough! My biggest accomplishment is running off 11 straight wins (still a league record) en route to a 13-1 regular season. That year I was able to win all the close ones by continually finding great matchups and selecting who to start and who to bench.

Mike Sofka

I have been playing Fantasy Football since 1992. I played before instant and computerized scoring. I can remember looking up stats in the newspaper and hand adding scores! Now, I love the fact that we can look up stats and information via our smartphones!

For the past several years I have played in about 30 leagues each year on various platforms. I enjoy different formats, including those with individual defensive players and many different scoring variations as well as traditional formats.

My spouse hasn’t always been on board with all the year round dedication to the game until I started letting her in on the prize money. Now she is all in!

Fantasy Football has given me the opportunity to make new friends and meet some great people. I have even participated in leagues with some professional football players. I have a few friends and acquaintances that hire me to assist them with their teams. Everything from draft prep, assisting with the actual draft, waivers, free agent pick ups, lineups, and trades.

I’ve hosted a radio and an internet show dedicated to Fantasy Football. I also have a Fantasy Football blog. I have been fortunate to win many leagues and trophies. Over the past 20 years, I have participated in over 300 leagues. I’ve been in the playoffs 198 times, and I’ve won 61 championships.

Fantasy football is a year round activity for me, from scouting incoming college players, to following OTAs, minicamps, training camps, injuries and free agent signings, I always have something going on relating to fantasy football.

It is an honor and a privilege to be considered for the Yahoo! Toyota Fantasy Football Hall of Fame. I ask for your vote considering my passion, desire and intensity for Fantasy Football.

Thank you!

Andy Mousalimas - Honorary Inductee, 2011

Andy Mousalimas is an unlikely revolutionary. But the tall, robust man in his late 80s helped transform America. Andy Mousalimas turned Fantasy Football from a local game among friends to a wildly popular nationwide sensation.

Mousalimas was a founding member of the first Fantasy Football league in 1963. He chose the first draft pick in the history of the game. In fact, he still has that draft pick to this day. Decades before the Internet, his obsession drove him to pick up the day's newspaper at 2:30 in the morning, every day, to pore over the sports pages.

But it was as owner of the Kings X sports bar in Oakland that Mousalimas would make his greatest impact. In 1969, he launched the first public leagues. He opened up the sport to women. And Mousalimas even changed the rule book itself, allowing players to win points for yardage -- and not just touchdowns, as it was originally played.

Andy's actions helped Fantasy Football spread throughout the nation. Leagues were formed from coast to coast and every state in between. The game continues to grow. Perhaps faster than ever.

There is no man alive today who's played Fantasy Football longer than Andy Mousalimas. This year, Mousalimas took part in his 49th straight Fantasy Football draft, playing with his grandson.

Through it all, Mousalimas guarded the traditions of the sport so devoutly he was dubbed the “Godfather of Fantasy Football." Both founder and fan, Andy Mousalimas is a true all-time great.

John Rozek - Honorary Inductee, 2011

Top-ranked Fantasy Football player in the world

In a sport filled with competitive giants, John Rozek has risen to the top. By several sources, he's been named the best player in the game today. The reigning King of Fantasy Football.

By day, he's a mild-mannered Chicago accountant. A skill that helps make Rozek a Fantasy Football juggernaut. But his game speaks volumes. A 21-year veteran of the sport, Rozek boasts a steely determination and innate understanding of numbers that few can match.

His road to victory began from humble origins. Rozek was born in the small community of Fond Du Lac on the shores of Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. As a young boy, he was instilled with a deep love of football. He went on to play defensive back in college. He never made it to the pros. He was destined for a different kind of football stardom.

A deep knowledge of football and numbers made Rozek a natural for Fantasy Football. In his first season against the big boys in the high-stakes league, Rozek ranked third. From there, Rozek continued his relentless rise to the top. Year after year, he ranked in the highest brackets. In 2010, he was recognized as the best Fantasy Football player in the world.

A title he continues to defend to this day. Rozek's star continues to rise and burn bright.

“People don't want me in my league...which is interesting."

Kimra Schleicher - Honorary Inductee, 2011

One of the top rated Fantasy Football players in the world

Kimra Schleicher is a Fantasy Football mystery. Outside of the game, the Indiana attorney is subdued and gentle. But Schleicher's performance on the Fantasy Football field is electrifying.

Within Schleicher's calm, analytical mind lives the fierce competitive instinct of a true fighter. And a fighter's ferocious ambition fueled her rise to the top.

Just two years after her first taste of the game in 2001, Schleicher began a relentless drive toward the fields of the cutthroat, high-stakes leagues in Las Vegas. She proved herself a stellar player, showing the male-dominated leagues that a woman could compete -- and win -- at the highest level.

In 2010, Schleicher achieved an unprecedented feat by placing two teams in a high-stakes league in the top ten. To this day no player – man or woman – has repeated this achievement.

Schleicher continues to refine her game and hone her competitive skills. A fearsome thought considering her already amazing winning percentage. Even with her hectic schedule, she finds time to play in local leagues and mentor other women in the game.

Kimra Schleicher is a true hero to fans and competitors alike.

Bill Winkenbach - Honorary Inductee, 2011

America has its founding fathers. And Fantasy Football has Bill Winkenbach.

The man known as “Wink" is Fantasy Football's greatest hero. Before Wink, football fans were relegated to bleachers and TV sets. That would all change in 1962.

The scene was a Manhattan hotel room on a rainy October night. On a business trip to the East Coast, Winkenbach and two close associates drafted the first set of rules for what would become Fantasy Football.

Wink spoke of a game where fans could create imaginary teams and battle for glory every Sunday. That simple idea would change the world.

Upon returning to his hometown of Oakland, Winkenbach became the first commissioner and began the very first league – GOPPPL. The Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prediction League. Under his leadership, the game began to take root in Oakland. Soon, it would explode into a worldwide phenomenon.

Today, Fantasy Football is a passion that continues to inspire, excite and challenge millions of people across the nation. All because of one man. Wink's legacy lives on in every draft, every trade, every moment of the glorious game.

Bill Winkenbach
1912-1993