154:, there was no easy way to research whether the Katanas, let alone Tsujimoto, existed. As training camp approached, Tsujimoto was granted his own locker in the team's locker room and a jersey, number 13; when pressed upon where Tsujimoto was, Imlach demurred, stating that he was not sure whether Tsujimoto would come to the United States in time for the 1974β75 season but that the team would retain the player's rights if he did not. Once Imlach confessed to the hoax, Campbell did not find it funny, and the NHL would eventually change the pick to an "invalid claim" for its official record-keeping purposes.
122:, Wieland would regularly pass by a grocery store owned by a Japanese American named Joshua Tsujimoto. Imlach's secretary called Tsujimoto, and asked for permission to use his family name without revealing the club's true intent. The secretary also asked what were popular first names in Japan, to which Tsujimoto responded with the name Taro. The official backstory for Taro Tsujimoto was that he was a twenty-year-old
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1117:
150:. Once the draft had concluded, various sports and news outlets published the list of players selected in the draft, a list that included Tsujimoto. Many journalists took an interest in Tsujimoto, as he would have been the first Japanese player to be drafted by an NHL team. As there was practically no NHL scouting in Asia in an era before the
82:
in secret over a phone call instead of in person. This decision made the overall process painfully slow, as
Campbell would call each team individually to tell them which previous players had already been selected before they could make their pick. The draft went on for twenty-five rounds, and took
145:
Taro
Tsujimoto was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the eleventh round of the 1974 Amateur Draft, as the 183rd overall pick. Campbell did not question the decision, and proceeded as normal. Imlach and Wieland decided to not inform any staff members of the ruse, including Sabres president
196:
commented in 2024, in a piece commemorating the 50th anniversary of the hoax, that the Sabres might have drawn more scrutiny for the trick had they not already done well in the draft after selecting a class that included Smith,
463:
233:
would hang banners stating "Taro Says..." followed by a witty comment against an opposing team or player, and would chant "We Want Taro" when games became one-sided. In 2011,
1171:
573:
162:
noted in a 2014 article that the Sabres could have opted for one of several potentially impactful players instead of wasting the selection on a joke. For instance,
107:), was the last player left in the draft pool that Imlach wanted; he felt that none of the remaining available players had any realistic chance of making the team.
50:. The name was inspired by Japanese American Joshua Tsujimoto, who owned a grocery store Wieland would regularly drive by. Taro Tsujimoto quickly became an
245:
sold Tokyo
Katanas hats to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Tsujimoto's draft selection. Wieland himself referenced the joke in his 2019 autobiography
1166:
707:
38:, who was frustrated by the absurd length of the draft, and in the late rounds decided to have fun and draft someone unusual. Together with Sabres
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130:, who put up fifteen goals and twenty-five points in the season before the draft. Tsujimoto played for the Tokyo Katanas, a fictional team in the
663:
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426:
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was frustrated by the absurd length of the draft, and in the late rounds decided to have fun and draft someone unusual. He asked Sabres
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Wieland wanted the player to be of
Japanese descent, and he knew what the last name would be. As a college student driving
335:, but would never play a game for them; it would be another 14 years for a Japanese player to see NHL action, when goalie
700:
379:
891:
324:
230:
217:
had both passed on using their respective eight and ninth round draft selections before the Sabres drafted
Tsujimoto.
171:
229:
for Sabres fans, with many fans still wearing custom jerseys to this day. For years after the draft, Sabres fans at
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39:
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119:
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63:
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The Down Goes Brown
History of the NHL: The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
214:
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It was not until 1992, 18 years after the hoax, that an actual
Japanese player would drafted into the NHL;
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27:
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Paul
Wieland to help create a fictitious player and their backstory. Imlach's tenth-round draft pick,
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also noted that the Sabres were not alone in their "wasting" of draft picks, as the expansion
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537:"Fifty years ago, the Sabres drafted a player who didn't exist: The legend of Taro Tsujimoto"
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34:. The decision to draft a non-existent player was made by Sabres general manager
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99:(who went on to spend five years with the Sabres and play a key role in their
23:
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241:, and included it within select box sets as a collector's item. In 2013, the
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574:"Paul Wieland, original Sabres public relations staffer, passes away at 84"
314:
The WHA was founded in 1971, but teams would not begin playing until 1972.
298:
294:
262:
645:
Stubbs, Dave (June 27, 2009). "Imlach immortalized in NHL draft lore".
600:
Ronberg, Gary (March 15, 1983). "Unlike Taro, Tsujiura Is Real Thing".
445:. Retrieved September 12, 2023. Michalak quotes Imlach's autobiography
42:
Paul
Wieland, they created Taro Tsujimoto, a twenty-year-old Japanese
380:"Unknown Stories of WNY: The man behind the Legend of Taro Tsujimoto"
135:
441:
Michalak, Scott (February 10, 2011). "The House of the Rising Sun."
190:-winning teams in the 1980s, while Miller played in 262 NHL games.
302:
139:
127:
685:
924:
384:
66:(WHA) was founded, and began signing amateur players before the
689:
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464:"Slashing into the season: New Era releases Tokyo Katanas hat"
142:
in the
Japanese language, as they were both types of swords.
619:"Color of Hockey: Fukufuji continuing to grow game in Japan"
664:"The Taro Tsujimoto rookie card: Honoring an unreal player"
54:
for Sabres fans, and is a beloved figure in team history.
504:"Imaginary Pick Buffalo Sabres Taro Tsujimoto Turns 60"
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186:. Both Lumley and Persson contributed to multiple
46:who played for the fictional Tokyo Katanas of the
535:Mendes, Ian; Fairburn, Matthew (June 26, 2024).
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247:Taro Lives!: Confessions of the Sabres Hoaxer
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28:1974 National Hockey League Amateur Draft
70:(NHL) could officially sign them in the
1172:Fictional characters introduced in 1974
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378:Gallivan, Peter (September 24, 2019).
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182:was selected as the 241st pick by the
174:was selected as the 214th pick by the
166:was selected as the 199th pick by the
7:
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74:. To counter the WHA, NHL president
572:Ryndak, Chris (February 16, 2023).
462:Tsujimoto, Ben (January 16, 2013).
502:Elliot, Josh (November 15, 2014).
14:
1167:Nonexistent people used in hoaxes
1036:Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
30:as the 183rd overall pick by the
1115:
1106:
1105:
617:Douglas, William (May 8, 2022).
134:. Imlach approximated the word
26:player who was selected in the
1:
1152:Fictional ice hockey players
662:Leahy, Sean (July 3, 2011).
225:Tsujimoto quickly became an
138:was the closest to the word
892:Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
231:Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
1188:
1147:Buffalo Sabres draft picks
447:Heaven and Hell in the NHL
339:played four games for the
93:director of communications
40:director of communications
1157:Fictional Japanese people
1101:
723:
237:created a Taro Tsujimoto
22:is a fictitious Japanese
83:three days to complete.
64:World Hockey Association
1088:2018 NHL Winter Classic
1078:2008 NHL Winter Classic
215:California Golden Seals
132:Japan Ice Hockey League
78:decided to conduct the
48:Japan Ice Hockey League
624:National Hockey League
579:National Hockey League
419:Random House of Canada
411:McIndoe, Sean (2018).
101:Prince of Wales Trophy
68:National Hockey League
1093:2022 Heritage Classic
1063:Empire Sports Network
985:The French Connection
962:Sabres Hockey Network
265:player created as an
949:MSG Western New York
421:. pp. 105β106.
930:Jacksonville Icemen
920:Rochester Americans
327:was drafted by the
243:New Era Cap Company
148:Seymour H. Knox III
103:-winning season in
16:Fake NHL draft pick
1142:1974β75 NHL season
1041:Buffalo Jr. Sabres
1031:LECOM Harborcenter
1025:Hockey Night Live!
541:The New York Times
329:Montreal Canadiens
211:Kansas City Scouts
199:Lee Joseph Fogolin
176:New York Islanders
168:Montreal Canadiens
58:1974 Amateur Draft
1129:
1128:
1083:2011 NHL Premiere
954:Bell Satellite TV
738:Buffalo, New York
474:on March 14, 2014
428:978-0-7352-7391-7
341:Los Angeles Kings
76:Clarence Campbell
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978:Culture and lore
760:General managers
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470:. Archived from
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184:New York Rangers
87:general manager
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159:The Hockey News
120:St. Bonaventure
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876:Current roster
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606:. p. D-3.
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345:2006β07 season
333:1992 NHL Draft
325:Hiroyuki Miura
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235:Panini America
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172:Stefan Persson
152:World Wide Web
85:Buffalo Sabres
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32:Buffalo Sabres
20:Taro Tsujimoto
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62:In 1971, the
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1068:The Fog Game
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869:Team captain
849:Terry Pegula
830:Broadcasters
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673:. Retrieved
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651:. p. 6.
646:
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628:. Retrieved
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583:. Retrieved
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513:. Retrieved
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476:. Retrieved
472:the original
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389:. Retrieved
383:
319:
310:
301:: γ€γγγ¨γγγγ;
297:: γγΈγ’γγγΏγγ¦;
287:
246:
224:
207:The Athletic
206:
193:The Athletic
191:
157:
156:
144:
109:
89:Punch Imlach
61:
36:Punch Imlach
19:
18:
1057:Sabre Dance
1014:Ronan Tynan
999:Ted Darling
857:Kevyn Adams
780:Draft picks
727:Founded in
515:December 7,
468:buffalo.com
391:December 7,
343:during the
239:hockey card
227:inside joke
188:Stanley Cup
164:Dave Lumley
97:Derek Smith
52:inside joke
1136:Categories
1051:Sabretooth
908:Affiliates
865:Lindy Ruff
861:Head coach
274:References
259:Sidd Finch
203:Danny Gare
80:1974 draft
24:ice hockey
1019:Ryan Vinz
839:Personnel
748:Franchise
735:Based in
549:0362-4331
443:Buffalo74
355:Footnotes
1162:In-jokes
1111:Category
845:Owner(s)
775:Captains
675:June 29,
585:June 29,
554:June 29,
478:June 15,
299:hiragana
295:katakana
292:Japanese
263:baseball
253:See also
213:and the
112:Route 16
1121:Commons
1073:No Goal
990:Seymour
967:WGR 550
815:Records
808:History
792:Seasons
770:Players
765:Coaches
331:in the
305:: θΎ»ζ¬γε€ͺι
124:forward
116:Buffalo
105:1979β80
44:forward
885:Arenas
872:Vacant
547:
425:
221:Legacy
178:, and
136:katana
958:Radio
939:Media
303:kanji
279:Notes
140:sabre
128:Osaka
126:from
114:from
992:and
925:ECHL
755:Team
730:1970
677:2023
632:2023
587:2023
556:2024
545:ISSN
517:2019
480:2016
423:ISBN
393:2019
385:WGRZ
201:and
915:AHL
118:to
1138::
945:TV
666:.
621:.
576:.
564:^
543:.
539:.
525:^
506:.
488:^
466:.
454:^
417:.
401:^
382:.
362:^
249:.
205:;
170:,
1059:"
1055:"
709:e
702:t
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347:.
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