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The Matthews Football League History

During the fall of 1989 I began my junior year at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. It was my first year as a Resident Assistant and, as luck would have it, I was assigned to the third floor of Matthews Hall. Matthews' third floor that year consisted of fifty-two men, fourty-five of whom were freshmen. Matthews sits directly in the center of the six fraternities on campus. It was a loud, fun place.

One night I noticed a cluster of residents gathered in Brian Kirk's room. They were holding a "fantasy football" draft. I stayed to watch, more out of duty than anything else. But I quickly found the concept interesting. So, I asked if I could have a team and that is what started it all.

The initial Matthews football league had twelve teams and an odd scoring system. That year J.D.'s Jocular Jocks finished in a tie for second in their division with a 7-4 record (we had to cut the season short because of Christmas break). But, best of all, they went on to win the championship.

Brian ran the league that season, but I would often borrow the "notebook" to tabulate season stats and to analyze player performance. I've always been a numbers geek. By the end of the season, Brian was letting me keep score every other week. (Interestingly enough, the "notebook" still exists. It is the ONLY official repository of information for the leagues that I run. The Notebook is holy. Each season has a new one and I keep them stacked in a corner of this very office.)

The following year the men of Matthews Hall had scattered across campus. Brian decided run the league again, so we met in the Sigma Chi fraternity house and drafted entirely new teams. Five new owners replaced the five who thought that there were other things that should occupy their time. This was the year that Bo, the MFL's second-most senior owner, joined the league.

That season Brian and I shared commissioner duties. We alternated keeping score and we both served as contacts for trades, etc. Every week I put out an update sheet using my brand new Apple Macintosh SE personal computer. These updates were placed in owners' mailboxes on Tuesday mornings. I can still remember getting up at 4 a.m. to get the newspaper every Monday morning and then pouring over it to find the stats. *sigh*

During the Matthews Football League's second season, J.D.'s Jocular Jocks finished second in their division with a 6-5 record. They lost in the second round of the playoffs, though Bo's team made it to the championship game (but lost).

I graduated the next spring and, during the summer, took a temporary job as the Audio-Visual Director at Tokyo International University of America, Willamette's sister school across the fabled skybridge. In the fall, I invited all of the previous owners to the A-V room for draft night. It was the best draft I've ever experienced. I had the information in a spreadsheet on a computer which had its screen projected onto a HUGE screen in the front of the room. Once again, five new owners were introduced. Of the original twelve, five remained.

During the season, I got a real job. Sort of. It was a bad time in my life and it essentially involved me being on the road for EXTENDED periods of time in all corners of the state. I lost touch with the league, though I continued to keep score on my own. The statistics I possess for the Matthews Football League's third season must be considered un-official, though they will have to suffice.

Also that fall, I started a league at work. This league involved a completely different scoring system, adapted to the fantasy football management software I had purchased for my computer. It was also established as a "keeper" league. This league, the Custom Box Service Football League, became THE league for several years. Of the original members of the Matthews Football League, only Bo and I remained at the end of the 1995 season.

Running the football league at work wasn't enough. The owners were often unreliable and sometimes uninterested. I decided to join an Internet league, but I couldn't find one to my taste. So, on the 4th of July 1995 I decided to found my own. QUICKLY I had twelve owners and the Oregon Football League was born. It worked amazingly well. And, as the CFL crumbled (due to owners quitting and general lack of interest), the OFL absorbed the three e-mail based franchises from the older league. We added one new owner and changed the name to the Matthews Football League in order to honor our heritage.

Though the league has undergone many changes in the past year, I am confident that it has reached an "ideal" state. Sixteen teams is perfect. The rules are tested and seem to work well. The owners are, for the most part, committed. And I have gained a grasp of what it takes to run an Internet league. I am looking forward to the coming years.