Claims over creation of the March Madness bracket emerge, with a Staten Island bar and a Kentucky postal worker laying their stakes.
Billion-Dollar Brackets: Who Really Started It All?New York (AP) - Myth or reality? Is it indeed true that one of New York's bustling boroughs played a pivotal role in the inception of filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket? Before those office pools defined the madness of March, let's dive into the tales of two cities that claim the crown.
Staten Island: The Bracket Originator?A "creative businessman," as his son calls him, ran an Irish pub in Staten Island, where the simple act of putting down 10 dollars to pick the Final Four teams and national champion turned an unassuming spot into a thriving hub. The jackpot? A million-dollar payout.
Terence Haggerty, the current bar owner, claims that Jody's Club Forest took off like wildfire, giving birth to the tradition that has now ballooned into a billion-dollar industry. The rules were straightforward - pay $10, pick the Final Four teams, the national champ, and total points as the tiebreaker in a winner-take-all bracket pool. By the time the club shut down the pool in 2006, the jackpot skyrocketed to a whopping $1.6 million!
Kentucky: The Lone Star State Contender?Every March needs a Cinderella, and Jody's Club Forest can certainly claim its originator status in gambling-related contests. But in the land of Kentucky Fried Chicken, bourbon, and basketball, could the idea of penning in a winner for every line have taken its first shot in 1970s Kentucky?
Bob Stinson, a postal worker, is said to have taken the idea of using his recreational softball league bracket and betting slips for the Kentucky Derby to create his own bracket for the 1978 NCAA Tournament. Stinson's brackets were more of a friendly contest, where the winner earned bragging rights rather than a life-changing bonanza. However, his idea exploded into a much bigger pool when he embraced the digital era, using Excel to create an electronic bracket pool that he shared nationwide.
Hoop DreamsAlas, with no banners or framed photographs adorning Jody's Club, no concrete evidence points to the bar as the first organized pool. Terence Haggerty concedes this point, acknowledging that if someone else claims the crown, he won't put up a fuss.
"If somebody said, 'No, it's mine,' go right ahead," Haggerty said. "Look around here. It's not something we really promote. It's not how we were."
From small-town Kentucky to the heart of New York City, the quest to discover the true originator remains a fascinating piece of trivia as we continue to celebrate the craziness that is March Madness. In the end, it doesn't matter who started it all - the real magic lies in the inspirational ride that bracketology has been for millions of sports enthusiasts around the world.
- Despite Terence Haggerty's claims about Jody's Club Forest in Staten Island being the birthplace of bracket pools, the idea might have originated in Kentucky, where a postal worker named Bob Stinson created brackets for the NCAA Tournament in the 1970s, leading to a nationwide electronic pool in the digital era.
- The tradition of filling out brackets for the NCAA Tournament, which has now grown into a billion-dollar industry, may have had its roots in both New York City and Kentucky, with both claimants citing different decades and distinctive locales.
- The debate over who truly started the bracket pool tradition remains an interesting trivia in the context of March Madness, as the excitement and inspiration it provides to sports enthusiasts worldwide far outweighs the specifics of its origin.
