Plainfield Teachers College
Plainfield Teachers College was a fictional college football team created as a hoax. In 1941, several co-conspirators called several prominent newspapers reporting the college's supposed dominance in football. These reports were initially widely believed, with the school's scores and victories published in regional Philadelphia newspapers and The New York Times sports department[1] before being exposed.
The hoax
[edit]Stockbroker Morris Newburger and radio sales executive Alexander "Bink" Dannenbaum jointly planned the hoax in 1941.[2][3] Using the name Jerry Croyden, Newburger phoned several New York papers while Dannenbaum contacted Philadelphia papers, reporting Plainfield's dominant victories over several other fictional schools.[4] Early reports in Philadelphia and New York featured conflicting scores, though later reports were consistent.[5]
Newburger and Dannenbaum later invented other details about the team, including a sophomore running back named Johnny "The Celestial Comet" Chung, who supposedly ate rice on the sideline to gain an advantage.[5][3] Reports listed "Hop-Along" Hobelitz as the team's coach. There was even speculation that Plainfield might secure a bid to a small-college bowl game; in fact, Newburger had already planned for the team to "play" in the non-existent "Blackboard Bowl" in Atlantic City at season's end.[5]
Reporter Red Smith from the Philadelphia Record (one of the papers reporting the fake results) later went to Plainsfield to search for the school. (At the time, New Jersey had real teacher colleges in Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, Montclair, Glassboro, and Trenton; none of them fielded football teams, as most of their students were female.) After finding no such school, the hoax came to light.
Newburger and Dannenbaum confessed the hoax afterwards, later releasing a fictional press release from school administrator Jerry Croyden stating that Plainfield had cancelled its remaining schedule as Chung and several other players were declared academically ineligible due to failed exams. The hoax was generally well received afterwards, with several newspapers that had reported on Plainfield publishing tributes and acknowledgements. Columnist Franklin Pierce Adams of the New-York Tribune wrote a song for Plainfield, to the tune of Cornell's "Far Above Cayuga's Waters": "Far above New Jersey's swamplands / Plainfield Teachers' spires! / Mark a phony, ghostly college / That got on the wires...!"[6]
1941 Season
[edit]All games and opponents are fictitious.
| Week | Day | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benson Institute | W | ||
| 2 | Scott | W | ||
| 3 | Chesterton | W | ||
| 4 | Fox | W | ||
| 5 | Saturday | October 25, 1941 | Winona | W 27–3 |
| 6 | Saturday | November 1, 1941 | Randolph Tech | W 35–0 |
| 7 | Saturday | November 8, 1941 | Ingersoll | W 13–0 |
| 8 | Saturday | November 15, 1941 | Appalachian Normal | cancelled |
| 9 | Saturday | November 22, 1941 | Harmony Teachers | cancelled |
| 10 | Blackboard Bowl at Atlantic City | cancelled |
See also
[edit]- Maguire University
- H. Rochester Sneath
- North Central College, founded as Plainfield College
References
[edit]- ^ Christine, Bill (January 15, 2016). "The Greatest Hoax in Sports Reporting History (Yes, The Times Fell for It, Too)". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ Levy, R. T.; Hamburger, Philip; Ross, Harold (November 22, 1941). "Plainfield Teachers". The New Yorker.
- ^ a b Barra, Allen (January 18, 2013). "The Meaningless Hoax Before Manti Te'o's Meaningless Hoax". The Atlantic.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c Eyman, Scott (26 October 1986). "THE GREAT GRIDIRON HOAX". Sun-Sentinel.com.
- ^ "All the News That's Fit to Fake : In Days Gone By, the Terminally Mischievous Could Take Pride in Seeing the Flying Figments of Their Imaginations Make Their Way Into Print". Los Angeles Times. October 11, 1987.