Spokane’s Corbin Park fantasy football is in a league of its own

Long before laptops, apps and iPads, there were parks, porches and a group of guys who loved to play football at Corbin Park.

The friends attended North Central, and after school they’d toss the ball around in the park or play Dungeons and Dragons or Pinochle on each other’s porches.

In 1982, Jeff Walter introduced a new activity to the group – fantasy football – a competition in which participants select imaginary teams from among the players in a league and score points according to the performance of their players.

Thirty-five years later, the league and the friendships are still going strong, and a new generation has been drafted.

“None of us were particularly athletic from a high school standpoint,” recalled Greg Stripes.

But they were all fiercely competitive.

Using rules obtained from a sports magazine, a core group of friends organized the 12-member league. Over the years, members have come and gone, but the core group remains tight.

“The first year the NFL was on strike, so we used Pac-10 players,” Stripes said.

Still, the fun and the strategy was enough to get them hooked.

Originally, no money was involved – winning provided plenty of motivation.

“We wanted to beat each other,” said John Waite. “We were all smarter than each other. We were very cerebral back in the day.”

The internet was still in its infancy, and box scores had to be obtained each week from the Monday paper. That job fell to the commissioner.

“The commissioner has no extra power, just extra work,” said Waite. “We’ve all been commissioner at some point.”

When they all got jobs, they added money to the mix.

“Not much money, just enough to stuff it in the guys’ faces,” said Jeff Walter’s brother, Craig, laughing.

The league’s official name is now the Corbin Park Fantasy Football League, but Waite recalled, “At some point we were the Brian Bosworth Memorial League.”

Each year, in addition to cash and bragging rights, the winner’s name is engraved on the Corbin Cup.

The advent of technology has made the draft and scoring easier, but some traditions remain sacrosanct.

“We’ve always done the draft in person,” said Stripes.

Members select a numbered golf tee from the Corbin Cup to decide in which order they get to pick their players.

And each member has his own idiosyncrasies.

“I’m a Cincinnati Bengals fan,” Waite said.

His friends groaned.

Undeterred, he added. “I always draft one Bengal.”

Stripes said, “I try not to draft people in the Seahawks division because I hate to root against my favorite team.”

Members of this league are diehard Seahawk fans.

“You always, always root for the Seahawks to win,” Craig Walter said.

In fact, before the cost got prohibitive, each year they often met in Seattle for a game each.

However, attending games in person can be problematic for fantasy football league members.

“It’s terrifying to be at a Seahawks game on the rare occasion when a player from your fantasy football team is playing against the Seahawks and does well, and you’re tempted to cheer,” Waite said.

The league now uses ESPN for the draft and scoring, Craig Walter uses the app. His son, Jarret, 19, who joined the league a few seasons ago, prefers pen and paper.

While they appreciate technology, Jeff Walter, said, “We hold onto tradition. We like to keep to the old rules. We’ve been doing this 35 years.”

His son, Noah, 10, also a member of the league, rolled his eyes.

“That’s why the rules suck,” he said.

Jeff Walter laughed.

“Every year we discuss whether we should change the rules.”

At the heart of the discussion? The waiver process.

“After Monday night’s game, the team that lost gets to take whatever player is available – but they only have 24 hours to claim their wavier before the winning teams get to,” explained Jeff Walter, as his son groaned. “We have a love of tradition and a resistance to change.”

Speaking of tradition, the league is open to have women members join, but so far has had no takers.

“Women are smarter and likely play in leagues with better waiver processes,” Jeff Walter opined.

The second generation members have held their own in the league. Jarret Walter won the Corbin Cup in 2015, and Noah Walter said, “I crushed my dad in points this week.”

Despite the fierceness of the completion, it’s not the most important component in this fantasy football league.

“We’re friends first,” Stripes said.

Craig Walter agreed. “I love getting together for the draft. It’s kind of like going back to when we were in high school; we’re probably going to do this till we’re dead.”

Stripes laughed. “Or until the NFL ends.