Daniel Silverman: Flip-It

Flip-It has its origins in my fourth grade class, 1974. One rainy afternoon while we were waiting for our bus numbers to be called, I think it was me with Michael Logan, Stephen Pfingst, and maybe Charlie Connolly and a few others, who started messing around with an eraser, betting on which side it would fall, heads or tails. I decided to make an actual game of it. Since, at the time, I was a complete sports nut, I began by making cards for the AL and NL teams, then added the ABA since I loved the NY Nets, and then, to be equitable, I let the NBA in. More leagues followed: the NFL, the NHL, the WHA (World Hockey Association), and even the NASL (North American Soccer League) and the WTT (World Team Tennis)! I passed on the CFL (Canadian Football League). I couldn't see dealing with a league that had one team called The Rough Riders, and another team called The Roughriders. I had my principles, after all. Along with the profusion of professional leagues, I decided to develop my own league, with my own team names--the AmeriCana League.

Flip-It, as I was calling it by now, was an all-consuming passion. Other kids were actually playing these sports, but I was on the floor in the den for hours on end in mere simulated play. (Okay, that's not true, I was very active in sports back then, especially with my friends Jamie Overmeyer (whiffle ball) and Robert Kirby (basketball); I usually lost.)

For my twelfth birthday, Rober Kirby bought me a handsome hardbound notebook for Flip-It record-keeping purposes: "The Official 1975 Flip-It Record Book". By this time, Robert had dabbled in the game, but Jamie was a full-on convert. The game itself was kind of dumb, but it nonetheless generated a lot of excitement for a couple of twelve year olds. I present here the AmeriCana League...in full color!

AMERICANA LEAGUE

(established 1974, when I was 11)