The Fan Teaser – The Sports Fan Project

Fan Teaser Solution: Week 202

September 6, 2026September 4, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

**^{As the college football season begins we felt it apt to ask:}**
**^{Who’s this fella holding the hardware?}**

Tony Dorsett entered the college ranks just in time for freshmen eligibility. The NCAA began allowing freshmen to compete in 1972. Dorsett arrived on campus at the University of Pittsburgh in the Fall of 1973 and immediately rushed for 1,586 yards and 11 touchdowns, becoming the first freshman to earn All-America status since Army’s Doc Blanchard in 1944.

It was the first of four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons and four straight All-American selections for the Beaver County, PA, native. During his senior season he eclipsed Ohio State Archie Griffin‘s all-time college rushing mark (5,217 yards) and finished his career with 6,082 yards, still good for fifth best all-time.

It all culminated his senior season when he rushed for 1,948 yards and 21 touchdowns, all while leading the Panthers to their first National Championship in 40 seasons when they beat the University of Georgia, 27-3, in the Sugar Bowl to complete a 12-0 season.

For his efforts, Dorsett was named the Walter Camp Award and Maxwell Award recipient in addition to winning the prestigious Heisman Trophy. Dorsett is still the only Panthers’ winner of the Heisman.

The Dallas Cowboys traded four draft picks to acquire the No. 2 pick in the 1977 NFL Draft from the Seattle Seahawks to select Dorsett. His $1.1 million contract made him the first million dollar Cowboy. The Cowboys went on to defeat the Denver Broncos, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII that season, making Dorsett the first player in football history to win a National Championship and Super Bowl in consecutive years.

Dorsett retired following the 1988 season with the second most rushing yards (12,306) in NFL history (Walter Payton with 12,739). He’s a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

Tony Dorsett with his Heisman Trophy — **^{The University of Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett poses with his 1976 Heisman Trophy. Dorsett is still the only Pitt Panther to win the award. (Photo from the Associated Press)}**

^{Some highlights from Dorsett’s final regular-season game as a Panther against rival Penn State.}

Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.

The Fan Teaser – Week 202

September 4, 2026September 4, 2026DouglasTHill4 Comments

Fan Teaser Solution: Week 201

August 30, 2026August 15, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

We had a bit of fun with some Hall of Fame Smiths in this week’s #FanTeaser. The clue inquiring if any of these fellas made it to Washington was a nod to the 1939 Frank Capra-directed film, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Jimmy Stewart starred as Jefferson Smith, a gubernatorial appointee to the U.S. Senate.

Here, in alphabetical order, are the Smith athletes whose images were used this week.

^{New York Islander goalie Billy Smith played 17 seasons and 675 games for the Isles. He amassed over 300 career victories in net and four straight Stanley Cup Championships. He was a 1993 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee. (New York Islanders photo)}

^{Longtime Buffalo Bill Bruce Smith still owns the NFL career record with 200 sacks over his 19 seasons. He was twice named the Associated Press’ Defensive Player of the Year and an integral part of the Bills’ four consecutive Super Bowl appearances during the early 1990s. He was a 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. (Buffalo Bills photo)}

^{The man has an arena named after him in Chapel Hill, NC. Yeah, Dean Smith was a fair college basketball coach, retiring with a then-record 879 career victories. He was a 1983 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. (Richard Carson/Associated Press Photo)}

^{Horton Smith carries the distinction of being the first winner of The Masters, which was known as the Augusta National Invitational when he won it in 1934. He won it again two years later and totaled 29 other PGA Tour victories. He’s a 1990 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee. (Photo from Getty Images)}

^{Known as “The Wizard,” Ozzie Smith made a career out of making spectacular defensive plays at shortstop. He won Gold Gloves in 13 of his 19 MLB seasons and was a 2002 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. (Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery Photo)}

^{Most tennis fans these days are probably only familiar with Stan Smith thanks to his eponymous shoes. He was, in fact, an accomplished tennis player as well, winning a singles title at both Wimbledon (1972) and the U.S. Open (1972), but was even more accomplished as a doubles player, winning five additional Grand Slam titles. He was a 1987 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee. (Ed Lacey/Popperoto via Getty Images photo)}

For more information (and plenty of links) about the various sports’ halls of fame, check out our Halls of Fame Directory here.

To review, the Fan Teaser was created by former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning, with the reveal coming to you Sunday.

The Fan Teaser – Week 201

August 28, 2026August 15, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

^{Did any of these fellas actually, you know, go to Washington? Or did they just wind up in other hallowed halls? If so, which ones?}

Fan Teaser Solution: Week 200

August 23, 2026August 12, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

**^{Has it already been a dozen years?}**

We never thought we’d be channelling our inner-Karl Marx here at the #FanTeaser, but when considering this week’s subject, baseball player Mo’ne Davis, Marx’s philsophy that “we make our own history” comes to mind.

Davis made history 12 years ago when she was became the first girl pitcher in the history of the Little League Baseball World Series to throw a complete-game shutout, when she spun a 2-hitter for her Mid-Atlantic Region squad against the Southeast during a 4-0 victory. Among her eight strikeout victims that day was future Major Leaguer, Robert Hassell III. (Hassell later logged one of his team’s two hits against Davis.)

Mo'ne Davis — ^{The Mid-Atlantic Region representative at the 2014 Little League Baseball World Series hailed from Philadelphia. One of its pitchers that year was Mo’ne Davis, then the first girl on a U.S. roster since 2004. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)}

Then, earlier this summer, Davis again made history. Leading off and playing centerfield for the Los Angeles Queens of the newly formed Women’s Pro Baseball League, Davis she scored the first run in league history following a 2-run single by Maggie Foxx.

This year’s Little League Baseball World Series began on Wednesday and concludes on Sunday, August 30

^{Davis’ 2-hit, eight strikeout shutout of the Southeast Region’s Nashville team was the first LLBWS shutout by a girl.}

^{Highlights of Mo’ne Davis scoring the first run in WPBL history via the Women’s Sports Now.}

The Fan Teaser – Week 200

August 21, 2026August 12, 2026DouglasTHill1 Comment

Fan Teaser Solution: Week 199

August 16, 2026August 12, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

Fifty seasons ago, a weekly Major League Baseball highlight show debuted. Its name, fittingly, was This Week in Baseball.

How about that!?!

Regular viewers of TWIB will recognize the previous sentence as one of longtime This Week’s host, Mel Allen‘s, catchphrases. Allen, the 1978 recipient of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting, was the show’s original host (and an excellent choice, in my opinion) and continued in that role until he died in 1996.

^{The logo for “This Week in Baseball.”}

He was succeeded by the then-recently retired Ozzie Smith, who took over in 1997, but the show’s waning viewership led to its ultimate cancellation following the 1998 season.

Many may not be aware of it, but This Week in Baseball relaunched this season via MLB’s Twitter/X account. A weekly show of about 12 minutes has been relaunched this season by MLB on Twitter/X. Hosted by Kait Maniscalco, you’re able to find episodes at this link.

^{“This Week in Baseball” from August 16, 1986. Forty years ago today. Enjoy!}

The Fan Teaser – Week 199

August 14, 2026August 10, 2026DouglasTHill4 Comments

Fan Teaser Solution: Week 198

August 9, 2026August 5, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

**There’s no way this can be 50-years-old already!?!**

The Bad News Bears arrived in theaters just in time for the start of the Major League Baseball season in 1976.

It debuted on Wednesday, April 7, one day in advance of the Cincinnati Reds’ season-opening 11-5 victory over the Houston Astros.

While the Big Red Machine rolled to a 102-60 regular-season record, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers by 10 games in the National League West, and then swept the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Championship, and the New York Yankees in the World Series, it’s unclear who had a better summer, the Reds or the Bears.

Produced with a budget of $9 million, The Bad News Bears wound up earning $42.3 million at the box office, which is a pretty solid return on investment.

Coach Buttermaker with members of his Bears' baseball team. — **^{Coach Morris Buttermaker, portrayed by Walter Matthau, sits in the dugout during one of the Bears’ games. (Paramount Studios Photo)}**

The film starred Walter Matthau as Morris Buttermaker, an ex-ballplayer turned drunk with a gambling habit, who took the job as coach of this ragtag group of kids to earn some pocket change from a busy father who didn’t have time to do it himself.

Mathau’s co-headliner on the movie poster was Tatum O’Neal, who, at just 12-years-old, already had an Academy Award to her credit as supporting actress in 1973’s Paper Moon. She portrays Amanda Whurlizer, who is the daughter of Buttermaker’s ex-girlfriend. He taught her how to pitch, and she’s brought aboard to shore up the pitching staff.

The film, which was written by Bill Lancaster (son of Hollywood luminary Burt Lancaster), skewered the competitive nature of youth sports and parental behavior in particular. (How prescient it was, right?) As the Motion Picture Association of America didn’t have a PG-13 rating for nearly another decade, The Bad News Bears was awarded a PG rating despite the drinking, smoking, and coarse language throughout (from the adults and the children).

So, if you’re just biding your time until the annual Little League World Series ramps up later this month in South Williamsport, PA, crack open a cold beer of your choosing (any will do, just ask Coach Buttermaker!) rewatch The Bad News Bears and let me know what you think.