The Curious Case of Sidd Finch
Franklin Center, Pennsylvania: Franklin Library, 1987. First Edition. Full Leather. Fine / No Jacket as Issued. Item #5307
A handsome brown leather First Edition signed by the author, George Plimpton. In fine unread condition. With gold-gilt cover designs and page edges, and bound-in silk bookmark.
On April Fools’ Day, 1985, Sports Illustrated published a prank article titled “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch,” written by George Plimpton. The piece introduced readers to Hayden Siddhartha “Sidd” Finch, a supposedly unknown pitcher for the New York Mets. Finch’s backstory bordered on Dickensian: raised in an English orphanage, he later became a yogi in Tibet, where he discovered the secret to throwing a baseball at an astonishing 168 miles per hour. He wore only one boot when pitching, required no warm-up practice, and claimed no prior athletic training. Plimpton stretched the truth even further by claiming Finch was torn between pursuing a baseball career or becoming a professional French horn player (Finch claimed he only practiced when taking baths). The 14-page feature was accompanied by Sports Illustrated photos of Finch, who was actually a junior-high school teacher and friend of the magazine’s photographer and the New York Mets joined in on the ruse, providing additional images and access to facilities for photos.
An absolute legend of a hoax.
George Plimpton’s 1958 interview with Ernest Hemingway (The Art of Fiction No. 21) along with his 1966 Truman Capote interview are well worth the read.
George Plimpton has had a varied and interesting life from playing professional football for the Detroit Lions in 1963 to guest appearances on television and in several movies, to his writing which has included "Paper Lion," "The Bogey Man," "The Rabbit's Umbrella," "Mad Dogs and Bears," and "Truman Capote."
Price: $160.00 other currencies