Barry Bremen, The Great Imposter

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America’s greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979.

Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies!

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top sportsmen of the day were so keen to support him; reveal how the media encouraged his efforts to become a sporting celebrity; and explain why his behaviour pushed the broadcasters of the 1985 Emmys to cut quickly to a puzzled David Hasselhoff…

Further Reading:

• ‘From Ali Dia to Karl Power: the greatest impostors in sporting history’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2016/oct/18/from-ali-dia-barry-bremen-greatest-fakers-in-sporting-history
• ’When Barry Bremen Tried to Infiltrate the Dallas Cowgirls, the Team Found It a Drag’ (People, 1980): https://people.com/archive/when-barry-bremen-tried-to-infiltrate-the-dallas-cowgirls-the-team-found-it-a-drag-vol-13-no-2/
• ‘The Great Imposter Barry Bremen’ (NBC, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjZni1yQ90

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.

#70s #Sport #Person #Funny #Strange #US

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