The Vulture League

Every spring, nine Northwestern alums gather at the home of Charles Scherer ’88. We sit around his basement ping-pong table to talk baseball, sling one-liners and remember the good old days, before the start of interleague play and the National League’s adoption of the designated hitter. 

We are the Vulture League, likely one of the longest- running fantasy baseball leagues. It all started in 1986 in the main lounge of Northwestern’s Willard Residential College, with Todd Ehlman ’86 as the driving force. 

The Vulture League owners convene at Scherer’s home in Glenview, Ill., each March, traveling from as far away as California to take part in the annual in-person draft — and to enjoy mostaccioli expertly prepared by Scherer’s wife, Allison. Then, in midsummer, the Chicago-area owners gather at a local tavern for the MLB All-Star Game to propose trades and cheer on the National League. 

Each year, the league winner receives a gold cup trophy with all the previous winners listed on its base. The loser gets a stuffed vulture doll that Ehlman bought at a thrift store. 

In the early days, before the internet, a league member would calculate, compile and update the standings using statistics published in The Sporting News or USA Today. We received updates by mail every week or two, if we were lucky. Free agent pickups and trades were done via phone calls and voicemail. That’s all changed now. 

What hasn’t changed is the core group of nine Northwestern alums who compete in the league. (We’ve also welcomed three University of Illinois alum owners.) Even after all these decades, our love of baseball and the camaraderie of the Vulture League keep us charged up. As several of us noted during our draft in March, there is no other day of the year when we laugh more, thanks to our silly puns, long-running jokes and wicked quips. 

Long live the Vulture League! 

Carl Brownell retired after 33 years as a high school history teacher and department chair. He lives in Evanston.