Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story stated all members of the Sabres front office at the time are deceased. Former coach Floyd Smith is still alive. We regret the error.
Josh Tsujimoto usually wears a No. 74 Sabres jersey sporting his last name if he attends a Buffalo home game at KeyBank Center.
It was a gift from his father, Paul, a few years ago and meant to serve as a tangible souvenir of a family legend that spans five decades. But there are nights when Josh isn’t the only one wearing a No. 74 sweater at a Sabres game. From time to time, you’ll see the odd Tsujimoto jersey sprinkled amongst the crowd in Buffalo.
“You go to a Sabres game and you’re bound to see a couple of Taro jerseys,” says John Boutet, chairman of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. “Some people have the correct number, which is 13. He was given 13. Some people have 74 because that’s the year it was.”
The jersey is a cult classic because the legend of Taro Tsujimoto isn’t just a family story shared by the father and son.
Instead, it’s an inside joke that has been kept alive by Sabres fans for 50 years.
“Some people recognize it,” Josh says when asked about his jersey. “A lot of out-of-town people will come to a game and they don’t know the backstory. So I’ll tell them, ‘He’s not real. But he’s got a Wikipedia page.’”
Taro Tsujimoto was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 11th round of the 1974 draft.
The team’s official media guide still lists Tsujimoto alongside the other draft picks from 1974. He’s noted as the 183rd overall selection in the draft, a centerman taken from the Tokyo Katanas.
But the NHL’s official guide and record book does not recognize Tsujimoto. His name has been stricken from historical draft records for a very simple reason: Taro Tsujimoto never existed.
…