History of the LOD
2016: The Vinegar Strokes; The Original 6; The Co-Commissionership
The LOD originated as a collaboration between Andrew “Wings” Alas and Johnathon “Chuck” Cassidy, alumni of Rialto High School who had played fantasy football together in previous seasons. Chuck was looking to start a new League for the 2016 season with him as the Commissioner, but was struggling to recruit enough members on his own. Wings, who was attending UCLA at the time, suggested recruiting additional members from his college fraternity to fill in the remaining slots. In exchange, Wings would assume the title of Co-Commissioner to better manage the two separate groups. Though he was given this title, Chuck solely held commissioner powers such as the ability to set rules and veto trades. Wings would focus more on content creation, starting a weekly power rankings post that served as the foundation of later LOD Blogs and Podcasts.
With 12 members committed between the two Co-Commissioners, a 12-team PPR League named “The Vinegar Strokes” (TVS) was founded on August 12, 2016.
The Vinegar Strokes Membership
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Andrew “Wings” Alas (co-c)
RHS Alum, UCLA, Theta ChiJohnny Gray
UCLA, Theta ChiAbraham Lopez
UCLA, Theta ChiRaymond Mai
UCLA, Theta ChiChristian Morgan
UCLA, Theta ChiAaron Van Doren
UCLA, Theta Chi
Johnathon “Chuck” Cassidy (co-c)
RHS AlumJonathan Hurtado
RHS, UCLA, Roommate of WingsJoseph “Joe” Cassidy
RHS, Older Brother of ChuckErik Naranjo
UCLA, Roommate of HurtadoJose “Weege” Ortiz
RHS, Baseball Teammate of ChuckJohn Cassidy
Father of Joe and Chuck
TVS was mostly based on default ESPN PPR rules, though a few notable changes were added by Chuck that would see themselves included in the modern LOD at one point or another:
- Individual Defensive Players (IDPs): 2 were originally proposed but settled on 1 after pushback from some. IDPs would be part of the LOD until the end of the 2022 season
- Trade Limits: A 3-trade limit was imposed, which would be expanded, abolished, subsequently reinstated and abolished again in later seasons
- Pre-draft Pick trading: While not utilized, draft pick trading would become a consistent part of the League when transitioned to Keepers in 2019
TVS held its draft on September 4, 2016.
2016 Season Results
Not much historical data on scoring, trades, and regular season matchups from 2016 has survived. Many primary source materials were compromised before records began to be kept. This includes:
- The removal of the league from ESPN servers
- GroupMe, the messaging app used for this season, has some surviving text data, but photos have been erased from the platform
- Tumblr, the host site for the season’s power rankings, also erased these posts from their platform
Surviving GroupMe records are actively being parsed through for additional information to contribute to this section (last updated March 2026)
While sources on regular season performances are scarce, it is known that 8 teams out of 12 qualified for the playoffs: Chuck, Joe, Hurtado, & Erik from one conference, as well as Raymond, Aaron, Johnny, and Christian from the other. Chuck, Hurtado, Aaron, and Johnny would advance to the semifinals, with the Championship taking place between Chuck and Hurtado. Chuck claimed victory in this matchup and the winner-take-all prize of $300.
2016 Playoffs Results
The Breakup of TVS
Despite the success of TVS, the Theta Chi members of the League were not interested in returning, as they would move to create a frat-only league for the following year. This left Wings, Chuck, Hurtado, Erik, Joe and Weege to figure out an alternative plan for next season. This group would come to be known as “The Original Six” founding members of the LOD.