On this day 42 years ago, in what would become a very odd situation, two teammates of the New York Yankees, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, announce that they have traded families including their wives, children, and even the dogs.
The swap, which began in the fall of 1972, will work out well for Peterson, who will become married to his best friend’s former wife with whom he will have four children. Kekich’s relationship with Marilyn Peterson is short-lived as they would soon break up after the trade was made.
When asked about the “trade” in 2013 by PalmBeachPost.com, Peterson said that he would prefer not to talk about it; however, he did want the “truth” out there. “It’s a love story,” said Peterson, “It wasn’t anything dirty.”
The late 60’s into early 70’s were definitely a tough time for the Yankees, which included many years of missing the playoffs, plus the sale of the franchise to George Steinbrenner. With everything that happened during these down years, you could say that the trading of families between two teammates might be the craziest thing that happened during the down years. With the way the media is today, could you imagine a story like this breaking in 2015? Crazy!
There have seen some stories published over the past few years indicating that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are working on bringing this event to film in a movie titled “The Trade”.
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Bring in Jay Roach to Direct Wife Swap Movie ‘The Trade’
