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What if I told you one man found a way to get into the NBA All-Star Game, The White House, World Series, US Open, and just about any other major sporting event in the world without paying a dime? This is the story of the greatest imposter in sports history, Barry Bremen.
The legend of Barry Bremen goes back to the 1979 NBA All-Star Game when the festivities were held in his hometown of Detroit. Before Bremen was known as the Great Imposter, he was your average novelty goods salesman in West Bloomfield, Michigan. But Bremen, who was also a former athlete in college, wanted to experience firsthand what it'd be like to be a professional athlete at least one time. After all, he did have the height for it standing at 6 foot 4, he just didn't have enough talent. What's more, the security in sporting events is nothing close to what it is today.
So, during warmups, he tried sneaking in wearing a Kansas City Kings uniform. The crazy part is, the 32-year-old blended in. He even got a few layups with Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Julius Erving. Bremen was later sniffed out by a real Kings All-Star (Otis Birdsong) who told him: “You're on my team, and I don't even know who you is,” said Birdsong.
Now that Bremen had a glimpse of what it's like to be an NBA All-Star, he wanted to see how far his luck could really take him. In the months that followed, Bremen managed to sneak in as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, snuck in the 1979 MLB All-Star Game as a New York Yankee, and played a practice round in the U.S. Open. But if you thought Bremen's antics ended there, you'd be sadly mistaken.
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Bremen snuck into multiple events from 1979 to 1987. His only regret was when he gave an acceptance speech on Betty Thomas' behalf at the 1985 Emmys, it was her first Emmy after receiving multiple nominations in recent years and had to pay a $150 fine, per The New York Times.
Bremen was so good at being an imposter, ESPN made a documentary of his life. Sadly, Bremen died of esophageal cancer at the age of 64 in 2011. But his legacy will live on, literally. Aside from having three children of his own, Bremen was known as a very frequent sperm donor. In his E:60 documentary, it revealed Bremen was a biological father of more than 35 children.
