CONTEST: Kings of Kauffman DVD Box Set Scavenger Hunt

"Editor’s note: The deadline to enter this contest was 11:59 pm CST on Sunday June 19.  The deadline has passed, but thank you to all who submitted entries.  Meanwhile, the articles and pages linked in the questions are fantastic reads while you’re here!"

Baseball is,traditionally, a game of fathers and sons.  They teach us how to swing, how to throw, how to get in front of the ball, how to get under a pop up.  They coach our little league teams, watch our high school games.  They remind us to keep our back shoulder up, keep our eye on the ball, to wait for the good ones.

My introductory post on Kings of Kauffman, I mentioned how I learned the game like so many others had – I asked my dad.  I wondered what the “R H E” meant on the TV screen while my dad was watching a game and he explained it to me.  I was five.

A couple of years later, I started summer rec leagues, got a Nintendo and found baseball video games, collected baseball cards and learned to keep score like a proper red-blooded American male should.

My dad’s favorite player when he was growing up was Willie Mays.  Mine was George Brett, in part because the Royals were the only team within ten hours of my hometown, and because my dad told me he played harder than anyone else.  And that game he was watching when I asked him about the scoreboard?  It was during the 1985 World Series.

It’s fitting, then, that we get to host a very special Father’s Day promotion on Kings of Kauffman.

A & E Home Entertainment has offered FIVE (5) free box sets of the 1985 World Series to our readers!

Want one?  Read on to find out how to add this fantastic piece of Royals history to your collection:

Now remember, this is a contest, so there’s a little bit of effort on your part to enter. (I know, I know, I’d love to just hand them out like fliers at a college campus, but they only gave us five.)

Don’t worry, though, I’m going to give you some helpful hints to make sure as many people can enter who would like to.

Step 1: A story about how your father and baseball.  Maybe he played in the minors.  Maybe he taught you a curveball.  We want to hear the stories.  Winners will have theirs posted on Kings of Kauffman.  And heck, it’s not just dads out there.  Tell us a story about whoever it was that got you into baseball.  A brother, an uncle, your mom, a former player down the block.  Whoever it was.  We want to hear about it.

Step 2. Complete our brief trivia/scavenger hunt below:

1. Who did Kings of Kauffman rank as our #23 prospect coming into 2011?
2. In January, I interviewed an agent who represents a few players in the Royals system.  What is this agent’s name?
3. To which Royals player did Kevin Scobee direct his letter from Kansas City?
4. Which Royals players made FanSided’s All-AL Central team in the preseason?
5. Which four members of the Royals organization made themselves available for a Q&A session at FanFest for Digital Digest participants?
6. Which two minor league teams did Gage Matthews see in action (and photograph) earlier this season?
7. Visit each of the other AL Central team sites on the FanSided network and send a link to an article from each.
8. Which 2011 draft pick did Kings of Kauffman writer Jeff Herr profile on Seedlings to Stars?
9. Who was the first guest on the Royalman Report?
10. Name two potential nicknames for Royals players suggested by Ethan Evans.
11. What other team does Wally Fish follow and write about?
12. Which team(s) did Ryan Wood grow up rooting for?
13. How many past World Series winning pitching rotations did Mitch Hall analyze?
14. What was the first name of the person who caught for me when I threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a 2010 game?
15. We suggested four starting pitchers as potential Royals signees in the 2010 winter offseason in our “Market Fresh” series.  Who were they?

Find the answers to all of those questions and send them (numbered please) to KingsofKauffman@gmail.com.  All entrants who correctly answer every question (and complete all tasks) will be placed in a drawing, from which five winners will be selected.  The deadline to enter will be June 19, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. CST – Father’s Day.

I will notify the winners so I can provide A&E with an address to send their copy of the 1985 World Series DVD Box Set.

(Kings of Kauffman writers and associates aren’t eligible for this contest.  So everyone knows.)