THE WIFE SWAP

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as Bo Jackson loved hosing base runners.

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Today's story takes the phrase "eskimo bros" to a new level.

On March 16, 1973, New York Yankees pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich held separate press conferences to announce one of the most surprising trades in baseball history.

The two men had agreed to swap wives, children, and even pets. 

Peterson would get Kekich's wife, Susanne, and their two kids.

While Kekich would receive Peterson's wife, Marilyn, and the three Peterson children; the two families even traded dogs.

Initial reaction from pretty much everyone:

Of course, it wasn't really a "trade" in the traditional sense of the word.

Both couples had consented to the arrangement and were fully on board with it; everyone remained close friends even after their marriages ended.

So how did this even happen?

Peterson and Kekich were both young pitchers on the Yankees in the early 1970s.

They were good friends and frequently hung out together with their families.

Susanne and Marilyn got along well, and the kids enjoyed each other's company too.

It's not entirely clear how or when it happened, but at some point during the 1972 season, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich fell in love with each other's wives.