Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson switched entire lives – including wives and kids – after one fateful barbecue.
New York Post Archives / Getty ImagesFritz Peterson and Mike Kekich , run onto the field during a Yankees plot .
To former Yankees pitchersMike KekichandFritz Peterson , it was a simple and sensitive affair . To the country it was a dirt of larger-than-life balance , the ilk of which had never been seen before .
It started innocently enough on July 15 , 1972 .
New York Post Archives/Getty ImagesFritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, run onto the field during a Yankees game.
New York Postsportswriter Maury Allen call for Fritz Peterson and his married woman Marilyn over for a barbecue at his New Jersey home to let the cat out of the bag about the Yankees . Peterson asked if he could bring along his champion , fellow Yankee Mike Kekich , and his wife Susanne . Of course , Allen said . The more the merrier .
“ It just come about , ” Peterson said , looking back . “ It was n’t planned . ”
After the barbecue , the Petersons and the Kekiches settle to continue the evening and head over to the local Fort Lee Diner .
New York Post Archives/Getty ImagesFritz Peterson stands with current wife Marilyn Peterson (right) and future wife Susanne Kekich, then wife of Mike Kekich.
“ When we were deciding to exit , we had driven two different cars and go on to park behind each other out in the street , ” Peterson said . “ I said to my married woman , Marilyn , ‘ Why do n’t you razz with Mike to the buffet car in Fort Lee , N.J. , and I ’ll take Susanne with me and we ’ll meet there and then we ’ll go home from there . ' ”
New York Post Archives / Getty ImagesFritz Peterson stands with current wife Marilyn Peterson ( right ) and future wife Susanne Kekich , then wife of Mike Kekich .
“ We did that and we had so much fun together , Susanne and I and Mike and Marilyn , that we decided , ‘ Hey , this is fun , let ’s do it again , ’ ” he continued . “ We did it the next night . We went out to the Steak and Ale in Fort Lee . Mike and Marilyn provide too soon and Susanne and I stayed and had a few drinks and ate . ”
New York Post Archives/Getty ImagesMike Kekich with his current wife Susanne. Photo was taken shortly before their wedding in 1965.
Before long , the four realized that they wanted to pass more than just a few dinners with each other ’s spouses .
“ All of us felt the same way , ” said Peterson . “ We went on from there and finally , he fell in love life with my wife and I fell in love with his . ’ ”
However , the situationpresented with more issuesthan just the players and their wives . Both couples had fry , and home , and dogs to think about . They could n’t just uproot each other ’s lives . So , the participant did what they thought was good – a “ husband swap . ”
Rather than force their wives to move , they decided to move or else . Almost overnight , they had change over not only wives but full life , poodle and terrier and all . Then , all that was left to do was tell the globe about it .
Peterson first went to Maury Allen and necessitate him to write about it , hoping he “ would n’t make it vocalise too marked-up . ” After all , as Peterson said , there was nothing “ smutty ” about it . It was simply what was proficient for everyone . Eventually , however , they decided to secernate the public themselves in the hope that it would reset the melody .
New York Post Archives / Getty ImagesMike Kekich with his current wife Susanne . Photo was strike in brief before their wedding ceremony in 1965 .
In separate printing press conferences , the participant discuss their unconventional arrangement and their Bob Hope that the populace would understand .
“ Unless people know the full details , it could plow out to be a filthy type thing , ” Kekich said in his conference . “ Do n’t say this was wife - trade , because it was n’t . We did n’t trade wives , we swapped lives . ”
Whether the fallal of such a scandal died down , or the public chance a more exciting one , the hype around Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson was presently over . For several class , both dyad lived in relative quiet , get into each other ’s day-by-day routines .
It seems that all these years later the backward fairy tale the two twosome lived inmay finally have finish for one of them .
Fritz Peterson and Susanne Kekich married , and are still blithely together today , but Mike Kekich and Marilyn Peterson have parted ways . The two histrion who were once roommates during road trips have n’t talk in 10 years , mayhap more .
While Peterson happily verbalize about his interesting past , Kekich has not given an interview in several years , and is “ scare - stricken ” over the thought of the taradiddle being turn over into a moving picture . public lecture ofa filmhas been disseminate since 2011 .
Next , check out the guy whomay be the bad hubby ever . Then , see theraw sewage that spilledonto Dodger Stadium ’s area during their spring preparation secret plan .
