U.S. National Video Game Team

The U.S. National Video Game Team was founded on July 25 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA by Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard. Walter Day was the Team Captain and the first five members chosen by Twin Galaxies for the team were:
*Billy Mitchell, Hollywood, Florida (Had five listings in Guinness that year, a record)
*Steve Harris, Gladstone, Missouri (Later founded Electronic Gaming Monthly - EGM)
*Jay Kim, Miami, Florida
*Ben Gold, Dallas, Texas (Won history's first Video Game World Championship, televised by ABC-TV's That's Incredible)
*Tim McVey, Ottumwa, Iowa (Achieved history's first Billion-Point-Score on a video game.)

Additional members accepted in 1983:
*Tom Asaki, Bozeman, MT
*Tim Collum, Boyd, TX
*Eric Ginner, Mt. View, CA
*Todd Walker, Milpitas, CA
*Mark Bersabe, San Jose, CA
*Jeff Peters, Etiwanda, California

Additional members accepted in 1984:
*Mark Hoff, Ottumwa, IA
*Leo Daniels, Wilmington, NC
*Chris Emery, Canada

Additional members accepted in 1985:
*Perry Rodgers, Seattle, Washington
*Donn Nauert, Austin, Texas
*Dwayne Richard, Alberta, Canada

Additional members accepted in 1986:
*Gary Hatt, Ontario, California
*Jim Allee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
*Brent Walker, Austin, TX
*Todd Rogers, Bridgeview, Illinois (First paid pro video game player)
*Eric Gater, Oskaloosa, IA

Additional members accepted in 1994:
*Terry "Trickman" Minnich, Lombard, IL
*Ken "Sushi-X" Williams, Lombard, IL

Additional members accepted in 2005:
*David Nelson, Laconia, NH

Chronological timeline

*July 25 1983; Team founded in Ottumwa, Iowa by the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard with Walter Day as Team Captain.
*August 11 1983; Embarked on a national tour to conduct the 1983 Video Game Master's Tournament
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1408 Cystic Fibrosis Video Game Challenge Week in Ottumwa, August 8 1983]
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1404 Letter from Michigan House of Representatives. Harold Sawyer to USNVGT, August 16 1983]
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=705 "They're masters of Video Games", Spokesman-Review, August 24 1983]
*August 24 1983; U.S. National Video Game Team inspired Civic Proclamations around the USA.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1395 Proclamation for Cystic Fibrosis Video Game Challenge Week, Lake Odessa, Michigan, August 8 1983]
*September 15 1983; Conducted a tour of the East Coast of the United States on behalf of "Video Game Player Magazine" to verify excessive high-score claims submitted by players.
*September 24 1983; Hand-delivered official documents to the Japanese and Italian Embassies in Washington, D.C., challenging these countries to an International Video Championship.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1061 "Benefit Hones Video Game Skill", Chicago Suburban Tribune, August 24 1983]
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1140 "U.S. vs. Japan Video Tournament", CashBox Magazine, August 27, 1983]
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1032 "U.S. Video Team Forming, Plans Call for Match with Japan", RePlay Magazine, October 1 1983]
*November 15 1983; Ottumwa Proclamation to the People of the Country of Italy, November 15 1983]
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/images/generalinfo/italproc.jpgOttumwa issues a Proclamation, challenging the Country of Italy on behalf of the U.S. National Video Game Team, November 15 1983]
*January 14 1984; Working with the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard, the USNVGT conducted the 1984 Coronation Day to crown the 1983 players, manufacturers and magazines of the past year.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1033 Twin Galaxies' Coronation Day Crowns Video's Best of '83 - RePlay Magazine, February 1 1984]
*February 12 1984; The U.S. National Video Game Team attends the February, 1984 AMOA Expo in New Orleans, beginning a long tradition of reviewing new games for the video game industry.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=703 "U.S. National Video Game Team Rates Games", PlayMeter Magazine, March 1 1984]
*February 10-February 12 1984; Canada-USA Video Game Team Conference is organized by USNVGT.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1128 Canadian Video Team Being Formed - CashBox Magazine, March 10 1984]
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1363 U.S. National Video Game Team at 1984 AMOA Expo - Vending Times, December 1 1984]
*April 12 1985; The Red Cross Video Game Team Invites President Ronald Reagan to Join The Team
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1397 The U.S. National Video Game Team organizes a fundraiser for the Red Cross and announces plans to create a Red Cross Video Team to take to Washington, DC.]
*April 8 1986; The U.S. National Video Game Team is authorized by the Guinness Book of World Records to organize contests.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1387 Guinness sends letter to U.S. National Video Game Team, April 8 1986]
*April 1 1987; U.S. National Video Game Team Announces its 1987 "Best Games" at the ACME.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1412 U.S. National Video Team Picks its Favorites, Vending Times, New York, NY, April 1 1987]
*April 1 1987; U.S. National Video Game Team Conducts 1987 Video Game Masters Tournament for Guinness.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1413 Video Game Masters Match Will Help March of Dimes, Vending Times, New York, NY, April 1 1987]
*July 12 1987; The U.S. National Video Game Team organizes 1987 Video Game Masters Tournament for Guinness Record Book.
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=18&id=1388 Video game champ buys 40 hours of play with 25 cents - Torrance Daily Breeze, Torrance, CA, July 12 1987]