David was 16 in '81 when he was one of the 24 contestants on the original STARCADE! Pilot. David was on the Blue Team, playing Centipede, which was at the time a brand new Atari game.  His score after 30 seconds of play was 8,748, ranking #3 of the 8 players.  The high score was 11,575 scored by Randy Nomura.

David won a Mattel Electronics Dungeons & Dragons game and a party for 10 at his local Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre. We hosted David, along with all 24 contestants, with accommodations in San Francisco at one of the city's best hotels, sightseeing trips and the transportation costs to get to the city.

David checked in to tell us, "I have to say it was surprising to get such a warm response from you after being on a pilot show nearly 23 years ago. Thank you for that."

"What do I still remember about the show? Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers at the time) was supposed to be the guest star, but his wife I believe was about to give birth and he had to cancel, which propelled Larry Wilcox (star of CHiPs) into the guest star appearance for the show. Mike Eruzione was the MC for the show and I still have (now to find it) my name placard with his autograph on it. What a time ... thank you."

Great memory, Paul. Yes, Gil Gerard was our first choice ... one of the hot games at the time was Buck Rogers. David was one of the original Starcaders! and the first to check in. Great to hear from you, David. You are one of the few Starcaders! who was a part of our original vision for the show ... Thank you for helping us make the magic come alive.