1948 NHL Gambling Scandal: Betting on Career

1948 NHL Gambling Scandal: Betting on Career

Step back into the pages of sports history as we shine a light on a dark chapter that rocked the world of professional basketball. Join us in this short episode as we delve into the 1948 gambling scandal—a seismic event that exposed the underbelly of the sport and forever changed its landscape.
In the wake of the 1948 World Series of Basketball, whispers of corruption and illicit dealings began to surface. Explore the clandestine dealings, the implicated players, and the reverberations that echoed through the courts of justice and sports integrity.
Through concise storytelling, we unravel the intricacies of the scandal, its impact on the implicated individuals, and the measures taken to preserve the integrity of professional basketball.
Tune in for a quick journey into a bygone era as we revisit the 1948 gambling scandal—an episode that reshaped the course of basketball history.



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[00:00:00] On March 9, 1948, the NHL spells Billy Taylor and Don Gallagher for Gambling on Hockey. Here's the story behind this iconic moment in sports on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History, I'm Ethan Reese, your guide to a rapid deep dive into sports history every day.

[00:00:31] Gambling has always been an issue in sports. We all know about the Chicago Black Sox. We had an episode on the New York City College Gambling Scandal, but even before that, the NHL had a Gambling Scandal that rocked the world in 1948 when Billy Taylor and

[00:00:48] Don Gallagher were banished for life by the NHL. And Taylor was a 28-year-old player in his seventh season of the NHL as one of the least hot scores in the 1940s, including winning the Stanley Cup with Toronto in 1942.

[00:01:04] In the year before he was banished, he led the NHL with 46 assists and was third in scoring with 63. And Gallagher was a young upcoming sinner and was the youngest player in the NHL when he joined the Boston Bruins at the age of 17 in 1942.

[00:01:23] And the year before he got banished is when he really got involved with Billy Taylor, which many NHL insiders knew Billy may have been a bookmate. See Billy owned his own pool hall back in Hoshua and he and a couple of friends were taking

[00:01:39] bets on games way back to when he played for Toronto. So when Gallagher was asked by Taylor if he wanted to make some money, Gallagher's ears popped up as he was still young kid and money always sounded good.

[00:01:52] And Gallagher didn't think it was a bad idea as long as he was only betting on the Bruins to win. He felt like there was nothing wrong, he would just get paid for playing the games he was going to win.

[00:02:03] But that changed in 1947 when Billy convinced Gallagher that he could double his salary if he bet on the Bruins to lose. They justified the reasoning as it's not fixing games but merely taking advantage of the information they knew.

[00:02:19] As they knew all about the injuries or the players going through issues in their personal lives. So during the four months where Taylor and Gallagher were teammates, they bet half a dozen times on the Bruins to win and lose. Now that year Taylor was struggling on the ice.

[00:02:39] He had just four goals and 20 points in 39 games and would eventually get traded to the Rangers. But he'd still be in contact with Gallagher after this to continue betting on games. But not being on the same team, they needed a little help and in came James Tamer.

[00:02:55] A convicted bank robber and one of Detroit's most notorious gangsters, he would take Gallagher's actions instead of Billy Taylor. And this would ultimately lead to the downfall of the two and then getting expelled from the inner gel.

[00:03:11] In February 17, 1948 Gallagher placed a call to Tamer putting money on the Bruins to lose. Little did he know that Tamer was actually being investigated for other reasons and he was a gangster and his phone was being tapped. So this whole call was recorded.

[00:03:30] In later it would come to light that they were fixing games. When it came to the inner gel's attention President Clarence Campbell suspended the two years earlier, Bay Pratt was actually suspended for gambling on games as well.

[00:03:47] But he admitted it and was reinstated two years later and later inducted into the Hall fame. But Gallagher and Taylor did not learn from Pratt. Since Billy Taylor was near the end of his plink career, he just focused on business

[00:04:01] ventures outside the game and he didn't feel that it urged to apologize or deny anything. And later Taylor actually met up with Maple Lee's builder, Con Smith and a hockey vankwit in 1970. At the time Billy Taylor was 51. He felt sorry for his situation.

[00:04:21] So he went up to the President of the inner gel and asked him could they pardon Billy and Gallagher and they did in 1971. But neither would go back to the ice. Gallagher who was still in his 40s on being pardoned, didn't feel the need to go back

[00:04:37] or even apologize for what he had done. And he stayed away from hockey. At the time he was banned, he was only 23 years old. His life had gone on and there's time for him to move on in his life.

[00:04:50] Later the broen's GM art russ said one of his biggest disappointment was not helping Gallagher when he was going down the wrong path. He could have been a great player. See, join the league so young he had his whole career ahead of him still.

[00:05:06] But Billy Taylor and Don Gallagher have since passed away but their names will always be etched in hockey lore. Being part of the biggest game of the game scandal in the gel history. Luckily the game has cleaned up as much as most professional leagues have.

[00:05:23] But with the rise of online gambling we have seen it being harder for players. They can get caught in the web of gambling just as it was before.