The 1951 College Basketball Scandal: Hoops of Shame

On February twentieth, nineteen fifty two, City College of New York officially dropped all at athletic program following the betting scandal that happened the year previously. Here's the story behind the scandal. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reees, your guide to a rapid deep dive into sports history. Every day in the year nineteen fifty was a time to celebrate in basketball history. For City College. They achieved the unthinkable, securing victories in both the National Invitation Tournament better known as the n and the NCAA tournaments, being the national championship, being a true national champion at the time. But little did we know this triumph would be overshadowed by a series of events that would forever alter the sport. On January seventeenth, nineteen fifty one, a day that marked the eruption of a scandal, Manhattan players Henry Pope and Jack Bryan's, along with fixers Cornelius Keller and Benjamin and Irving, were booked on charges of bribery and conspiracy for their actions in violating Sanction three eighty two of the Penal Code attempting to bribe sporting event participants illegally. The scandal stems from a manipulation of games through bribery and points shaving. The Pacific games included against Sienna, sainta Clara, Bradley, Saint Francis College, and New York University. When the cheating began with the nineteen fifty National Championship Games for the NCAA in the un it City College of New York went on to win these games, both over Bradley University and the scandal involved. The scandal also involved six other universities, including New York University, Long Island University, Manhattan College, and even spread to Bride the University, University of Kentucky in the University of Toledo, involving thirty three players in all, and you could call this a large scale organized crime. This all came to light when Junius Kellogg, a standout at six ' eight at Manhattan College, was offered one thousand dollars Bride to point shave before the DePaul game that they had coming. Although Kellogg only had a minimum wage job at a frozen custard shop near the campus. He rejected the notion, but reported it to the authorities and even wore a wire to continue to talk to the bribers and break down the whole organization. In total, bribes were spread out between nineteen forty seven and nineteen fifty, fixing a total of eighty six games over seventeen states, and even branched into the National Basketballnociation bet are known as the NBA. All the organizations took swift actions against the culprits, with many being arrested and charged with bribery or conspiracy and the institutions having to adjust their operations. The scandal even include referees such as soul Levy, who were immediately suspended from their duties and did not ref ever again. Imagine today the top athletes from the schools that have just won the national championships all being arrested and being told that all the games they played were now noll and void. The NCAA and in it avoided City Colleges national championships in their wins between this period, and City College subsequently dropped all its athletic programs the following year, but they eventually did return to return in nineteen fifty seven, but as a D three organization and meaning there were no scholarships involved. In less pressure for bribery or scandal. They did return to a Division IE in the nineteen eighties, b are no longer the powerhouse they were back in the fifties. Luckily, with time, college basketball was able to change its image focus on amateurism and the spirit of the game. But since this moment, there has still been other college points shaving moments, such as in the nineties at Arizona State. These moments not only mar the school, but severely damage the athletes and ruining their career in basketball. We always got to ask, is it really worth it? Thank you for listening to the day's Daily sports History. If you like this, please rate and review wherever you're listening. We'd love to hear how much you're enjoying the show, and come back tomorrow for more daily sports history.