CCNY Point Shaving Scandal

The CCNY Point Shaving Scandal was one of the first major college basketball point shaving gambling scandals.

Background

The scandal involved the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Invitation Tournament (NIT) champion City College of New York (CCNY). CCNY had won the 1950 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and the 1950 National Invitation Tournament the previous spring over Bradley University. The scandal involved the Beavers and at least six other schools, including four in the New York City area; CCNY, along with Manhattan College, New York University and Long Island University. It spread out of New York City to Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, the University of Kentucky and the University of Toledo. The scandal would spread to 33 players and involve the world of organized crime. CCNY was eventually banned from playing at Madison Square Garden, although the coach, Nat Holman, would be cleared of any wrongdoing."Nat Holman: The Man, His Legacy and CCNY". [http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/library/exhibitions/holman/basketball_scandal.html "The 1951 Basketball Scandal"] - The City College Library - City College of New York] Goldstein, Joe. [http://espn.go.com/classic/s/basketball_scandals_explosion.html "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops"] - ESPN - November 19, 2003] [Conrad, Mark. [http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/history/HT5.html "Sportslaw History: The City College Scandal"] - Mark's Sportslaw News]

How the scandal first came to light

The scandal first came to light when New York City District Attorney Frank Hogan arrested seven men in January 1951, including All-America forward Ed Warner, center Ed Roman, and guard Al Roth, the three stars of the CCNY 1950 National Championship team, after setting up an undercover, or "sting", operation. [ [http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,814439,00.html "The Big Money"] - "Time Magazine - February 26, 1951]

Jack Molinas would not be caught in 1951, but after he was suspended for gambling by the NBA, he would be linked back to the 1951 scandal by betting on his then college team Columbia University.Goldstein, Joe. [http://espn.go.com/classic/s/basketball_scandals_molinas.html "Explosion II: The Molinas period"] - ESPN - November 19, 2003]

Long lasting effects for those involved

The scandal had a long lasting effect on some of the individuals involved, and well as college basketball. Bill Spivey apparently never got over it, others like Gene Melchiorre let it be a turning point to learn from and make their lives better. [Thompson, Wright. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/cheat/news/story?id=2958786 "For the 1951 point-shavers, a life lived in infamy"] - ESPN - August 9, 2007] Coaches, long after the scandal was over, would warn their players what could happen to their lives if they chose to make some "fast money" "now". [Callahan, Tom. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925081-2,00.html "When Scandals Do Not Scandalize"] - "Time Magazine" - November 30, 1981]

"City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal"

In 1998, George Roy and Steven Hilliard Stern, Black Canyon Productions, and HBO Sports made a documentary film about the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal,‎ "City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal", that appeared on HBO. [Roy, George, and Steven Hilliard Stern. [http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,666861,00.html "City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal"] . - Time Warner - Black Canyon Productions, and HBO Sports. March 24, 1998.] [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204969/ "City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal"] . - IMDb]

References