CCNY point-shaving scandal

The CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1950–51 was a college basketball point-shaving gambling scandal that involved seven American schools in all, with four in the New York metropolitan area, two in the Midwest, and one in the South. However, most of the key players in the scandal were players of the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team.

Background

The cheating began with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Invitation Tournament (NIT) champion City College of New York (CCNY). CCNY had won the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament and the 1950 National Invitation Tournament over Bradley University. The scandal involved CCNY and at least six other schools, including three others in the New York City area: New York University, Long Island University (LIU) and Manhattan College, spreading to Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois; the University of Kentucky and the University of Toledo, involving 33 players in all, as well as organized crime. However, the spread of the scandal was so bad that at one point before the scandal came to light, the people providing the point-shaving efforts would reach as far as the state of California, as USC player Ken Flower reported to head coach Forrest Twogood that a gambler tried to offer him $1,500 to throw a game against UCLA.^[1] CCNY was eventually banned from playing at Madison Square Garden following the scandal, although both head coach Nat Holman and assistant coach Albert Litschqi were cleared of any wrongdoing themselves.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Discovery of the scandal

Junius Kellogg, a standout 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Manhattan College center, was offered a $1,000 (equivalent to $12,800 in 2024) bribe to shave points before a game against DePaul. Although he was working for minimum wage (then 75¢ per hour) at a frozen custard shop near campus, Kellogg refused to take the money and reported the solicitation to his coach, Ken Norton. Norton sent him to New York City District Attorney Frank Hogan. To obtain evidence about the corruption, Kellogg wore a wire when he was again approached in a nearby bar.^[5]

The scandal first became public when Hogan arrested seven men on charges of conspiring to fix games on February 18, 1951. Among those taken into custody were All-America forward Ed Warner, center Ed Roman, and guard Al Roth, the three stars of CCNY's five that won both the NIT and NCAA tournaments, still the only such double championship in history (and destined to remain such, since teams are no longer allowed to enter both tournaments in the same year). The police had set up an undercover operation.^[6] The arrests were made in Penn Station when the players returned from Philadelphia, after CCNY had defeated Temple University, 95–71.

In all, 32 players from seven colleges admitted to taking bribes between 1947 and 1950 to fix 86 games in 17 states.^[5] Jack Molinas was not caught in 1951, but after he was suspended for gambling by the National Basketball Association (NBA) for betting on games involving his own team, the Fort Wayne Pistons, he was linked back to the 1951 scandal by bets he had also placed on his then-college team, Columbia University.^[7]

Results of the scandal

The following sentences or punishments that were given out to those involved in the case were implemented primarily by Judge Saul S. Streit, unless stated otherwise.^[3]

Name	Role(s)	Sentences/Punishments
John Byrnes^[8]	Manhattan player	Placed on three years probation by Judge James M. Barrett. Was later permanently banned from the NBA and other professional basketball leagues alongside his teammate Poppe in response to the case.
Henry "Hank" Poppe^[9]	Manhattan player	Placed on three years probation by Judge James M. Barrett. Was later permanently banned from the NBA and other professional basketball leagues alongside his teammate Byrnes in response to the case.
Cornelius Kelleher	Fixer	Sentenced to one year in prison by Judge James M. Barrett.
Benjamin Schwartzberg	Fixer	Sentenced to one year in prison alongside his brother Irving by Judge James M. Barrett.
Irving Schwartzberg	Fixer	Sentenced to one year in prison alongside his brother Benjamin by Judge James M. Barrett.
Sol Levy	NBA referee & Accomplice of Eddie Gard	Received a suspended sentence for arranging the outcome of "fixing" six NBA games in 1950. Was later fired from his position as a referee from the NBA, if not permanently banned from the NBA and other basketball leagues altogether, for what he had done as a referee. Was originally given a three year prison sentence for his work in fixing six NBA games,^[10] but ultimately spent a year in prison before being free via appeal due to a technicality at the time.^[11] Was later found to have been killed for not withholding his own end of his bargain despite fixing multiple NBA games already, with New York District Attorney Frank Hogan speculating that Levy did not come through for at least three more NBA games he was involved with at the time.^[10]
Alvin Roth	CCNY player	Sentenced to six months in a workhouse, though his sentence was suspended when Judge Saul S. Streit approved of Roth's decision to enter the United States Army as a private for two years instead. Was later permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other CCNY players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Ed Roman	CCNY player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other CCNY players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Ed Warner	CCNY player	Was sentenced to six months in Rikers Island before later being permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other CCNY players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Harvey "Connie" Schaff^[12]	NYU player	Received a six month suspended sentence before Schaff was permanently banned from playing in the NBA.
Salvatore Sollazzo	Fixer	Received an eight to sixteen year long sentence in a state prison for being a key figure in the scandal, though ultimately served twelve years in prison.
Eddie Gard	Agent of Salvatore Sollazzo & LIU Brooklyn player	Originally received an indeterminate sentence of up to three years in prison, but only served nine months in prison and received praise from Assistant District Attorney Vincent A.J. O'Connor for his cooperation in the case. Was later permanently banned from the NBA himself for his direct involvement with the scandal alongside other LIU Brooklyn players that were involved at the time, regardless of whether they were in the school by that time or not like Gard no longer was by the time of his arrest.
Adolph "Dolph" Bigos^[13]	LIU Brooklyn player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other LIU Brooklyn players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Leroy Smith	LIU Brooklyn player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other LIU Brooklyn players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Sherman White	LIU Brooklyn player	Was sentenced to one year in prison by Judge Saul S. Streit, but only served close to nine months in Rikers Island instead. He was also permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other LIU Brooklyn players that were directly involved in the scandal. Questions of racism were implied to have occurred with him due to his harsher punishment when compared to most other players involved at the time. During the time of the scandal, the New York Knicks were interested in selecting him in the 1951 NBA draft with a territorial pick at hand before his sentencing ultimately barred him from the draft and play in the NBA.
Floyd Layne	LIU Brooklyn player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other LIU Brooklyn players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Natie "Nat" Miller^[14]	LIU Brooklyn player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other LIU Brooklyn players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Herb Cohen	CCNY player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other CCNY players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Irwin Dambrot	CCNY player	Was given a suspended sentence while being a graduate student and dental student at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine at the time. While considered unlikely to have considered a professional basketball career at the time due to his new career path in dentistry, he was still nevertheless permanently banned from the NBA due to his involvement in the scandal alongside the other CCNY players that were directly involved in this case, especially since he was drafted by the New York Knicks as the seventh overall pick of the 1950 NBA draft before the scandal came to light.
Norm Mager	CCNY player*	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other CCNY players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Louis Lipman	LIU Brooklyn player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other LIU Brooklyn players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Richard "Dick" Feurtado^[15]	LIU Brooklyn player	Received a suspended sentence and was later permanently banned from playing in the NBA alongside the other LIU Brooklyn players that were directly involved in the scandal.
Eli "Kaye" Klukofsky	Fixer	Suffered a fatal heart attack while awaiting his trial and verdict. Was associated with mobdom and potentially could have implicated more mobsters in his trial before his heart attack happened.
Jack Feeman^[16]	Toledo player	Charges against him were dropped alongside the other Toledo players involved due to Eli "Kaye" Klukofsky's fatal heart attack. However, Feeman and the other University of Toledo players were still permanently banned from the NBA despite the dropped charges due to them still being implicated in the case earlier on.
Bob McDonald	Toledo player	Charges against him were dropped alongside the other Toledo players involved due to Eli "Kaye" Klukofsky's fatal heart attack. However, McDonald and the other University of Toledo players were still permanently banned from the NBA despite the dropped charges due to them still being implicated in the case earlier on.
Carlos Muzi^[17]	Toledo player	Charges against him were dropped alongside the other Toledo players involved due to Eli "Kaye" Klukofsky's fatal heart attack. However, Muzi and the other University of Toledo players were still permanently banned from the NBA despite the dropped charges due to them still being implicated in the case earlier on.
Bill Walker^[18]	Toledo player	Charges against him were dropped alongside the other Toledo players involved due to Eli "Kaye" Klukofsky's fatal heart attack. However, Walker and the other University of Toledo players were still permanently banned from the NBA despite the dropped charges due to them still being implicated in the case earlier on.
Jackie Goldsmith	Fixer & LIU Brooklyn player	Sentenced to around two-and-a-half to four years in prison for fixing games involving not just LIU Brooklyn, but also Manhattan College as well. Despite not playing professional basketball since 1949 back in his brief time with the Brooklyn Gothams in the American Basketball League (a one-time rivaling league to what eventually became the NBA),^[19] Goldsmith was still considered a player to be permanently banned from the NBA alongside other LIU Brooklyn players that were involved with the scandal at the time, regardless of whether they were in the school at the time or not like Goldsmith no longer was by the time of his arrest.
Charles "Bud" Grover^[20]	Bradley player	Was ultimately acquitted in his part in the scandal alongside three other Bradley University students that were implicated in the case. However, despite his acquittal, Grover was still permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other Bradley University players involved in the scandal, regardless of whether they were acquitted or not.
Jim Kelly	Bradley player	Was ultimately acquitted in his part in the scandal alongside three other Bradley University students that were implicated in the case. However, despite his acquittal, Kelly was still permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other Bradley University players involved in the scandal, regardless of whether they were acquitted or not.
Bill Mann	Bradley player	Initially faced three years in prison after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor on accepting bribes from gamblers to hold down scores to Judge Saul S. Streit before praise from Assistant District Attorney Vincent A.J. O'Connor for his cooperation in the case led to him getting a suspended statement instead. Regardless, he was still permanently banned from the NBA afterward alongside the other Bradley University players implicated in this case. Mann was originally selected as the 21st overall pick of the 1951 NBA draft by the original Baltimore Bullets NBA franchise, but never had a chance to play for Baltimore after being drafted by them.^[21]
Gene Melchiorre	Bradley player	Initially faced three years in prison after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor on accepting bribes from gamblers to hold down scores to Judge Saul S. Streit before praise from Assistant District Attorney Vincent A.J. O'Connor for his cooperation in the case led to him getting a suspended statement instead. Regardless, he was still permanently banned from the NBA afterward alongside the other Bradley University players implicated in this case. Melchiorre was originally selected as the #1 pick of the 1951 NBA draft by the original Baltimore Bullets NBA franchise, but never had a chance to play for Baltimore after being drafted by them.
Aaron Preece	Bradley player	Was ultimately acquitted in his part in the scandal alongside three other Bradley University students that were implicated in the case. However, despite his acquittal, Preece was still permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other Bradley University players involved in the scandal, regardless of whether they were acquitted or not. Preece was originally selected as the 72nd pick of the 1951 NBA draft by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now the Atlanta Hawks), but never had a chance to play for that franchise after being drafted by them.^[22]
Nick Englises	Gambler	Was given an indeterminate sentence of up to three years in prison separate from his brother Tony.^[23]
Tony Englises	Gambler	Was sentenced to six months in prison separate from his brother Nick.
Joe Benintende	Gambler	Was sentenced to around four to seven years in prison.
Jack West	Fixer	Was sentenced to around two to three years in prison.
Mike Chianakas^[24]	Bradley player	Initially faced three years in prison after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor on accepting bribes from gamblers to hold down scores to Judge Saul S. Streit before praise from Assistant District Attorney Vincent A.J. O'Connor for his cooperation in the case led to him getting a suspended statement instead. Regardless, he was still permanently banned from the NBA afterward alongside the other Bradley University players implicated in this case.
Fred Schlictman	Bradley player	Was ultimately acquitted in his part in the scandal alongside three other Bradley University students that were implicated in the case. However, despite his acquittal, Schlictman was still permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other Bradley University players involved in the scandal, regardless of whether they were acquitted or not.
Dale Barnstable	Kentucky player	Was given a suspended sentence, placed on an indefinite probation period, and was barred from all professional sports play for three years. In addition to that, he was also permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other University of Kentucky players that were implicated in the scandal. Barnstable was originally drafted by the Boston Celtics in the seventh round as the 73rd pick of the 1950 NBA draft, but he never properly played for the Celtics before the scandal broke through to catch him.
Ralph Beard	Kentucky player†	Was given a suspended sentence, placed on an indefinite probation period, and was barred from all professional sports play for three years. In addition to that, he was also permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other University of Kentucky players that were implicated in the scandal.
Alex Groza	Kentucky player†	Was given a suspended sentence, placed on an indefinite probation period, and was barred from all professional sports play for three years. In addition to that, he was also permanently banned from the NBA alongside the other University of Kentucky players that were implicated in the scandal.
Walter Hirsch	Kentucky player	After being discovered to have been another Kentucky player to have taken money to affect the outcome of several college and shave points in relation to the scandal, primarily during a tournament setting, Hirsch and another former teammate of his named Jim Line would admit to taking on bribes and shaving points while in college, as well as trying to implicate Bill Spivey in the event on March 2, 1952. Hirsch would never be formally charged in relation to his point shaving scandal case,^[25]^[26] but he would be permanently banned from both the NBA and minor league baseball as a first baseman once the discovery came to light.^[27]
Jim Line	Kentucky player	On March 2, 1952, Line and former Kentucky teammate Walter Hirsch admitted to taking money to shave points and affect some games while playing in college, primarily in a tournament setting. Line would also try and implicate Billy Spivey in the case as well. Line was ultimate acquitted in his case,^[28]^[29] though he was still permanently banned from the NBA due to his association with the scandal. At the time of this revelation coming to light, Line was previously drafted as the 45th pick of the 1950 NBA draft by the Indianapolis Olympians, though he would never have a chance to play for them.
Bill Spivey	Kentucky player	After being barred from collegiate play on March 2, 1952 through accusations made by Kentucky teammates despite never being directly implicated in the point shaving case (which subsequently led to the University of Kentucky being suspended from basketball play during the 1952–53 NCAA basketball season), he was originally indicted for perjury by New York District Attorney Frank Hogan before his case resulted in a mistrial and was subsequently dismissed afterward. Despite the mistrial and subsequent dismissal of his situation, Spivey was ultimately permanently banned from the NBA at the time alongside the other University of Kentucky players implicated in this scandal (despite the Cincinnati Royals briefly trying to sign Spivey at one point), though unlike the other players involved, Spivey would sue the NBA and de facto commissioner Maurice Podoloff in 1960 for $800,000 before ultimately accepting a settlement of $10,000. Spivey eventually was able to technically play in the NBA by a loophole of sorts for an all-star game organized in Baltimore with the Baltimore Bullets (current Washington Wizards) on February 11, 1968, where he joined the Eastern Basketball League Baltimore Bullets team that went up against the original Baltimore Bullets all-star team.
Jack Molinas	Columbia player	While he was never caught during the initial scandal period in 1951, he would be caught during his later years when playing professional basketball for the Fort Wayne Pistons of the NBA. After he got caught gambling during the period before the 1954 NBA All-Star Game took place, Molinas was permanently banned from the NBA as a late suspect connected to the scandal alongside him betting on games that he played for the Pistons. Years later, Molinas would be involved as a centerpiece figure in the 1961 NCAA men's basketball gambling scandal that involved 50 players from 27 colleges, including future Hall of Fame players Connie Hawkins and Roger Brown. He would later be given a 10 to 15 year sentence in relation to the 1961 scandal, though he was ultimately paroled after five years spent in prison.

* – At the time of the scandal, Norm Mager was playing with the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA.
† – At the time of the scandal, both Ralph Beard and Alex Groza were both playing with the Indianapolis Olympians of the NBA.

Aftermath

The scandal had long-lasting effects for some of the individuals involved, as well as college basketball itself. Long after the scandal was over, coaches would warn their players what could happen to their lives if they chose to make some "fast money".^[30]

While Kentucky was forced to cancel one season of play following the discovery of the university's involvement in the scandal and other problematic interests emphasizing sports over everything else in their program (1952–53), it was the only program that was not permanently hobbled by the scandal. Furthermore, to date, Bradley is the only other affected school to have appeared in a final major media poll since the scandal came and went. However, none of the programs would suffer more than CCNY, LIU, and NYU, with Manhattan College being the only New York program to still maintain good standing as a Division I NCAA program despite them being the starting point of the scandal. Following the discovery of several other irregularities, CCNY deemphasized its athletic program entirely and eventually dropped down to what is now a Division III program. Meanwhile, LIU shut down its entire athletic program from 1951 to 1957 and did not return to Division I sports properly until the 1980s. Starting on July 2019, LIU would go and rebrand the long-standing LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds team name by merging it with their Division II team held in another location under the LIU name, the LIU Post Pioneers held in Brookville, New York, to become a new Division I program unifying the two teams together to become the LIU Sharks. Finally, following another college scandal relating to New York University, the Violets would disband their sports programs for financial reasons in 1971 before reinstating their programs in 1983 as a Division III operation.

Documentaries

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.^[31]^[32]

The story is also detailed in The First Basket, a 2008 documentary covering the history of Jewish players in basketball.

Pop culture references

The scandal is referenced in the HBO series The Sopranos during the episode "Rat Pack", which was the second episode of the fifth season, first broadcast on March 14, 2004. After learning of the death of New York mob boss Carmine Lupertazzi, Corrado "Junior" Soprano confirms that Lupertazzi invented point shaving for "CCNY versus Kentucky, 1951. Nobody beat the spread. I bought a black Fleetwood."

Jay Neugeboren's 1966 novel Big Man is based on what happens to an All-American African American basketball star five years after he was caught in this scandal.

A 1951 movie, The Basketball Fix, was based on the scandal.

References

External links

"Whereabouts Of The 1950 City College Of New York Team, NIT and NCAA Champs (Part I)". Lost Lettermen. March 11, 2010.
Berkow, Ira (March 29, 1996). 1998 "Final Four: A Look Back; Scandal, the Unwanted Scar of Triumph". New York Times.

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