It seems like betting on sports has been around as long as sports themselves. While sports betting has become more widely accepted in the U.S., it wasn’t always that way.
Several sports betting scandals left a black mark on the industry. Here’s a look at the biggest sports betting scandals of all time.
Boston College Point Shaving
In the late 1970s, Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn became involved with gamblers from his hometown near Pittsburgh. He accepted payments to shave points on games these gamblers would bet.
In what was like a scene out of your favorite mob movie, Kuhn detailed the scheme two years after it had happened. Kuhn had become a federal informant on a much bigger case and detailed the point shaving scheme as part of the investigation.
Kuhn was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He served 28 months. Interestingly enough, in the late 1990s 13 members of Boston College’s football team were suspended for betting on sports. Two of them were found to have bet against their own team in a game vs. Syracuse.
Paul Hornung, Alex Karras and the NFL
In the early 1960s, two of the NFL’s biggest stars were Green Bay’s Paul Hornung and Detroit’s Alex Karras. The pair got caught betting on NFL games, though neither player ever bet on his own team.
NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle banned both players for the entire 1963 season. Both players were reinstated in 1964. Hornung played three more seasons and retired in 1966. Karras played into the 1970s. Both were eventually inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1950-51 CBB Point Shaving Scandal
There is a reason why CCNY never became a basketball power. The New York school is the only one to ever win the NIT and NCAA basketball tournaments in the same year.
In 1950-51, an investigation revealed that several players were involved with organized crime members who were paying them to shave points. Players from CCNY were not the only ones either. A total of 33 players at seven different schools participated in the scheme between 1947 and 1950.
The ramifications spread far and wide. Kentucky, under the legendary Adolph Rupp, had to cancel its 1952-53 season. At CCNY, the school chose to de-emphasize athletics and reclassified to NCAA Division III.
Tim Donaghy
Donaghy was a veteran of nearly 800 games and 14 seasons as an NBA official. In July 2007, the league ended his career after it was reported Donaghy was involved in a gambling scheme.
Donaghy was connected to two Philadelphia-area bettors. He would provide them information on the games he was working. Donaghy was then paid if a game resulted in the desired outcome.
It was never proven that Donaghy actually made calls during a game to try and affect the outcome of game, but there was evidence that Donaghy bet on games that he was working. That is what got him fired.
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Pete Rose
He is the all-time hits leader in MLB history. Rose and his 4,256 base hits as well as his ridiculous list of achievements have been banned from baseball since 1989. Rose bet on baseball games while a player and as a manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
Rose is the only MLB player to be banned from baseball for gambling since the biggest sports betting scandal ever. Rose is and will continue to be ineligible for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Black Sox Scandal
It happened over a hundred years ago, but it is still the biggest sports betting scandal of all time. Eight Chicago White Sox players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, took part in throwing the 1919 World Series.
The players had approached notorious gamblers to offer their services in ensuring the Cincinnati Reds would win the 1919 World Series. In 1921, all eight players were found not guilty in a jury trial but received a stiff penalty from MBL commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
All eight players were banned from baseball for life. MLB still has a strict policy that prevents players and other team personnel from betting on baseball games.
