She also recalled Kuhn saying that Cobb was too into his own game to cooperate with the betting thing, but the New York gangsters were adamant about getting him involved. They were touting me as the next sub-6-footer to have an impact in the NBA. Jim Sweeney and Ernie Cobb) were brought to trial for point-shaving during the '78- '79 season. But the Justice . When Henry Hill started threatening Kuhn and Sweeney, promising that they couldnt play with broken limbs, the players, according to Hill, claimed that they were doing their best, but the scheme would never work unless Ernie Cobb was in on the fix. In practice, he was the lunatic who his teammates sucked their teeth and rolled their eyes at when he told the coaches that they needed to run more sprints after an exhausting practice. If you missed Part I, you can read it here. Man, I was really into bikes, Cobb said. The reasons for their failure may have been inherent to the whole project. Burkes gang had just successfully pulled off the Lufthansa airport heist at New Yorks JFK airport, where theyd stolen an estimated $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewels, the largest cash robbery in America at the time. We get home, I open it up, and theres $1,000 in there.. How much his positive life trajectory was propelled by it? Height: 5'11" (180 cm) Weight: 0 lbs (- kg) Position: PG. Drafted #109 in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Jazz. When he finished with his testimony, he made a beeline straight for the restroom. They were so many activities and all this food. Eventually, he became a part of my own family and spent a lot of time over at our house. It was one of the most tremendous feelings Id ever experienced.. Boston College Accused of Point Shaving, was the big headline on the UPI wire. Kuhn acknowledged his role and was the only player convicted. All rights reserved. We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. Do you have a sports website? And, of course, there are betting lines with the pick circled and handwritten box scores with the names of the alleged conspirators highlighted. On the stand during the trial, Rick Kuhns girlfriend, Barbara Reed, with whom he shared an apartment during his senior year at Boston College, testified that she overheard Kuhn and Sweeney discussing the Fordham game, saying that they had to keep the ball away from Cobb because he shot the ball all the time. He acknowledges taking $500, but says he never did anything to fix games. You understand? She helped tutor me, and encouraged me through some rough spots. When he arrived on campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Cobbs internal mantra was, I gotta stay eligible. With those persistent affirmations dancing through his mind, he took his academic responsibilities seriously from day one. It was like a paradise to me, coming from where I came from. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. I had the complete package, said Cobb. He was nave at the time, believing that his exoneration would pave the way for apologies and acknowledgements of his innocence: from the NBA, the federal government and Boston College. It was a meaningful existence, a testament to persistence and the strength of believing in the beauty of ones dreams, that hed worked so diligently to reconstruct from the ashes of juvenile delinquency and poverty. Its something that hes still waiting for, to this day. I dominated all those guys on the playground and they laughed at me when I got cut. (Boston College, photo credit: bostonmagazine.com), Academically, it was a great school and my family could come and see me play, he said. Out of everything that happened, thats one thing that hurts me tremendously, Cobb said. He was adamant that he would take the stand in his own defense, despite his lawyers pleas not to do so. When Ernie began attending school, the areas school system was functionally segregated. So Lavine was fascinated when he found out that Sweeney was one of a handful of Eagles players accusted in connection with a the point-shaving scandal that was making national headlines in 1981. But as it turned out, the trial was simply one chapter of many in his life, and not the defining one. . Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey. He says he believes his experience could serve as a test case for others, to help prevent anything like it from happening in the future. talked to the Nets, their head coach Kevin Loughery called him in and said, You know why I have to let you go, said Alswanger. He ate, drank and slept basketball. There was no getting around that. When he told Alswanger about the indictment, his old high school coach spoke sternly with him, as he'd done sometwelveyears earlier when Cobb had just returned home fromthe juvenile detention facility. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Javascript is required for the selection of a player. It wasnt an absolute disaster but it was a cousin. Cobb was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 6th Round and cut during training camp. Heading into his senior season in 1978-1979, as the team captain, Cobb was hoping that he could lead his team to the NCAA Tournament. Hill flew into Boston, at the behest of Jimmy Burke, late in 1978 to meet with Mazzei, the Perlas, Kuhn and Sweeney at the Logan Airport Hilton and ensure that everything was in place. Its one of several seeming contradictions the gangster-turned-informant offers during the film, right along with this doozy early on: I didnt threaten him or nothin, Hill says in the film, I just said, Its hard to play basketball with a broken arm.. Boston College DL Izaiah Henderson enters Transfer Portal; Most Read Boston College Secures 9th ACC Win Over Wake . He refused to take a plea deal in return for a reduced sentence. Also wondered what became of Ernie Cobb. My family has suffered. Or write about sports? The Boston College coaches practically lived in our gym. I knew that I could play basketball with anybody. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. Select the first team from the drop down menu. At 11:05 a.m., United States District Judge Leonard Wexler completed his instructions to the jury in the Federal Court Building in Brooklyn as Ernie Cobb awaited his judgment. Bob Zuffelato, former BC coach, now at Marshall recruited Cobb. The scheme began with small-time gamblers Rocco and Anthony Perla who devised a plan with the players to deliberately shave points on specific games to win . He insisted on taking a polygraph test, against his attorneys advice, which he passed. After the four-week trial in 1981, Jimmy Burke was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Paul Mazzei and Tony Perla were sentenced to ten. Ernie Cobb was drafted by Utah Jazz, 6th round (1st pick, 109th overall), 1979 NBA Draft. I was lightning quick, could run up and down, go left or right and could score from anywhere on the floor., He was breaking every record you could think of and by his junior year, people were saying, Whoa! A failed minor league baseball player from Pittsburgh turned college basketball player in Boston. . His only response was an indication that the investigation was being continued. Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Weve had serious problems with all of the other kids but we never had a problem with Ernie. For me, it worked.. It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. I got to meet Calvin Murphy after the game because Mr. Alswanger knew him, said Cobb. The Draft Review (with Matthew Maurer) brings you a wealth of NBA draft history through its free resource of extensive statistics, biographies, articles, interviews and this live forum. No one in my family had even graduated from high school. I wanted my name cleared and it took a long time.. Select the players you wish to trade from the rosters below. Old Greenwich was a really rich neighborhood, and theyd have all these beautiful bikes just sitting out there on the lawn. When he returned to the United States, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he became a Special Education teacher and high school basketball coach. Ernie, dont lie to me, Alswanger instructed him. After his junior campaign, where he converted 52% of his shots, an inordinate number for a small perimeter shooter, and averaged 22.8 points per game, he was recognized as one of the most lethal scorers in the country. and I were the victims of the same circumstances that were beyond our control. When the story first broke, it said that Michael Bowie and I were the ones implicated, said Cobb. By my junior year, it was show-time, said Cobb. The phone calls flooded in from his friends and family in Boston and Connecticut, with despaired voices on the other end asking, Did you do this? But that had nothing to do with shaving points., At the time, I was nave, Cobb continued. After he interviewed him, he fell in love with him and told me, Hes innocent. Rocco Perla was sentenced to four and Kuhn was released after 28 months. . The combination thereof led to the downfall of a previously untouchable New York crime boss responsible for multiple murders and the largest cash heist in U.S. history, via cronies in Pittsburgh who ran a point-shaving scheme that paid a few players to keep scores within the spread at Boston College during the 1978-79 college basketball season. But for Bowie, it was too little, too late. Out of all the schools recruiting him, Cobb decided to accept Boston Colleges scholarship offer. He was a murderer and a horrible human being. I really wanted to get to the bottom of it from a personal curiosity [standpoint], and then also knowing that this had to be a great story.. Im going off on the basketball court, scoring like crazy, the gamblers are losing their shirts, and they start talking about, We have to have Cobb. Anybody thats ever seen me play knows that I was only stuck in one gear, and that was super-charged-turbo! We got really close and he looked out for me. Hes a good person. Read more atthe Shadow League. The Boston College case arose out of the Lufthansa investigation. It all seemed like a fairy tale, until he was indicted for allegedly fixing college basketball games for the mob. The main thing was that they were really trying to rehabilitate us and teach us, hoping to turn us around before we became hardened criminals. Per Game Team and Opponent Stats. I felt like, You put my name out there, so let me clear my name! When they investigated me, I told them straight up about the $1,000 that Rocco Perla had given me. Select the fourth team from the drop down menu. I took every single practice and every single game seriously, said Cobb. . The motley crew next ensnared Boston College's leading scorer, Ernie Cobb. So from then on I had a juvenile record. Boston College (1978-79) Conspirators paid Boston College players, mainly Rick Kuhn and Jim Sweeney, to shave points depending on the spread and opponent. Ernie Cobb joined the scheme for the last five games . He was a remarkable man. 27 febrero, 2023 . He traveled throughout the world, getting paid to play the game that he loved. Cobb admitted to accepting $1,000 but wasn't prosecuted. But it wasnt a coincidence that one day, the F.B.I shows up asking me about gambling, and the next day Im no longer with the team. It really was over 10 years that Ive been trying to do this, so I dont know that I can just turn the page on it and go on to something else. I went into the Caldors department store in downtown Stamford when I was about 12 years old and tried to shoplift one, he said. inStamford,Connecticut I was practicing every day and so angry at the coach who cut me, said Cobb. To believe that any of 2023's neo-contenders can become bonafide champs over the next few months is to believe that a once-in-a-quarter-century occurrence is about to transpire. I could see myself coming into my own one day and doing that. He refused to take a plea deal in return for a reduced sentence. My mom raised me to be respectful, so I never talked back or exhibited any violent or aggressive behavior., But I had an overactive imagination and couldnt sit still, he continued. From that point on, I wanted to become the best basketball player that I could possibly be.. And he was all about the team and winning, despite the fact that he was an offensive machine. I was shining at the camp. The highlights of the film are the interviews with the former mobsters, now all well past their primes after serving their time, including the gangster Ray Liotta made famous in Goodfellas -- Henry Hill. Some of it happened almost by accident, and some of it happened after years of determined work. On Friday morning, March 23rd, the jury came back with a unanimous innocent verdict for Ernie Cobb, exonerating him of all charges. Can you name the Top 25 MLB career leaders in singles, doubles, triples and home runs? Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. College: Boston College. I admitted to receiving that money, and spending it. A documentary about the Boston College point-shaving scandal is . He stopped in my office with his bike with the flat tire and borrowed $20 to get it fixed and to get home. He insisted on taking a polygraph test, against his attorneys advice, which he passed. August 31, Rick Kuhn during Boston College men's basketball's 1978-1979 season. 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