Alswanger, my high school coach inspired me to rise above my circumstances, he continued. How much he was indebted to it? These trading cards represent card number 247 in the Topps 1969 baseball card series. Name: Ernie Cobb; Position: Point Guard; Height: 5-11 (1.80m) Weight: 180 (82kg) College Team: Boston College Eagles; Nationality: American; Birthplace: Stamford, Connecticut; Birthdate: 8/31/1956; Drafted: Selected by the Utah Jazz in the sixth round (109th pick overall) of 1979 NBA Draft. But I never agreed to fix any games or shave any points. He jumped in the air, as if soaring for a rebound, as cheers filled the courtroom. us, College: After perhaps his greatest moment during the preseason, when he had that outstanding game against the Celtics right before the regular season tipped off, Cobb was relaxing in his hotel room when he heard a knock at the door. In the summer of 1978, Rocco Perla and his older brother Anthony, back in Pittsburgh, were the ones who initially conceived the point-shaving scheme that would later rock the college basketball world. And after they put my name out there, and after I admitted to taking that $1,000, they didnt have enough evidence to prosecute me. . I just had to be alone, Cobb told the reporters afterwards. The teachers lived in our same community and they had relationships with our parents outside of the school. At that point, I was looking forward to a trial, said Cobb. And he was all about the team and winning, despite the fact that he was an offensive machine. I think it will always be in the back of my mind somewhere. Over one hundred schools tried to recruit the 5-foot-11 marksman, including UCLA and Kentucky. I had a relentless type of game.. Everywhere he went, he had a book with him at all times., I became so focused, said Cobb. Old Greenwich was a really rich neighborhood, and theyd have all these beautiful bikes just sitting out there on the lawn. He was hopeful that hed have another chance to make it in the NBA. So from then on I had a juvenile record. Ernie Cobb, the star of the Boston College basketball team in the 1978-79 season, was found not guilty yesterday of charges that he joined a game- rigging conspiracy to benefit gamblers that season. I didnt think anything of it. Do you have a blog? I hadnt seen Ernie for several years, Jack Hennessey, a psychologist at Boston College that had served as an informal academic advisor during Cobbs days as a student, told the New York Times in April of 1984. We spoke to everybody, whether they ended up in the film or not.. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? And now, here I was on that same floor, pumped sky high, giving my defender buckets! In the 1979 NBA Draft, Magic Johnson was the first overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakersafter leading Michigan State University to the National Championship over Larry Birds Indiana State team. Couldnt they see how grateful he was, that hed never cheat the thing that gave his life such meaning and purpose? ERNEST COBB OBITUARY. After more than a decade spent trying to make Playing with the Mob happen, Lavine is ready to move on to a new project. I knew that I could play basketball with anybody. These Boston College basketball players were way better than being involved with "Goodfella" Henry Hill and his underworld associates. Boston College (1978-79) Conspirators paid Boston College players, mainly Rick Kuhn and Jim Sweeney, to shave points depending on the spread and opponent. ET on ESPN. If the diagnosis was available back then, Im sure they would have found that I had ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He just kept swishing them in, 30 or 35 points, I dont remember., Hill went on to say, And they (Kuhn and Sweeney) were still saying, We got to have Cobb. I realized that and so I passed the word through Tony (Perla), At all costs, talk to him. Next thing I heard Cobb was all set, but it was going to take another $2,500 for his share. He craved to clear his name once and for all. would play a few games each year, Cobb was awash with emotions. On Saturday morning, March 24, 1984, a tiny blurb in newspaper sports sections across the nation read: Ex-basketball star Ernie Cobb was acquitted Friday of taking part in a point-shaving scandal that rocked Boston College in 1978-1979, and tearfully asked for a fair shot to resurrect his chances at a pro career. Rick Kuhn during Boston College men's basketball's 1978-1979 season. But I wasnt sure if I was really up to B.C. who were in it from the beginning, and Ernie Cobb . 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.. He was adamant, that he would take the stand in his own defense, despite his lawyers pleas not to do so. Do you recognize him? And my answer every time was, No! I didnt recognize any of those mobsters because I had never met them. All of Henry Hills and the Perla brothers information was coming from Rick Kuhn, and who knows what he was saying to them to cover his own skin., (Jim Sweeney, Photo Credit: tampabay.com), Kuhn and Sweeney got in over their heads, Cobb continued. Cobb and Sweeney admitted to accepting money, but both deny willingly participating while on the basketball court. He refused to take a plea deal in return for a reduced sentence. And those people had no patience for me. And yeah, I took that money. We werent really checking for B.C. But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. Cobb internalized the subtle looks from his new teachers and administrators, the ones his young mind translated to mean, We dont want you here. He no longer felt encouraged in his new classroom environment, and sensed the sting of judgmental eyes when his hyper personality and wandering mind attracted the attention of adult authority figures. For me, it worked.. No . Boom_70, Aug 31, 2011 #5. mrblake New Member. It was the streets.. In the 1998/99 season he lead the Girls to the top. The thoughts continuously raced through Cobbs mind: how had he arrived here, he wondered, of all places, charged with allegedly conspiring to commit sports bribery while allegedly fixing college basketball games for the Mob? His girlfriend, whom hed met during his first week on campus, was an upperclassman that knew how to navigate the schools academic landscape. The story captures Cobb's fascinating journey beginning with a challenged upbringing and the appearance of an unlikely mentor in Hermy Alswanger, to college basketball fame and then to the unwelcomed notoriety associated with being falsely linked to the Boston College point shaving scandal. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 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. It was a beautiful place, way out there in upstate Connecticut, where they treated us well. 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. I was so frustrated at one point that I got on my bike in Stamford, Connecticut and just started riding. He wasnt a trial lawyer, so he brought in his colleague, David Golub. Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. It all seemed like a fairytale, until he was indicted for allegedly fixing college basketball games for the mob. In a point-shaving scandal that sticks in the memories of many, three Boston College players became embroiled in a betting scheme conceived by gamblers Henry Hill, Rocco and Tony Perla, and Paul Mazzei. It was a tragedy that he never got another chance to play in the NBA., Kevin Loughery never gave me a firm reason why the Nets were letting me go, said Cobb. On Friday morning, March 23rd, the jury came back with a unanimous innocent verdict for Ernie Cobb, exonerating him of all charges. And in that article in Sports Illustrated, Henry Hill says, The word came back that Cobb was enthusiastic. The key phrase there is The word came back. I dont know what Rick Kuhn was telling Henry Hill or the Perla brothers. Kuhn was later convicted and served ten years in prison for the crime. 1956 His sister was going through some struggles. I felt valued, that I mattered and that people cared about me. We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. Cobb had been a prolific shooting guard at Boston College in the late 1970s, a team captain whod etched his name into the schools record books as its third-leading career scorer. Stamford took front and center in the story when it was revealed that Boston College's top scorer, Stamford High School star Ernie Cobb, was among those being investigated. We had a good old time. Boston College Point Shaving. Of course, of course I was upset, but what could I do? As a junior, he averaged 37.6 points per game and was named All-State. (Rick Kuhn, Photo Credit: bostonglobe.com). He was adamant that he would take the stand in his own defense, despite his lawyers pleas not to do so. . Ernie, dont lie to me, Alswanger instructed him. . When he first stepped on the hallowed parquet floor at the legendary Boston Garden, where B.C. The Boston College case arose out of the Lufthansa investigation. 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! I was relishing that moment. A few blocks from Boston College, the place that held so much meaning to him, where hed worked so hard to create his lifes purpose, the symbolism was inescapable when he found that he had a flat tire. Cobb admitted to accepting $1,000 but wasn't prosecuted. City State. The history of Boston College's involvement in illegal activity involving sports travels back to 1954, but the most notorious of the indiscretions was uncovered in 1981. . Stamford (108,056) Ernie Cobb (Boston College basketball), Gary Cobb (NFL, 11 years), Donna Lopiano (Raybestos Brakettes), Dick Mayer (1957 U.S. Open golf champion), Andy Robustelli (Pro Football . The Globe, quoting an unnamed source in New York, said the three games in which point-shaving was alleged were a Feb.3 game against Fordham, a Feb. 6 game against St. Johns and a March 1 game in the ECAC Regional Playoffs against Connecticut. It was there, where a whole new world opened up to him. Until of course, he was caught and arrested for stealing one. Quiz clue: Category (S = Singles, D = Doubles, T = Triples, HR = Home runs) / Hits . They were so many activities and all this food. 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. After a full recruiting cycle, which schools got it right - and wrong - four years ago Please give him a chance. Cobb insisted on having his day in court, of clearing his name. . I admitted to receiving that money, and spending it. That includes Rick Kuhn, the former minor league baseball player who started the scandal and who Sweeney says got him involved in it. I walk in the bathroom, and who was in there but Peter Vario, the big-time mobster that was on trial with Ernie, said Alswanger. erath county rant and rave; springfield, mo jail inmates; essex county hospital center jobs; blanching vs non blanching erythema; star trek next generation cast salaries But my high school coach got his friends to take my case, pro bono. He wanted to tell his side of the story. But that had nothing to do with shaving points., At the time, I was nave, Cobb continued. We may earn a commission from links on this page. The problem was Cobb. Did Uncle Neely Forget Which Side He Plays For? Birthplace/Hometown: Stamford, Connecticut, Height: 5-11 (180cm) Weight: 180 (82kg), Current NBA Status: Unrestricted Free Agent. Id made remarkable strides from being sent to a juvenile detention facility, from not being able to read as a high school freshman, said Cobb. (Boston College, photo credit: bostonmagazine.com), Academically, it was a great school and my family could come and see me play, he said. Ernie Cobbs story, in retrospect, is a modern-day adaptation of a Horatio Alger novel, seemingly lifted straight from the pages of Ragged Dick, where the impoverished boy, through determination, honesty and courage, rises out of despair, toward a life of comfort and respectability. No one in my family had even graduated from high school. His mother, Hattie, worked as a domestic and struggled to provide for her four children. Per Game Team and Opponent Stats Table G MP FG FGA FG% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS; Team: 26: 30.6: 72.3.423: 12.9: 18.4.701: 40.6: 11.1: Shop sales in every category.Uh-oh, overstock: Wayfair put their surplus on sale for up to 50% off. Can you name the Top 25 MLB career leaders in singles, doubles, triples and home runs? A fitness fanatic who augmented his training by swimming and riding his bicycle very long distances, Cobb hopped on his ten-speed shortly after the indictment was announced and began pedaling. Three basketball players at Boston College Jim Sweeney, Ernie Cobb, and Richard Kuhn became entangled with members of the Mafia in a points-shaving scandal during the 1978-79 season. The vast expanses of grass fields allowed him to run free and clear his mind. I took every single practice and every single game seriously, said Cobb. Good morning!ESPN's "Playing for the Mob" has rekindled embarrassing memories for not only Boston College but also The Boston Globe, 35 . I was nervous because I didnt know what was going to happen. UCONN brought in the Governor, judges, you name it., When the letters started coming in, I realized that I had a chance to go to college, said Cobb. Select the players you wish to trade from the rosters below. After the investigation was completed, Cobb was not named as a defendant in the initial trial, U.S. vs Burke, which opened to a circus of media attention on October 27th, 1981. The filmmakers ultimately dont take a side on who did what, instead presenting at times conflicting accounts and letting the audience decide. All rights reserved. He killed people. But I didnt know if Id be able to handle the academics.. I was bored with my schoolwork and became the class clown. I told him, I think were gonna blow them out, we look really good. With Roccos high school buddy Rick Kuhn entering his senior year at Boston College, where he was expected to be a contributor to the schools basketball team, the brothers figured they could make a ton of money. Michael Adams, G, 1981-85 - 1,650 . Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com . I didnt even know what goals were, said Cobb. He was determined to prove that he could do the work, which would enable him to further chase his athletic dreams. They treated me great. Draft: Utah Jazz, 6th round (1st pick, 109th overall), 1979 NBA Draft. I moved on many, many years ago, and I think the worst thing you can do is blame others or even blame yourself because thats kinda like a poison that just stays with you. Using extensive background research as well as interviews with the principal characters, Fixed provides the first in-depth reconstruction of the point-shaving scandal involving the 1978-1979 Boston College basketball team, from the genesis of the plot in the summer of 1978, through the uncovering of the scheme during an unrelated investigation in 1980, to the trial that captivated the sports . Despite never having played organized basketball before, Cobb was moved up to the varsity squad as a freshman. Height: 5'11" (180 cm) Weight: 0 lbs (- kg) Position: PG. Who was involved in the Boston College basketball scandal? Select the third team from the drop down menu. After he interviewed him, he fell in love with him and told me, Hes innocent. When he was implicated in the scandal, I was shocked.. Ron Tompkins is a former major league pitcher who played for the Kansas . Masters Degree in Education. Cobb was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 6th Round and cut during training camp. and I were the victims of the same circumstances that were beyond our control. The scam was born when Jimmy Burke (De Niro's Jimmy Conway in the movie) and Hill recruited Boston College players Rick Kuhn, Jim Sweeney, and Ernie Cobb to manipulate scores to cover point spreads. 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. Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Kuhn, a reserve forward on the 1978-79 Boston College team, and four other men were convicted last November of a plot to manipulate the . Cmon, you can do it. She was a remarkable individual that helped me so much, in terms of establishing the study and work habits that allowed me to be successful in the classroom.. It was a loving, nurturing environment. Experience of 5 years in . Sep 28, 1980 - Ernie Cobb, . I dont know. Bob Zuffelato, former BC coach, now at Marshall recruited Cobb. Hed lost his older brother to drugs. They were comparing him to Calvin Murphy, the great pro, who was similar in stature and who was from Connecticut, said Alswanger. At 11:05 a.m., U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler completed his instructions to the jury in the Federal Court Building in Brooklyn as Ernie Cobb awaited his judgment. It was a meaningful existence, a testament to persistence and the strength of believing in the beauty of ones dreams, which hed worked so diligently to reconstruct from the ashes of juvenile delinquency and poverty. 35, fourth from left), Ernie Cobb (No. Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. College: Boston University (1979) NCAA Season Stats - Per Game. 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! On June 23 rd, 1983, more than four years after he'd played his final game at Boston College, Ernie Cobb was indicted and charged with taking cash bribes to alter the outcomes of games against . Loughery told me that I had the ability to play in the NBA. As a freshman, he played sparingly and averaged 4.5 points per game while the Eagles finished with a disappointing 9-17 overall record. I went to an all-black school where everyone knew each other, said Cobb. They were touting me as the next sub-6-footer to have an impact in the NBA. Some of it happened almost by accident, and some of it happened after years of determined work. The City of M. I called my buddy Frank Melzer, who was an attorney, said Alswanger. He says basketball was Ernie's "vocation and avocation. But well come back to that later. In 1984, he obtained acquittal for Ernie Cobb, a Boston College basketball star, on federal charge of point-shaving in Brooklyn federal court. The game had saved his life, delivered him from peril, from a path leading nowhere, from dysfunction and illiteracy, to an elite college education and a shot at the NBA and a better future. 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