The Boston Globe story was initially investigated and written by a young Boston College alumnus named Leslie Visser, who would go on to become a very accomplished, groundbreaking journalist and role model for women who aspired to work in the field of sports media. Perla and Kuhn had gone to high school together and were good friends. When Ernie began attending school, the areas school system was functionally segregated. Weight: 238. His sister was going through some struggles. I think it tells a great story, I think the story is told in an entertaining fashion, he said. I didnt know what that was all about. 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.. Cobbs older siblings began having brushes with the law. 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. At one point Hill curses, apologizes sheepishly to the camera, and then falls right back into his expletive-laden speech. Rocco Perla was sentenced to four and Kuhn was released after 28 months. Rocco comes up to me and says, Hey, sometimes I bet on games and I wanna know how you think you guys are gonna do against Stonehill and Bentley? said Cobb. He had all of this ability, and he worked so hard, said Alswanger. Lavine was able to get Sweeney, Hill, before he died, Ernie Cobb, Boston College's leading scorer that season, Michael Bowie, another player on the team, and others from the FBI agent on the case . His only response was an indication that the investigation was being continued. Meridan had all this space and all these green fields where you could just run, said Cobb. For me, it worked.. fellow accused BC players Ernie Cobb and Michael Bowie (who were completely vindicated), law . Couldnt they see how grateful he was, that hed never cheat the thing that gave his life such meaning and purpose? The first goals that Alswanger stressed revolved around academics. 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 . Obviously, the huge message is dont get involved with point-shaving, Lavine said with a laugh. The Shadow League is a narrative company. Profile. But for many, there is a fierce bitterness that still lingers to this day. He wasnt a trial lawyer, so he brought in his colleague, David Golub. October 11th, 2021 , 09:01. Summaries. Join our linker program. But I was still worried. Some 36 years later, there doesn't seem to be a lot of love lost between key characters Rick Kuhn, Ernie Cobb, and Jim Sweeney, the trio of Eagles allegedly paid to keep scores as close as they . The 1978-79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal involved a scheme in which members of the American Mafia recruited and bribed several . I got to know him really well. We had the basics of everything that we needed. It's also available for football, hockey and baseball. But by the next summer, in 1980, he sparkled while playing for the New Jersey Nets during the pre-season. I was so thankful, and was willing to work as hard as I possibly could, both in my studies, and in basketball, to be able to get the most I could out of the experience.. 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. 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. I cant read., When he told me that, we immediately got him a tutor, said Alswanger. ET on ESPN. He tried to subsist as a substitute teacher, and even caddied at the Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, the affluent suburbs where hed previously been arrested for stealing bikes as a kid. The Shadow League is a narrative company. Select the third team from the drop down menu. They mentioned the $1,000 that Rocco Perla gave my girlfriend and I told them the truth. 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. Ernest Cobb in the US: 76 records available . He was 87. He sold copy machines and paved driveways for an asphalt company, which was ironically the same job his father found when hed relocated from North Carolina to Connecticut some twenty years earlier. "Fixed" follows the point-shaving scandal of the 1978-79 Boston College basketball team. College: Boston College. 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 traveled throughout the world, getting paid to play the game that he loved. 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! Couldnt people see how much he loved the game? Many long-time fans are now familiar with the Boston College basketball point shaving scandal, where the Mafia, led by wiseguy Henry Hill, recruited and bribed several members of the 1978-79 . like that until he got there. Sweeney said he decided to cooperate with Lavine and co-director Cayman Grant because he believed they would treat the subject fairly. Also involved were bookmakers across the . Born: Its something that hes still waiting for, to this day. Until of course, he was caught and arrested for stealing one. 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. Henry Hill told prosecutors BC forward Rick Kuhn, shooting guard Ernie Cobb and point guard Jim Sweeney accepted money to purposely keep games closer than they may have otherwise been. I was like, Yeah, whatever. Sure enough, a few weeks later, he hands my girlfriend an envelope. There were a lot of rich kids who went to Boston College. One of his early passions was racing remote-controlled cars. Sign up to receive The Shadow League Newsletter in your inbox. And, of course, there are betting lines with the pick circled and handwritten box scores with the names of the alleged conspirators highlighted. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. Everything Id worked so hard for was coming to fruition.. Ernie listened intently. He recently earned his Masters Degree in Education and is currently considering pursuing a Ph.D. I feel like Ive led a remarkable life, he said. He was a murderer and a horrible human being. He saw that I was heading in the wrong direction and tried to mentor me.. 1978, and March 1, 1979. 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 . Career Length: Rookie More bio, uniform, draft, salary info. It was all so positive.. But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. us, College: Rick Kuhn during Boston College men's basketball's 1978-1979 season. The other two kids made whatever choices they made, but look what was done to Ernie. 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. The filmmakers ultimately dont take a side on who did what, instead presenting at times conflicting accounts and letting the audience decide. My parents have suffered. 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. Boston College Point Shaving. There was no getting around that. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey. If you missed Part I, you can read it here. The scheme was hit or miss early on. From that day on, I became very studious.. 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. I told him, I think were gonna blow them out, we look really good. was favored to win a game by ten points, Kuhn had to make sure, if the game was in play with the mobsters and the bookies, that they won by less than ten in order for the gamblers to make money. won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. When he returned to the United States, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he became a Special Education teacher and high school basketball coach. Good morning!ESPN's "Playing for the Mob" has rekindled embarrassing memories for not only Boston College but also The Boston Globe, 35 . We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. 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. He was 83. 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. They were so many activities and all this food. Hill also named former BC athletes Ernie Cobb and James Sweeney as participants in the scandal. Man, I was really into bikes, Cobb said. 11. would play a few games each year, Cobb was awash with emotions. Hill won six games, but didn't begin to win wagers until Boston College's star Ernie Cobb joined the scheme for the last five games. The Boston College case arose out of the Lufthansa investigation. Ernie Cobb weighed 180 lbs (81 kg) when playing. Select the players you wish to trade from the rosters below. The 1968 Topps Baseball Card series includes 598 cards and features multi-player rookie cards. NCAA. Ernie Cobb was drafted by Utah Jazz, 6th round (1st pick, 109th overall), 1979 NBA Draft. Select the first team from the drop down menu. Kuhn, 28, was . But Ill always be curious about certain things that went on.. When he finished with his testimony, he made a beeline straight for the restroom. Boston College, Draft: It was the first time he saw the game as something that could improve his life, something that could take him places. 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. Bowies reputation was immediately sullied and he subsequently lost his job playing pro ball in Europe when the story broke. I went to an all-black school where everyone knew each other, said Cobb. Thursday, March 22nd, 1984. NEW YORK -- Former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn, jailed for his 1981 conviction in a point-shaving scandal, has asked for a reduction of his 10-year prison sentence. We got really close and he looked out for me. 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