fellow accused BC players Ernie Cobb and Michael Bowie (who were completely vindicated), law . 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 . By my junior year, it was show-time, said Cobb. He loved the foliage, the fresh air and scenery. I told him, I think were gonna blow them out, we look really good. Summaries. Jim Sweeney during Boston College men's basketball's 1978-1979 season. Henry Hill avoided going to prison, and he went off into the sunset of the governments Witness Protection Program, said Alswanger. I was mesmerized.. The teachers lived in our same community and they had relationships with our parents outside of the school. All content 2000-2023 RealGM, L.L.C. We got really close and he looked out for me. 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. We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. August 31, 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. 14, left in first row), and Jim Sweeney (No. Tools and Resources Used by Real General Managers. . If the diagnosis was available back then, Im sure they would have found that I had ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. And he also cultivated interest, in the area's black community, in terms of being engaged and intrigued bywhat was going on with Boston Colleges basketball program. He ate, drank, and slept basketball. . A wake will be held for Dr. Cobb-Stevens on Monday, July 16, from 4-7 p.m. at the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 475 Main . 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. Bob Zuffelato, former BC coach, now at Marshall recruited Cobb. But there was one obstacle that hed have to confront head-on. We werent really checking for B.C. A failed minor league baseball player from Pittsburgh turned college basketball player in Boston. I admitted to receiving that money, and spending it. Drafted #109 in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Jazz. Coach Alswanger, I have a confession to make, Ernie told the man sitting across from him. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram will play outsized roles in how their respective teams close the season. How much he was indebted to it? We found public records for Ernest Cobb. We had a good old time. He was naive at the time, believing that his exoneration would pave the way for apologies and acknowledgments of his innocence: from the NBA, the federal government and Boston College. 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. I was focused in the moment. I didnt think anything of it. I was forthright and honest with them. Profile. age of adaline comet. 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. I dominated all those guys on the playground and they laughed at me when I got cut. The 1968 Topps Baseball Card series includes 598 cards and features multi-player rookie cards. It was one of the most tremendous feelings Id ever experienced.. No . He quickly thrived and was recognized as one of the leagues best players. At around the same age, his parents separated, with his father moving across town. A chance meeting in prison. Ernie Cobb. Studied Special education at Grand Canyon University. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. He craved to clear his name once and for all. Im looking at him play against Clyde Frazier and right then and there, I thought it was a realistic dream for me to make it to 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. Sweeney fessed up to taking $500 under duress and escaped prosecution. The guy called Herm and said, Ernies a good kid and hes going to be coming to your school, said Cobb. There were times when the work got really hard, when I wanted to give up, when I had to stay up all night reading or studying or writing papers, and shed be right there pushing me, telling me, You cant give up! And, of course, there are betting lines with the pick circled and handwritten box scores with the names of the alleged conspirators highlighted. "Fixed" follows the point-shaving scandal of the 1978-79 Boston College basketball team. I was practicing every day and so angry at the coach who cut me, said Cobb. I didnt know what that was all about. He recruited teammates Ernie Cobb and Jim Sweeney into the ring, after becoming connected with ex-convicts Paul Mazzei and Henry Hill. Ernie Cobb joined the scheme for the last five games . 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. His mother was doing her best to put bread on the table. won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. With having to work long hours, her children had a lot of free, unsupervised time on their hands, some of which was not utilized wisely. But by the next summer, in 1980, he sparkled while playing for the New Jersey Nets during the pre-season. He jumped in the air, as if soaring for a rebound, as cheers filled the courtroom. 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. I want to be disassociated from it as well. His sister was going through some struggles. 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. I excelled. ESPN's latest 30 for 30 film tackles the Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. We never starved. won by only two points and I had a lot of losing money down on this game. At that point, I was looking forward to a trial, said Cobb. Or write about sports? All rights reserved. He said, Ernies the only kid who listened, did everything he was supposed to do and never tried to run away. The filmmakers ultimately dont take a side on who did what, instead presenting at times conflicting accounts and letting the audience decide. The campus was so beautiful. I told him, you cant just be great on offense, you gotta play great defense as well.. I just knew that not only was I going to make the team, but I was going to be a factor in the NBA. When he finished with his testimony, he made a beeline straight for the restroom. I feel like if I can change one life, like he changed mine, man, it makes everything Ive been through worthwhile.. Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. These people [in the mob] get glamorized or sensationalized, Sweeney said. Alswanger took Cobb to Madison Square Garden once to see the Knicks play against Calvin Murphy, the scoring dynamo who was considered the best player to ever come out of Connecticut. But the Justice . They had a beautiful campus and it was small enough to where I could function, and yet it was big enough that I could get the exposure I needed to fulfill my dreams.. To this day, both Sweeney and Cobb admit taking money but say they didn't really participate. Kuhn was the only player convicted -- receiving a record 10-year sentence -- and served 28 months in prison. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. We present them here for purely educational purposes. But changing his behaviors did not happen overnight. It devastated me as a youngster. us, College: 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. He eats it up. It was like this whole new world opened up to him and his desire to succeed was unreal. Sep 28, 1980 - Ernie Cobb, . the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. The story: Three Boston College players leading scorer Ernie Cobb, forward Richard Kuhn and Sweeney, the team's point guard were fingered by Hill for participating in the point-shaving scheme. rick kuhn boston college now 19 3407 . I kept me a shiny, new bike.. City State. So, in very basic terms, if B.C. The story: Three Boston College players leading scorer Ernie Cobb, forward Richard Kuhn and Sweeney, the team's point guard were fingered by Hill for participating in the point-shaving scheme. High School: St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) Possessing a powerful combination of size, speed and football intellect, Luke Kuechly "looked like Clark Kent and played like Superman." He amassed the second-most career tackles in the NCAA record books, becoming the most decorated defensive player in Boston College history. His competitive desires were satisfied with all of the recreation activities that were offered. Ernest Constantine Cobb, passed away peacefully on Feb. 27th, after a long and full life. But for many, there is a fierce bitterness that still lingers to this day. Were really happy with it. Cobb insisted on having his day in court, of clearing his name. Learn more and register. Fourteen hours later, I arrived in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.. Golub was a brilliant lawyer, and he told me that hed have to interview Ernie first to see if he was gonna take the case on. Hill brought in his mentor, Jimmy Burke, to finance the operation and set up a network of bookies who could advance the financial potential of the scheme. 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. I dont know if they recognize it, but B.C. At one point Hill curses, apologizes sheepishly to the camera, and then falls right back into his expletive-laden speech. Also wondered what became of Ernie Cobb. "I don't need to atone for anything that happened at Boston College," he says, "and I don't need to ask for anyone's forgiveness. Filled the courtroom was one of the school fellow accused BC players Ernie joined. Did what, instead presenting at times conflicting accounts and letting the decide! 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