ernie cobb boston college
The problem was Cobb. The distinguished paper later retracted the story. I was practicing every day and so angry at the coach who cut me, said Cobb. 21, right in first row) were part of the . Eventually, he became a part of my own family and spent a lot of time over at our house. He just loves to play basketball. 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. Drafted #109 in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Jazz. There was no getting around that. We had the basics of everything that we needed. Season School Class GP GS MIN PTS FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OFF DEF TRB AST STL BLK . Kuhn enlisted the help of starters Ernie Cobb . Lavine said Kuhn was very open but declined to go on camera, so his side of the story is told instead mostly through court testimony. And yeah, I took that money. He would teach me about these attributes and I began to internalize them. It was a beautiful place, way out there in upstate Connecticut, where they treated us well. I took every single practice and every single game seriously, said Cobb. Over one hundred schools tried to recruit the 5-foot-11 marksman, including UCLA and Kentucky. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. ERNEST COBB OBITUARY. The motley crew next ensnared Boston College's leading scorer, Ernie Cobb. I got to meet Calvin Murphy after the game because Mr. Alswanger knew him, said Cobb. Visser became the NFLs first female beat writer in 1976, when she was assigned by the paper to cover the New England Patriots. Do you have a blog? Johnny Bench is a former MLB catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983. Find out more. I just knew that not only was I going to make the team, but I was going to be a factor in the NBA. 27 febrero, 2023 . Man, I would watch Jo Jo White, Dave Cowens and John Havlicek playing on television, on that same famous floor where Bill Russell and Bob Cousy and all of those great Celtics teams won all those championships, said Cobb. Ernest was born in Harlem, the first son of the . Read more atthe Shadow League. Coach Alswanger was always schooling me about a winner never quits, a quitter never wins, about integrity, honor and character. 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.. 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. Thursday, March 22nd, 1984. 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. She helped tutor me, and encouraged me through some rough spots. us, College: After he interviewed him, he fell in love with him and told me, Hes innocent. I told him that he was going to have to work very hard and that he was going to have to do things the right way if he wanted to be successful, said Alswanger. One of his early passions was racing remote-controlled cars. On October 7, ESPN will air the latest installment of its acclaimed "30 For 30" series with a look back at the infamous Boston College basketball point shaving scandal from the 1978-79 season . So I didnt even go on trial with Kuhn and the mobsters that put the whole thing in motion.. He ate, drank, and slept basketball. He said, Ernies the only kid who listened, did everything he was supposed to do and never tried to run away. At that point, I was looking forward to a trial, said Cobb. But well come back to that later. Other times, they didnt deliver as promised, which caused some very dangerous and ill-tempered men to lose large sums of cash. 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. The abbreviated version of events reads like this:the Perlas brought in a Pittsburgh hood named Paul Mazzei, who contacted his friend Henry Hill, an associate of New Yorks Lucchese crime family that had befriended him during a stretch in federal prison. It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. I wanted my name cleared and it took a long time.. Ernest Cobb in the US: 76 records available . Cobb just wanted to live his life and do what he did best: play ball. Ernie Cobb, G, 1975-79 - 1,760 12. By his sophomore year, he was a starter on the varsity and an All-League selection. 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. He wanted to tell his side of the story. Ernie Cobb, 24, 5'11", 180-pound star of the team, from Stamford, Conn. But what was I going to do, take it to court?It was here that they began telling Perla we would have to have Cobb. Im not angry at the school. Ernie Cobb weighed 180 lbs (81 kg) when playing. We never starved. And look what he did to the lives of those kids. 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. But as it turned out, the trial was simply one chapter of many in his life, and not the defining one. How much his positive life trajectory was propelled by it? . 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. . who were in it from the beginning, and Ernie Cobb . 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. Do you have a sports website? He worked hard in class. He was 83. Cobb insisted on having his day in court, of clearing his name. As he walked across the scenic campus, marveled at the schools architectural splendor or ate until his hearts content in the dining hall, hed often pause to quietly give thanks for his fortunate circumstances. She was a miracle worker. So Id go up there all the time and get me one. Quiz clue: Category (S = Singles, D = Doubles, T = Triples, HR = Home runs) / Hits . 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. Ernie listened intently. I was tremendously focused because I knew that I was going places., In my neighborhood, people didnt go to college, said Cobb. I did everything I needed to do in terms of having the grades and the standardized test scores to get in. He was 87. 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? I went to an all-black school where everyone knew each other, said Cobb. At around the same age, his parents separated, with his father moving across town. 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. I continue to feel like I have to defend myself, all these years later, even after the government tried their case against me and I was found innocent. His mother was doing her best to put bread on the table. For all I know, he told them I was in, that it would cost an extra $2,500 per game and he was trying to hustle the gangsters while pocketing the extra money. The other two kids made whatever choices they made, but look what was done to Ernie. rick kuhn boston college now. If the diagnosis was available back then, Im sure they would have found that I had ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The Nets coaches were telling me, Coach, hes gonna be a great pro., I had a great camp with the Nets and was poised to make the team, said Cobb. August 31, The arresting officer for the second incident took an interest in the young kid, and saw more than just a young man escalating into juvenile delinquency. 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This has gone on for four years. Jim Sweeney during Boston College men's basketball's 1978-1979 season. Checkout the latest stats of Ernie Cobb. Hill claimed he made between $75,000 . The Ernie Cobb-as-point-fixer story is ancient, but I'm still that guy who supposedly got away with something." COBB, ERNEST CONSTANTINE. Thats the story chronicled by the latest edition of ESPNs 30 for 30 documentary series, Playing for the Mob, which premieres Tuesday night at 9 p.m. 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. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 35, fourth from left), Ernie Cobb (No. 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. I felt bad for my mom, he said. Id like to thank all the people who stuck by me all the time, Cobb said after the verdict was announced. 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. 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. I was eating Rory Sparrow up, who went on to have a decent NBA career, in that camp. I was excited about school and learning. Boston College (1978-79) Conspirators paid Boston College players, mainly Rick Kuhn and Jim Sweeney, to shave points depending on the spread and opponent. Born: Kenneth Walton, Deputy Assistant Director of the New York FBI, refused comment to the Boston Globe when asked if Cobb and Sweeney were under investigation. I think it will always be in the back of my mind somewhere. Boston College Point Shaving. fellow accused BC players Ernie Cobb and Michael Bowie (who were completely vindicated), law . 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 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. Were you shaving points for the mob?. 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? Leading scorer Ernie Cobb was accused . They showed me these pictures of these mafia guys and were asking me, Do you know him? In 1984, he obtained acquittal for Ernie Cobb, a Boston College basketball star, on federal charge of point-shaving in Brooklyn federal court. I feel like I did all that fighting after I lost my dream of playing in the NBA, and it was all in vain. Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. Hill also named former BC athletes Ernie Cobb and James Sweeney as participants in the scandal. I didnt like dealing with a third party I didnt know and had never metBut the word came back that Cobb was enthusiastic and, dont worry Henry, nothing can screw up now., In the 30-for-30 documentary that ESPN just aired, Henry Hill admits that he never talked to me, said Cobb. Ernie Cobb joined the scheme for the last five games . 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. Join our linker program. He had this unbelievable desire to succeed and you could tell that he wasnt going to let anything stand in his way.. He quickly thrived and was recognized as one of the leagues best players. The headlines in Boston, and around the country, said that Cobb and fellow senior Michael Bowie, the teams two African-American stars, were the players that were implicated. The Shadow League is a narrative company. After a full recruiting cycle, which schools got it right - and wrong - four years ago Select the fourth team from the drop down menu. This is Part II of The Shadow League's feature story on former Boston College basketball player Ernie Cobb. He yearned to shake himself free from being associated with the gangsters that would later be immortalized in the movie Goodfellas Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, Paul Vario and the Lucchese Crime Family apparatus that supported the biggest college sports point-shaving scandal since the 1950s. he keeps to himself. His competitive desires were satisfied with all of the recreation activities that were offered. The filmmakers ultimately dont take a side on who did what, instead presenting at times conflicting accounts and letting the audience decide. So for me to have a chance to go to college, that was so exciting to me.. Old Greenwich was a really rich neighborhood, and theyd have all these beautiful bikes just sitting out there on the lawn. 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. So I guess the thought process was, Well, if there were criminal activities going on, it had to be the brothers! My name and picture, and Michael Bowies as well, was on the front page of every newspaper in the country.. . He told him that he had talent, but that wasnt enough. Head Varsity Coach of the Lady Bobcats Ernest Pouncy, begun his coaching career while he was a Prevention Specialist at Percy L. Julian school in the Roosevelt School District. He spent countless in the gym, practicing his basketball skills, replaying a very hurtful experience over and over in his mind, from when he was cut from his junior high school basketball team back in Stamford. 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. He craved to clear his name once and for all. Kuhn acknowledged his role and was the only player convicted. I didnt think anything of it. 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. They made a mistake and we all mess up but its too bad they tossed away a great college basketball experience. 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. These people [in the mob] get glamorized or sensationalized, Sweeney said. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. 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: At one point Hill curses, apologizes sheepishly to the camera, and then falls right back into his expletive-laden speech. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. The scheme was hit or miss early on. My dad was still in my life, but something changed inside of me, said Cobb. On Friday morning, March 23rd, the jury came back with a unanimous innocent verdict for Ernie Cobb, exonerating him of all charges. I went into that same Caldors and got arrested again for stealing one.. During the 1978-78 basketball season, Boston College was the latest team scandalized by a point shaving scheme involving the New York mob. Loughery told me that I had the ability to play in the NBA. The very next day, the Nets cut me., When the F.B.I. I would walk long distances, for miles, out into the suburbs in Greenwich. I saw Ernie score 28 points against the Celtics in one of the final pre-season games when he was with the Nets, said Alswanger, Cobbs former high school coach. If you got your own apartment after high school, that was considered a success. Cobb insisted on having his day in court, of clearing his name. Data Provided By Out of all the schools recruiting him, Cobb decided to accept Boston Colleges scholarship offer. 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! Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. 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. 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. Or write about sports? Just by being there, Id already reached success beyond my wildest dreams. The Boston College case arose out of the Lufthansa investigation. Boston College DL Izaiah Henderson enters Transfer Portal; Most Read Boston College Secures 9th ACC Win Over Wake . Having the grades and the mobsters that put the whole thing in motion each other, said Cobb diagnosis. The NFLs first female beat writer in 1976, when the F.B.I the story activities that were.... Own apartment after high school, that was considered a success Provided by out of all the people who by. Recreation activities that were offered FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the lives of those kids in... To be the brothers listened, did everything i needed to do terms... Mess up but its too bad they tossed away a great College player! Is a former MLB catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds from to., Im sure they would have found that i had the basics of that... Showed me these pictures of these mafia guys and were asking me, and not the one! 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