A Brief History
On August 3, 1921, the Commissioner of Baseball, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, reaffirmed the ban from baseball of the 8 players involved in the “Black Sox” scandal, even though they had just been acquitted in criminal court. Accused of throwing the 1919 World Series, the group included the immortal Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the game’s most popular players. The world of sports has since been beset by scandals over the years. Here we list 10 of the most famous and most interesting cases. Which cases would you include in this list? Do we need a sequel? (Hint: Yes, we do!) See our follow on article, “9 + 1 More Sports Scandals.”
Digging Deeper
10. Tiger Woods, Sex Addict, 2009.
Golf fans found out their hero had marital problems when he crashed his car after being beaten and pursued by his golf club swinging wife. It was revealed Tiger had been a “tiger” in bed, consorting with at least a dozen mistresses, which ultimately resulted in his divorce.
9. Len Bias, Cocaine Overdose, 1986.
Bias, the number 2 overall pick chosen by the Boston Celtics in the NBA draft, died 2 days later from a heart attack brought on by a cocaine overdose. The Celtics demanded a replacement pick, but it was too late for them as well as for Bias. Bias is considered by some as one of the best players to not play in the NBA.
8. Fritz Petersen & Mike Kekich, Wife Swap, 1973.
These two left-handed Yankees pitchers were at first good friends. It later turned out each was having an affair with the other’s wife. Both couples divorced and not only did the pitchers switch wives, but kids, too. Not surprisingly, the Yankees decided that it would be a bad idea to keep them on the same team.
7. Barry Bonds, Steroids & Perjury, 2003.
Bonds, baseball’s career and single season home run record holder, was widely believed to have been one of baseball’s worst offenders of using performance enhancing drugs. Later in his career, his physical appearance changed so much that it was noticeable from a distance. His head grew, his feet grew, and his weight piled on with bulging muscles. The player who had never hit 40 home runs in a season managed to slug 72, and to eventually surpass Hank Aaron’s cherished 755 career homers. Embroiled in the steroid controversy that saw his trainer convicted of pushing steroids, Bonds was eventually convicted of perjury, a felony, in 2011. Despite his on-the-field accomplishments, Bonds has been denied a place in the Hall of Fame.
6. Mike Tyson, Rape, 1992.
“Iron Mike” ruled boxing’s heavyweight division at the time of his trial and conviction for rape in 1992. Three years in prison took an enormous chunk out of the middle of his career, and when he returned to the ring he was no longer the dominating force he had once been, although he did win his title back against less than stellar opponents. In 1997 his career took another bizarre turn when he bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a match. Incredibly, this convicted rapist and ear biter is currently a celebrity accepted by other celebrities and the public, perhaps his greatest victory of all.
5. O.J. Simpson, Murder, 1994.
The former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL record setter, Simpson had become a popular actor by the time his ex-wife and her friend were brutally murdered, their throats being cut. Suspicion immediately focused on O.J., and there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt. After the infamous white Bronco chase on national television, Simpson was tried and eventually acquitted of murder in what many call the trial of the century. Simpson later lost a lawsuit that found him responsible for the murders, and in 2008 was convicted for kidnapping and armed robbery when he attempted to get some of his memorabilia back at gunpoint. His sentence is 33 years, with a minimum of having to serve 9 years before he is considered for parole. (Note: Simpson was released from prison on parole on October 1, 2017.)
4. Jim Thorpe, Olympic Amateur Status, 1912.
Considered the greatest athlete in the world in his time, Thorpe won the Olympic Gold Medals in the Pentathlon and Decathlon in the 1912 Olympics, a feat never accomplished by anyone else. He was stripped of his medals and status as Olympic champion in 1913 when it was discovered he had played two low paying seasons ($2 per game, a max of $35 per week) as a semi-pro baseball player. This punishment was done despite existing rules specifying that any protests regarding an athlete’s amateur status had to come within 30 days of the close of the Olympics, and his case came a year later. Obviously, the rules were disregarded and/or stretched.
3. Lance Armstrong, Performance Enhancing, 2012.
After winning an incredible 7 consecutive Tour de France bicycle races (1999-2005), rumors of performance-enhancing drug use dogged Armstrong who adamantly denied it. In 2012, the rumors became a cacophony, and finally, in January of 2013, facing overwhelming evidence and the testimony of his teammates, he admitted what skeptics had believed all along, that he was a cheater. Substances used by Armstrong included cortisone, EPO, testosterone, steroids, and Human Growth Hormone. Other allegations included sleeping in an oxygen tent and “blood doping” to pack his blood with extra red blood cells.
2. Pete Rose, Gambling, 1989.
After vehement denials, Rose finally admitted to betting on major league baseball games, earning him a lifetime ban from the game. Despite being major league baseball’s all time hits leader, Rose is not in the Hall of Fame and probably will not be as long as he is alive. His refusal to admit that he had bet on Reds’ games was a major point of contention with the Commissioner.
1. Black Sox Scandal, World Series Fixing, 1919.
Incensed over the fact that the penny pinching owner of the Chicago White Sox was paying his players sub-standard salaries, the players revolted by agreeing to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. At first, Joe Jackson, their major star, confessed guilt, but he later recanted. Although the eight players tried for fixing the Series were acquitted, they were still banned from baseball for life. Some sports fans still debate whether or not Jackson was truly guilty. Say it ain’t so, Joe!
Question for students (and subscribers): What other scandals would you add to the list? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please read…
Kalb, Elliott and Mark Weinstein. The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time: Ranking Sports’ Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups, and Scandals. Skyhorse, 2009.
The featured image in this article, a cartoon ran by various newspapers in 1920 after the breaking of the Black Sox Scandal (as stated by the source), is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1924.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube.
