In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without the intention of changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a published point spread, where gamblers bet on the margin of victory. The practice of shaving points is illegal in some countries, and stiff penalties are imposed for those caught and convicted, including jail time.
Richard "Dick" John Vitale, also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster for ESPN. He is known for catchphrases such as "This is awesome, baby!" and "diaper dandy", as well as his enthusiastic and colorful remarks during games. He has also written fourteen books and appeared in several films.
James Burke, also known as "Jimmy the Gent", was an American gangster and Lucchese crime family associate who is believed to have organized the 1978 Lufthansa heist, the largest cash robbery in American history at the time. He was believed to be responsible for the deaths of those involved in the months after the robbery.
Cornelius Lance "Connie" Hawkins was an American professional basketball player. A New York City playground legend, "the Hawk" was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Nat Holman was an American professional basketball player and college coach. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is the only coach to lead his team to NCAA and National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championships in the same season.
Lesley Candace Visser is an American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Figure Skating Championships and the U.S. Open network broadcasts. Visser, who was voted the No. 1 Female Sportscaster of all time in a poll taken by the American Sportscasters Association, was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Hall of Fame in 2015 and the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
Ralph Milton Beard Jr. was an American collegiate and professional basketball player. He won two NCAA national basketball championships at the University of Kentucky and played two years in the National Basketball Association prior to being barred for life for his participation in the 1951 point shaving scandal.
The Boston College Eagles are a Division I college basketball program that represents Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. The team has competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since 2005, having previously played in the Big East. The Eagles have appeared in 18 NCAA Tournaments in their history, most recently in 2009. Home games have been played at the Conte Forum since 1988. The Eagles are currently coached by Earl Grant.
Eugene "Squeaky" Melchiorre was an American basketball player. A point guard, he was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets and was the first overall pick in the 1951 NBA draft. Melchiorre never played an NBA game due to his lifetime ban from the league for point shaving when he was a college player.
The 1978–79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal involved a scheme in which members of the American Mafia recruited and bribed several Boston College Eagles men's basketball players to ensure the team would not win by the required margin or win by the required margin, allowing gamblers in the know to place wagers against that team and win.
City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal is a 1998 American documentary film about the City College of New York basketball point-shaving scandal. It was produced by George Roy and Steven Hilliard Stern. It was made for HBO.
William Edwin Spivey was an American basketball player. A 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) center, he played college basketball for the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Kentucky Wildcats from 1949 to 1951. After his high school career, Spivey was recruited by the University of Kentucky. During his time with the Wildcats, he led the team to the 1951 NCAA tournament championship. When a point shaving scandal was revealed that year, Spivey was accused of being involved, which he denied. He left the Wildcats in December 1951, and the university banned him from the squad in March 1952.
The 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team represented the City College of New York. The head coach was Nat Holman, who was one of the game's greatest innovators and playmakers. Unlike today, when colleges recruit players from all over the country, the 1949–50 CCNY team was composed of "kids from the sidewalks of New York City," who had been recruited by Holman's assistant coach Harold "Bobby" Sand from Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) schools such as Taft, Clinton, Boys, Erasmus, and Franklin High Schools.
Dale Barnstable was an American basketball player from Antioch, Illinois who was banned for life from the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1951 for point shaving during his college career at the University of Kentucky.
Walter E. Hirsch was an American college basketball player. He is known for winning three NCAA championships at the University of Kentucky, and for being a central figure in the point shaving scandal that impacted American college basketball in the 1950s.
The 1978–79 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team represented Boston College during the 1978–79 NCAA men's basketball season.
Julian Newman is an American basketball player who graduated from Prodigy Prep in Orlando, Florida in 2020 and currently plays at Bethesda University. He stands 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) and plays the point guard position.
Paul B. Mott, III is an American retired professional soccer player, as well as a sports consultant and former professional sports executive.
The 1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1950, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1951 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1951, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Kentucky Wildcats won their third NCAA national championship with a 68–58 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats.
