Bill Spivey
Encyclopedia
William "Bill" Spivey was an American basketball
player. A 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 to the University of Kentucky
. During his time with the Wildcats, he led the team to the 1951 NCAA Tournament
championship, and was voted Most Outstanding Player
of the event. 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.
After he testified before a grand jury in New York, he was indicted on perjury charges. Although Spivey was not convicted when the case went to trial in 1953, he was prevented from competing in the National Basketball Association
(NBA) afterward. Spivey instead played professionally for various minor league teams. In 10 Eastern Basketball League
(EBL) seasons, his teams won three championships. Spivey retired in 1968 and became a businessman, working in sales and operating restaurants. Upset by the accusations against him in the early 1950s, he was reclusive in his final years.
, and had moved to Columbus, Georgia
, by 1944, at which time he was . After taking up basketball, he played for his high school's team and had 18 points in his first half of game action. The following year, he moved to Warner Robins, Georgia
, which did not have a basketball team before he arrived. The principal of Warner Robins' high school created a team, however, once Spivey came. During one of his high school seasons, he was forced to play without shoes—since none of the school's shoes fit him—and wear three pairs of socks. Spivey had over 1,800 points in his three-year high school career.
in 1948. The University of Kentucky first became aware of Spivey when a Georgia newspaper publisher phoned Fred Wachs, whom writer Earl Cox called "the most powerful man in Lexington
"; according to Cox, Wachs "ran the University of Kentucky". After hearing of Spivey from the publisher, who indicated a desire to have him attend the university, Wachs notified Kentucky's men's basketball coach, Adolph Rupp
, who elected to have a scout watch Spivey play. Following positive feedback from the scout, Rupp gave Spivey an invitation to a camp held at Alumni Gymnasium
, where he would try out against other leading high school seniors. He received a scholarship on the camp's first day, one of two players to do so.
in 1949
. The two teams practiced against each other, and varsity team member Ralph Beard
later said that Spivey outplayed the Wildcats' All-American
center, Alex Groza
. The U.S. Olympic team
, which had six Wildcats players on it, practiced in Lexington, and Spivey gained knowledge and skills from team members Groza, Vince Boryla
and Bob Kurland
. Spivey also competed in games against other freshman teams, including one against Xavier
in which he posted 31 points. In 15 games, he averaged about 20 points per game.
In the 1949–50 season, the Wildcats lost several of the leading players from their championship-winning teams to graduation, including Beard and Groza. In response, Rupp made Spivey the focal point of the team, and the team exceeded expectations. In a February 18, 1950 game against Georgia Tech
, which the Wildcats won 97–62, Spivey broke the team record for points in a game with 40, two more than Groza scored in a game the previous season. That record has since been broken, but his 42 field goal attempts
remain a school record as of 2010. Spivey tied another of Groza's point-scoring records on March 5 with a 37-point performance in a Southeastern Conference
(SEC) Men's Basketball Tournament
game. Kentucky won over Tennessee 95–58 to win the SEC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season. Kentucky ended the regular season with a 25–4 record, and Spivey averaged 19.4 points a game. Despite the Wildcats' record and SEC title, the NCAA Tournament selection committee did not give the team a berth in the 1950 tournament
. Kentucky did gain a berth to the National Invitation Tournament
, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by City College of New York
(CCNY), 89–50. In that game, Spivey was forced to the bench for the final nine minutes of the first half after accumulating four personal fouls. At the end of the season, Spivey was named to the All-SEC team.
. As of 2010, he remains tied for the team record with Bob Burrow
, who had the same number of rebounds in a 1955 game. For the season, Spivey again averaged more than 19 points per game, and he added 17.2 rebounds per game. His point total led the SEC, and his 479 regular season points were the third-most in league history at the time. The Wildcats had a 28–2 record during the regular season, and entered the postseason as the top-ranked team in the country. One of those losses came in the SEC Tournament against Vanderbilt
, but it did not affect the team's prospects for an NCAA Tournament berth because the SEC had decided to send its regular season champion to the newly expanded 16-team tournament. Kentucky advanced to the Tournament's Final Four
, where Spivey had 28 points and 16 rebounds in a 76–74 win over Illinois
. The Wildcats then faced Kansas State
in the NCAA championship game. Despite falling behind early in the contest, they took the lead in the second half and pulled away to win 68–58. Spivey played an important role in the victory, scoring 22 points and pulling down 21 rebounds. Rupp said after the game that "Spivey made the difference after he went to work." For his performance in the Final Four, Spivey was named the event's Most Outstanding Player. He was later selected to the 1951 All-American team
, as well as the All-SEC team for the second straight season.
was revealed in 1951. A series of college basketball players had conspired with gamblers to shave points
to ensure that their teams lost against the point spread. According to Manhattan District Attorney
Frank Hogan
, 32 players were involved in point shaving or match fixing
, and 86 games were affected. That figure included three ex-Kentucky players: Dale Barnstable, Beard, and Groza, who engaged in point shaving during a 1949 National Invitation Tournament
game. Having been sidelined in the early part of the 1951–52 season
after knee surgery, Spivey gave up his eligibility to play for the Wildcats on December 24, 1951. He denied rumors that he was involved in the scandal, calling them "false and malicious".
Spivey intended to return to the Wildcats once the situation was resolved, which Kentucky's athletic association expected before reinstatement. On February 16, 1952, he and the association's directors agreed to have him testify before a grand jury
in New York. After Spivey's grand jury appearance later in February, however, the university banned him permanently on March 2. In its statement, Kentucky's athletic board said evidence pointed to him fixing games during the 1950 Sugar Bowl Tournament. Gambler Jack West was charged with bribing two Wildcats players, Spivey and Walt Hirsch, to engage in point shaving during one of the tournament's games, and eventually pleaded guilty. In his grand jury testimony, Spivey denied receiving $1,000 to shave points in games from December 1950 to January 1951, or talking about doing so with gamblers. In April, the grand jury indicted him on charges of perjury for lying under oath during his testimony, claiming he had done so on seven occasions.
caused a mistrial. The grand jury eventually dropped the charges against Spivey.
prevented him from signing with any of the league's teams. Claiming that he had been blacklist
ed, Spivey filed a lawsuit against the NBA and Podoloff in 1960, seeking more than $800,000 in damages. He stated that he received $10,000 as part of a settlement. Future Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall
said that "most people feel [Spivey] would have been one of the top five centers of all-time had he had the chance to mature in the NBA." Instead, Spivey spent his professional career playing for numerous minor league and barnstorming
teams.
In October 1952, Spivey played in two games for the American Basketball League's Elmira Colonels
, scoring 21 and 32 points in the contests. That season, he also was a member of the Detroit Vagabonds barnstorming team. For the next three seasons, he spent time with three teams connected to the Harlem Globetrotters
exhibition team: the Boston Whirlwinds, the House of David, and the Washington Generals
. In one game with the Whirlwinds, Spivey got into a fight with Globetrotters player Bobby "Showboat" Hall. For the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons, Spivey played for another barnstorming team, the New York Olympians, later renamed the Kentucky Colonels.
Beginning with the 1957–58 season, Spivey spent 10 of his remaining 12 professional seasons in the EBL. The first two of those EBL seasons were spent with the Wilkes-Barre Barons
, and Spivey led the team to consecutive league championships. On April 20, 1958, he scored 62 points in the title-clinching game against the Easton Madisons, setting an EBL playoff record. In 1958–59, he became the first player in league history with a 1,000-point season, and had 64 points in a March 1959 game. Spivey moved to the Baltimore Bullets for the 1959–60 season, and played two seasons for the club. In Spivey's first season with the Bullets, he had 36.3 points per game, the highest average of his EBL career. The Bullets won the league championship in 1960–61, after which Spivey played two seasons in a different American Basketball League, with the Los Angeles Jets
and Long Beach–Hawaii Chiefs
.
Spivey returned to the EBL in 1963 to join the Scranton Miners, for whom he played five seasons. His highest scoring average for the Miners came in the 1964–65 season, when he had 27.0 points per game. In 1967–68, his final professional season, Spivey went back to the Barons. Playing for about $200 in salary per contest, he had 10.4 points per game. On February 11, 1968, Spivey participated in his final professional game. Taking advantage of a loophole in the NBA's rules, he took part in an all-star game in Baltimore featuring former Baltimore Bullets
players before a Bullets – San Diego Rockets
game. Spivey led both teams by scoring 12 points, but his team lost by one point. One day later he retired, saying "It really meant something for me to finish off my career with a game like that."
for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
in 1983 as a Democrat
, but came last in the seven-person race.
Spivey made his final public appearance in 1991, at a reunion of the 1951 Kentucky Wildcats team in Lexington. Writer Greg Doyel says that "he was a recluse" at the time. According to his wife, Audrey Spivey, "He never got over [his accusation in the 1951 college basketball scandal]. Bill could not let that go. He was just devastated." Then living in Daytona Beach, Florida
, he was later hurt in an automobile accident, which aggravated a lower-back injury. Spivey's son, Cashton, said that "He never made a full recovery from that. It affected his posture, and he had chronic pain from that." In a post-accident bone grafting
operation, a piece of equipment became lodged in Spivey's lower back; according to Cashton, he won a small amount from the hospital in a lawsuit.
Spivey moved to Quepos, Costa Rica, around 1993, after vacationing there with a friend six months before. Audrey did not come with him, although the couple did not separate legally. On May 8, 1995, he was found dead of natural causes at the age of 66. Spivey received two notable honors posthumously: his jersey number, 77, was retired by the University of Kentucky in January 2000, and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in September 2004.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. A center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
, he played college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
for the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's (NCAA) Kentucky Wildcats from 1949 to 1951. After his high school career, Spivey was recruited to the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
. During his time with the Wildcats, he led the team to the 1951 NCAA Tournament
1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 20, 1951, and ended with the championship game on March 27 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis,...
championship, and was voted Most Outstanding Player
NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships , the Associated Press selects a Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but almost always is a member of the Championship team, especially since the third place game was eliminated after 1981...
of the event. When a point shaving scandal
CCNY Point Shaving Scandal
The CCNY point shaving scandal of 1950-1951 was a college basketball point shaving gambling scandal that involved seven schools in all, with four in Greater New York and three in the Midwest...
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.
After he testified before a grand jury in New York, he was indicted on perjury charges. Although Spivey was not convicted when the case went to trial in 1953, he was prevented from competing in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) afterward. Spivey instead played professionally for various minor league teams. In 10 Eastern Basketball League
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
(EBL) seasons, his teams won three championships. Spivey retired in 1968 and became a businessman, working in sales and operating restaurants. Upset by the accusations against him in the early 1950s, he was reclusive in his final years.
Early life
Spivey was born in Lakeland, FloridaLakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, and had moved to Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, by 1944, at which time he was . After taking up basketball, he played for his high school's team and had 18 points in his first half of game action. The following year, he moved to Warner Robins, Georgia
Warner Robins, Georgia
Warner Robins is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located primarily in Houston County with a small portion in Peach County. The city has its own metropolitan statistical area . As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 48,804...
, which did not have a basketball team before he arrived. The principal of Warner Robins' high school created a team, however, once Spivey came. During one of his high school seasons, he was forced to play without shoes—since none of the school's shoes fit him—and wear three pairs of socks. Spivey had over 1,800 points in his three-year high school career.
Recruitment
Several universities wanted to give Spivey a basketball scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
in 1948. The University of Kentucky first became aware of Spivey when a Georgia newspaper publisher phoned Fred Wachs, whom writer Earl Cox called "the most powerful man in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
"; according to Cox, Wachs "ran the University of Kentucky". After hearing of Spivey from the publisher, who indicated a desire to have him attend the university, Wachs notified Kentucky's men's basketball coach, Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
, who elected to have a scout watch Spivey play. Following positive feedback from the scout, Rupp gave Spivey an invitation to a camp held at Alumni Gymnasium
Alumni Gymnasium (University of Kentucky)
Alumni Gymnasium is a building on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Kentucky. When it opened in 1924, replacing Alumni Hall , it was a 2,800 seat multi-purpose arena, serving as home to the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team. It was replaced when the Memorial Coliseum...
, where he would try out against other leading high school seniors. He received a scholarship on the camp's first day, one of two players to do so.
1948–49 to 1949–50
Even though he offered a scholarship to the seven-foot Spivey, Rupp was concerned about his weight, which was between 160 and 165 pounds. Rupp told him that he would play only if he added 40 pounds (18.1 kg), and Spivey bulked up to 200 pounds (90.7 kg) during the summer of 1948. At the time, first-year players were not allowed to compete on varsity teams. Therefore, Spivey spent his first year at Kentucky on a freshman team, while the varsity team won its second consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball ChampionshipNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in 1949
1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1949, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Seattle, Washington...
. The two teams practiced against each other, and varsity team member Ralph Beard
Ralph Beard
Ralph Milton Beard Jr. was an American collegiate and professional basketball player. He was born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky. Beard was a member of Adolph Rupp's "Fabulous Five" University of Kentucky basketball team...
later said that Spivey outplayed the Wildcats' All-American
NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The NCAA Men's Basketball All-American teams are honorary teams made up of those NCAA basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations.-History:...
center, Alex Groza
Alex Groza
Alex John Groza was an American professional basketball player from Martins Ferry, Ohio who was banned from the NBA for life in 1951 for point shaving...
. The U.S. Olympic team
Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics was the second appearance of the sport as an official medal event. A total number of 23 nations entered the competition....
, which had six Wildcats players on it, practiced in Lexington, and Spivey gained knowledge and skills from team members Groza, Vince Boryla
Vince Boryla
Vincent Joseph Boryla is a retired American basketball player, coach, and executive. His nickname was "Moose". He graduated from East Chicago Washington High School in 1944. He played basketball at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver...
and Bob Kurland
Bob Kurland
Robert Albert "Bob" Kurland was a basketball center, who played for Henry Iba's Oklahoma A & M Aggies basketball team...
. Spivey also competed in games against other freshman teams, including one against Xavier
Xavier Musketeers men's basketball
The Xavier Musketeers team is the basketball team that represents Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference...
in which he posted 31 points. In 15 games, he averaged about 20 points per game.
In the 1949–50 season, the Wildcats lost several of the leading players from their championship-winning teams to graduation, including Beard and Groza. In response, Rupp made Spivey the focal point of the team, and the team exceeded expectations. In a February 18, 1950 game against Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represents the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in NCAA Division I basketball. The team plays its home games in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Under the tenure of Bobby Cremins, Georgia Tech established itself as a national force in basketball...
, which the Wildcats won 97–62, Spivey broke the team record for points in a game with 40, two more than Groza scored in a game the previous season. That record has since been broken, but his 42 field goal attempts
Field goal (basketball)
In basketball, the term field goal refers to a basket scored on any shot or tap other than a free throw, worth two or three points depending on the distance of the attempt from the basket. "Field Goal" is the official terminology used by the National Basketball Association in their rule book,...
remain a school record as of 2010. Spivey tied another of Groza's point-scoring records on March 5 with a 37-point performance in a Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) Men's Basketball Tournament
SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference tournament in basketball for the Southeastern Conference . It is a single-elimination tournament that involves all league schools . Its seeding is based on regular season records...
game. Kentucky won over Tennessee 95–58 to win the SEC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season. Kentucky ended the regular season with a 25–4 record, and Spivey averaged 19.4 points a game. Despite the Wildcats' record and SEC title, the NCAA Tournament selection committee did not give the team a berth in the 1950 tournament
1950 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1950 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 23, 1950, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City, New York...
. Kentucky did gain a berth to the National Invitation Tournament
1950 National Invitation Tournament
The 1950 National Invitation Tournament was the 1950 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. For the only time in history, the same school won both the NIT and NCAA tournaments as CCNY took both championships, beating Bradley in both finals...
, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
(CCNY), 89–50. In that game, Spivey was forced to the bench for the final nine minutes of the first half after accumulating four personal fouls. At the end of the season, Spivey was named to the All-SEC team.
1950–51
Spivey set another school record in a February 13, 1951, game, gathering 31 reboundsRebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
. As of 2010, he remains tied for the team record with Bob Burrow
Bob Burrow
Robert Brantley "Bob" Burrow is a retired American basketball player.The son of a lumberjack, Burrow was considered the nation's No. 1 junior college player in 1954 at Lon Morris, where he scored 2,191 points....
, who had the same number of rebounds in a 1955 game. For the season, Spivey again averaged more than 19 points per game, and he added 17.2 rebounds per game. His point total led the SEC, and his 479 regular season points were the third-most in league history at the time. The Wildcats had a 28–2 record during the regular season, and entered the postseason as the top-ranked team in the country. One of those losses came in the SEC Tournament against Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball
The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . The Commodores have won three SEC regular season titles . They have competed in ten NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Elite Eight once and the Sweet 16 six times...
, but it did not affect the team's prospects for an NCAA Tournament berth because the SEC had decided to send its regular season champion to the newly expanded 16-team tournament. Kentucky advanced to the Tournament's Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
, where Spivey had 28 points and 16 rebounds in a 76–74 win over Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at Assembly Hall, located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign....
. The Wildcats then faced Kansas State
Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball
The Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represents Kansas State University in college basketball competition. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The current head coach is Frank Martin....
in the NCAA championship game. Despite falling behind early in the contest, they took the lead in the second half and pulled away to win 68–58. Spivey played an important role in the victory, scoring 22 points and pulling down 21 rebounds. Rupp said after the game that "Spivey made the difference after he went to work." For his performance in the Final Four, Spivey was named the event's Most Outstanding Player. He was later selected to the 1951 All-American team
1951 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 1951 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of five major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, Look Magazine, The United Press International,...
, as well as the All-SEC team for the second straight season.
Implication in gambling scandal
The CCNY Point Shaving ScandalCCNY Point Shaving Scandal
The CCNY point shaving scandal of 1950-1951 was a college basketball point shaving gambling scandal that involved seven schools in all, with four in Greater New York and three in the Midwest...
was revealed in 1951. A series of college basketball players had conspired with gamblers to shave points
Point shaving
In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to prevent a team from covering a published point spread. Unlike other forms of match fixing, sports betting invariably motivates point shaving. A point shaving scheme generally involves a sports gambler and one...
to ensure that their teams lost against the point spread. According to Manhattan District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
Frank Hogan
Frank Hogan
Frank Smithwick Hogan was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Dubbed "Mr. Integrity" due to his perceived honesty and incorruptibility, he was D.A. of New York County for more than 30 years.-Life and career:...
, 32 players were involved in point shaving or match fixing
Match fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
, and 86 games were affected. That figure included three ex-Kentucky players: Dale Barnstable, Beard, and Groza, who engaged in point shaving during a 1949 National Invitation Tournament
1949 National Invitation Tournament
The 1949 National Invitation Tournament was the 1949 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.-Selected teams:Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.-Brackets/Results:Below is the tournament bracket....
game. Having been sidelined in the early part of the 1951–52 season
1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season
-Harlem Globetrotters vs. Seattle University:On January 21, 1952, the Harlem Globetrotters played Seattle in a game designed to raise funds for the United States Olympic efforts. Five days before the game was held, Royal Brougham received a call from Howard Hobson, who was the Yale basketball coach...
after knee surgery, Spivey gave up his eligibility to play for the Wildcats on December 24, 1951. He denied rumors that he was involved in the scandal, calling them "false and malicious".
Spivey intended to return to the Wildcats once the situation was resolved, which Kentucky's athletic association expected before reinstatement. On February 16, 1952, he and the association's directors agreed to have him testify before a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in New York. After Spivey's grand jury appearance later in February, however, the university banned him permanently on March 2. In its statement, Kentucky's athletic board said evidence pointed to him fixing games during the 1950 Sugar Bowl Tournament. Gambler Jack West was charged with bribing two Wildcats players, Spivey and Walt Hirsch, to engage in point shaving during one of the tournament's games, and eventually pleaded guilty. In his grand jury testimony, Spivey denied receiving $1,000 to shave points in games from December 1950 to January 1951, or talking about doing so with gamblers. In April, the grand jury indicted him on charges of perjury for lying under oath during his testimony, claiming he had done so on seven occasions.
Trial
On June 9, Spivey was arrested in New York, and was released pending a trial, which started in January 1953. Hirsch testified that Spivey asked to be included as a point shaver, and was upset that the payment for his role in shaving during the 1950 Sugar Bowl game was less than he anticipated. This, however, contradicted his original grand jury testimony, which had no mention of Spivey's involvement. Hirsch also told the grand jury that Spivey and West, the ringleader, had not met. West declined to testify, leading to criminal contempt charges against him. Spivey again denied taking part in the scandal, stating that he had turned down a different gambler on two occasions. According to him, ex-teammate Jim Line mentioned his name to the grand jury; Spivey said he learned this from Line. The trial lasted for 13 days before the case went to a jury. By a 9–3 margin, the majority of jurors supported acquittal for Spivey, and the hung juryHung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
caused a mistrial. The grand jury eventually dropped the charges against Spivey.
Professional career
Although Spivey was not found guilty in the scandal, he found himself unable to play in the NBA when commissioner Maurice PodoloffMaurice Podoloff
Maurice Podoloff was a U.S. lawyer and basketball and ice hockey administrator. He was the first president of the National Basketball Association...
prevented him from signing with any of the league's teams. Claiming that he had been blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ed, Spivey filed a lawsuit against the NBA and Podoloff in 1960, seeking more than $800,000 in damages. He stated that he received $10,000 as part of a settlement. Future Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall
Joe B. Hall
-See also:*Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball*NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches- External links :* at unofficial Fan Site* * *...
said that "most people feel [Spivey] would have been one of the top five centers of all-time had he had the chance to mature in the NBA." Instead, Spivey spent his professional career playing for numerous minor league and barnstorming
Barnstorm (sports)
Barnstorming in athletics refers to sports teams or individuals that travel to various locations, usually small towns, to stage exhibition matches....
teams.
In October 1952, Spivey played in two games for the American Basketball League's Elmira Colonels
Elmira Colonels
The Elmira Colonels were an American basketball team based in Elmira, New York that was a member of the American Basketball League. It is, to date, the only major league sports team to have ever resided in the Southern Tier....
, scoring 21 and 32 points in the contests. That season, he also was a member of the Detroit Vagabonds barnstorming team. For the next three seasons, he spent time with three teams connected to the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
exhibition team: the Boston Whirlwinds, the House of David, and the Washington Generals
Washington Generals
The Washington Generals are an American exhibition basketball team, best known for their spectacular losing streak in exhibition games against the Harlem Globetrotters.-History:...
. In one game with the Whirlwinds, Spivey got into a fight with Globetrotters player Bobby "Showboat" Hall. For the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons, Spivey played for another barnstorming team, the New York Olympians, later renamed the Kentucky Colonels.
Beginning with the 1957–58 season, Spivey spent 10 of his remaining 12 professional seasons in the EBL. The first two of those EBL seasons were spent with the Wilkes-Barre Barons
Wilkes-Barre Barons
The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a legendary basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.The Barons played between 1933 and 1972 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, and the most memorable are those were won while playing in the American Basketball League and the...
, and Spivey led the team to consecutive league championships. On April 20, 1958, he scored 62 points in the title-clinching game against the Easton Madisons, setting an EBL playoff record. In 1958–59, he became the first player in league history with a 1,000-point season, and had 64 points in a March 1959 game. Spivey moved to the Baltimore Bullets for the 1959–60 season, and played two seasons for the club. In Spivey's first season with the Bullets, he had 36.3 points per game, the highest average of his EBL career. The Bullets won the league championship in 1960–61, after which Spivey played two seasons in a different American Basketball League, with the Los Angeles Jets
Los Angeles Jets
The Los Angeles Jets were an American basketball team based in Los Angeles, California that was a member of the American Basketball League in the league's 1961-62 season. The team's only coach was Bill Sharman....
and Long Beach–Hawaii Chiefs
Long Beach Chiefs
The Long Beach Chiefs were an American basketball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii and Long Beach, California that was a member of the American Basketball League.The team was known as the Hawaii Chiefs from 1961-62.- Year-by-year :...
.
Spivey returned to the EBL in 1963 to join the Scranton Miners, for whom he played five seasons. His highest scoring average for the Miners came in the 1964–65 season, when he had 27.0 points per game. In 1967–68, his final professional season, Spivey went back to the Barons. Playing for about $200 in salary per contest, he had 10.4 points per game. On February 11, 1968, Spivey participated in his final professional game. Taking advantage of a loophole in the NBA's rules, he took part in an all-star game in Baltimore featuring former Baltimore Bullets
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
players before a Bullets – San Diego Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
game. Spivey led both teams by scoring 12 points, but his team lost by one point. One day later he retired, saying "It really meant something for me to finish off my career with a game like that."
Later life
After retiring from basketball, Spivey became a businessman, and moved back to Kentucky. The majority of his jobs involved sales; these included the selling of building materials and insurance. He also helped to develop real estate and owned restaurants. For a time he was the state's deputy insurance commissioner. Spivey ran in the primary electionPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
in 1983 as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, but came last in the seven-person race.
Spivey made his final public appearance in 1991, at a reunion of the 1951 Kentucky Wildcats team in Lexington. Writer Greg Doyel says that "he was a recluse" at the time. According to his wife, Audrey Spivey, "He never got over [his accusation in the 1951 college basketball scandal]. Bill could not let that go. He was just devastated." Then living in Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
, he was later hurt in an automobile accident, which aggravated a lower-back injury. Spivey's son, Cashton, said that "He never made a full recovery from that. It affected his posture, and he had chronic pain from that." In a post-accident bone grafting
Bone grafting
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone in order to repair bone fractures that are extremely complex, pose a significant health risk to the patient, or fail to heal properly....
operation, a piece of equipment became lodged in Spivey's lower back; according to Cashton, he won a small amount from the hospital in a lawsuit.
Spivey moved to Quepos, Costa Rica, around 1993, after vacationing there with a friend six months before. Audrey did not come with him, although the couple did not separate legally. On May 8, 1995, he was found dead of natural causes at the age of 66. Spivey received two notable honors posthumously: his jersey number, 77, was retired by the University of Kentucky in January 2000, and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in September 2004.