Canton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting Scandal
Encyclopedia
The Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal was the first major scandal in professional football
in the United States. It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon
newspaper charging the Canton Bulldogs
coach, Blondy Wallace
, and Massillon Tigers
end, Walter East
, of conspiring to fix
a two-game series between the two clubs. One account of the scandal called for Canton to win the first game and Massillon was to win the second, forcing a third game—with the biggest gate—to be played legitimately, with the 1906 Ohio League
championship at stake. While another accused Wallace and East of bribing Massillon players to throw a game in the series. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to damage the club's reputation. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the second game and it remains unknown if there was ever a match-fixing agreement, the scandal tarnished the Bulldogs name and reportedly helped ruin professional football in Ohio
until the mid-1910s.
, both teams were constantly fighting to recruit the best players in football. In fact the Bulldogs, or Canton Athletic Club as they were called at the time, formed their football team in 1905 with sole objective of beating the Tigers, who had won every Ohio League championship since 1902.
Both teams spent lavish amounts of money to bring in ringers from out-of-town. The very first Canton-Massillon game was played on November 30, 1905. The game was the season finale for both clubs. Up until that finale game, Massillon had posted an 8-0 record
, while Canton posted an 8-1 record
, with only a 6-0 loss against the Latrobe Athletic Association
from Pennsylvania
. Massillon went on to win the game 14-4. The victory brought the Tigers the Ohio League championship for the third consecutive season.
, who had newspaper connections was believed by Canton to have planted the story. However, while Canton was in fact losing money in 1905, a group of area businessmen shouldered the losses.
In a counter-charge, Canton insisted that the Tigers were also deeply in debt. However, a statement by the Tigers showed $16,037.90 in receipts and only $16,015.65 in expenditures. The only problem with Massillon's figures was that they only listed salaries, including railroad fare, at $6,740.95, which means the players were getting only about $50 per game. However, it is believed, like with Canton, that Massillon's area boosters picked up whatever losses the Tigers incurred during 1905.
to play for Canton. While in Massillion, Ed Stewart was promoted from head coach to manager, replacing J.J. Wise
. Meanwhile Sherburn Wightman
, who played under Amos Alonzo Stagg
, while attending the University of Chicago
, was named the team's new coach.
, when every football fan would attend regardless of the weather. However that October, Wallace traveled to Pennsylvania
to recruit players for the upcoming game against Massillon. There he scheduled a Thanksgiving Day game against the Latrobe Athletic Association, who was the top team in Pennsylvania, and one of the toughest squads in the country. The Latrobe squad featured star quarterback
John Brallier
, and dealt Canton a defeat in 1905.
Finally the teams agreed to play two games of football against other and share equally the gate receipts. Both games were to be played in November. The Canton home game was slated for Friday, November 16; while the Massillon home game come on Saturday, November 24, the weekend before Thanksgiving. However, many Tigers followers felt that the allegedly scheduled Canton-Latrobe game was only scam to get Massillon to agree to lesser terms. Therefore language was added to the agreement that if Massillon did anything to disrupt the Canton-Latrobe game, they'd lose all of their gate money from their first game at Canton to the Bulldogs. The money from the November 16 was held in a Canton bank. To ensure that the Thanksgiving Day game between Latrobe and Canton was legitimate, the gate money from the second Bulldogs-Tigers as also kept on hold, this time at Merchants' National Bank, in Massillon. If the Canton-Latrobe game never occurred, then Massillon would be entitled to all of Canton's gate money from the second Canton-Massillon game. Each team was also required to put up a $3,000 bond, as insurance that each team would show on the game days.
, gave Canton, now officially called the "Bulldogs", special instructions in the use of the forward pass
. Then much anticipated first Canton-Massillon game was finally held at Canton's Mahaffey Park. It was the biggest football game yet in Ohio, even bigger than the clubs' 1905 game. The Bell Telephone Company
even had men stationed in the grounds observing. As fast as a play was made, it was telegraphed to every major city in the United States.
, a former player from Princeton
officiated the game, and kept both teams in check. The first game went to Canton by a score of 10-5.
However things became more heated for second game. The Tigers vowed to defeat Canton with their same roster from November 16, while Bell Telephone again announced it would telegraph a play-by-play account of the second game. The only roster change occurred when the Bulldogs signed Eddie Wood
, a regular end from the Latrobe Athletic Association, to play in the rematch for an injured player named Gilchrist. Meanwhile Stewart announced that "Big Bill" Edwards would be unavailable to referee because he'd be officiating that year's Yale-Harvard game. Edward Whiting of Cornell University
, who'd umpired the first game at Canton, agreed bring a replacement referee with him.
Prior to the start of the game, a disagreement over which ball to use occurred. Massillon showed up with a ball, several ounces lighter than the Spalding
brand ball Canton was used to. Blondy Wallace protested that ball made by Spalding was the norm, however, Massillon was adamant about keeping the lighter ball, which was provided to the Tigers by Ed Stewart. Wallace's protest fell on deaf ears, and was told by game's officials that he could either accept the lighter ball or forfeit both the game and the $3,000 guarantee. Historians believe that reason for Massillon's insistence for lighter ball was to help their kicking game. The Bulldogs, coming off of their 10-5 win a week ago, was favored to win the game. However, Massillon outplayed Canton and won the rematch 13-6 and was named the Ohio League's 1906 champions for the fourth straight year.
, who would become the owner and manager of the Canton Bulldogs from 1912 until 1915, wrote in his book Pioneer in Pro Football that the fight was started by Cusack's neighbor, Victor Kaufmann, a physician who suffered heavy betting losses on the disputed contest. Cusack stated that he went with Kaufmann to the Courtland Hotel Bar, where Kaufman loudly made allegations of a fix. A large bar fight started in the hotel's bar area and quickly spread onto the street. Police were then called to break-up the distrubance, but Cusack and Kaufmann reportedly avoided arrest.
Meanwhile Massillon's Ed Stewart, through his newspaper Massillon Independent, charged that an actual attempt was made to bribe some of the Tiger players into throwing the game and that Blondy Wallace had been involved. One story suggested that Canton players had bet large amounts of money on themselves to win, while approaching the Massillon players and asking them to throw the game in exchange for a share of Canton's winnings.
Some Canton followers then wondered if Wallace threw the game to Massillon in order to collect on some of the game's wagers. At first the play-calling strategy of Wallace was the focus of suspicion, but as the scandal grew, a number of contradictory allegations came out. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to ruin the club's reputation before their final game against the Latrobe Athletic Association on Thanksgiving Day. Canton's counter-charge was that the scandal was designed by the Tigers to cripple the Bulldogs financially by destroying the gate revenue for the Latrobe game. Massillon could not prove the charge, however, the stands were almost empty for the Thanksgiving Day Latrobe-Canton game, leaving Canton unable to pay their players.
, a historically inaccurate book documenting early professional football, was published. The book the documented the scandal and was used by sports historians for the next 70 years. The author of this book was Dr. Harry A. March
was a former player at Mount Union College
, an executive for the New York Giants
from 1925 to 1936 and later an organizer of the second American Football League
. However, March also practiced medicine in Canton in 1906 and was named one of the Bulldogs team doctors.
Of the incident, March stated that Wallace persuaded an unnamed Canton player to deliberately throw the game. When accused by his teammates, this player said he had simply obeyed orders. The player then quickly left town, on the first available train, while still in his uniform. The Professional Football Researchers Association
has identified this player, as Eddie Wood of Latrobe. March gave the impression that he was running for his life from angry fans and teammates. However, even before the second Canton-Massillon game began, it was announced that Wood would be on the first train back to Latrobe, once the game ended. Not to mention that when Wood returned on the following Thursday with the Latrobe team, he was not attacked by the fans or his ex-Canton teammates. Also Wood scored the Bulldogs only score of the game. As for following Wallace's orders, Wood often crashed the middle of the field on defense, allowing the Tigers to escape outside. However, Massillon was historically known for running up the middle of field.
and Bob Shiring
had been solicited to throw the first game by Walter East
, a baseball
player-turned end, who claimed to be backed by $50,000. Maxwell and Shiring then reported the offer to Tigers' coach Sherburn Wightman and the scandal ended before it began. East was then released by the Tigers. Only then was Wallace named by Stewart of being East's accomplice.
, he accused the Tiger's coach Sherburn Wightman of masterminding the scandal. According to East, Wightman had first asked him to solicit Maxwell and Shiring and have them throw the game, he then had East find a backer who would pay Wightman $4,000. However Wightman backed out of the deal at the last minute. He later went on to add that no member of the Bulldogs or their backers, as far as he knew, were connected with the deal. He finally stated that the only reason that Stewart went public on scandal was to ruin the attendance for the Canton-Latrobe game. East then gave the Akron Beacon-Journal a copy of a contract in which Wightman agreed to have the first Canton-Massillon game thrown for $4,000. The contract was signed by East, Wightman and John T. Windsor, one of the owners of East's Akron baseball team. It should also be noted that East, boasted of fixing a college football game, as well as a baseball game in 1905. Meanwhile, Windsor admitted to his part in the scheme, backing up East's story. He said that he never even met Wallace.
In an interview to the The Plain Dealer, Wightman stated that the contract signed by himself, East and Windsor was done in accordance with instruction from Ed Stewart and the backers of the Massillon team. He stated that he reported East's scheme to Stewart, and was told to go along with deal to see which Massillon players would agree to throwing the game and then remove them from the team. He then stated that he kept up the act until he had the signatures of East and Windsor down on paper. Only then was East released from the team. Stewart defended the coach, agreeing that Wightman had entered into the contract with East and Windsor at the behest of the Tiger backers in order to get the goods on the fixers.
Back in Akron, Walter East was seen as being the hapless victim of a crooked team. He was retained as manager of the Akron baseball team for the 1907 season, that is until the team began losing.
in Atlantic City
and was, for a time, under federal indictment. As for the scandal, the lack of a trial left the details of the events still disputed by historians and football fans alike. Because Wallace possibly settled out of court, there was no real conclusion to the fix scandal—just charges and countercharges. Due to Harry March's book, Wallace was seen as being responsible for the scandal for the next 70 years.
Meanwhile the Tigers traveled to Chicago to beat the "All-Western" team. The attendance for that game was a mere 2,000 spectators.
The timing of the betting scandal being made public damaged Canton far more than Massillon. Many allegations stated that Canton threw the second game of series, however, if the story had broken after Massillon's earlier loss to Canton, the Tigers would have been more damaged. However, the scandal engulfed both teams and forced them to fold. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the game, it so tarnished Canton's name that virtually no one attended the Latrobe game. The Bulldogs, including Wallace, were now broke. A story by the Pittsburgh Post estimated that team still owed its players $6,000 for the 1906 season. A benefit game between Massillon and Canton to help pay the Bulldog players only drew 500 fans and resulted in a 5-5 tie. The proceeds from the game was only enough to get the remaining Canton players a train ticket home.
. The "All-Massillons" under Sherburn Wightman went on to win the 1907 Ohio league championship. Wightman and Stewart were still held in high regard in Massillon.
, Massillon's quarterback, stayed in Massillon for 1907, but then began moving from team to team in the region, racking up Ohio League titles on a nearly annual basis. A second incarnation of the Bulldogs would be established in 1911 and would later go to win two championships in the National Football League
. The diminished stature of Ohio pro football led to other areas of the country building top professional teams, including the Washington Vigilants
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
in the United States. It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon
Massillon, Ohio
Massillon is a city located in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, approximately 8 miles to the west of Canton, Ohio, 20 miles south of Akron, Ohio, and 50 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 32,149 at the 2010 census....
newspaper charging the Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
coach, Blondy Wallace
Blondy Wallace
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace was an early professional football player. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University of Pennsylvania. He also played two years at Peddie Institute, in New Jersey, winning state championships in 1896 and 1897...
, and Massillon Tigers
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become...
end, Walter East
Walter East
Walter East was the Akron Zips men's basketball head coach in 1909. In twelve games, he guided the team to a 5-7 record.-Scandal:He is best known for fixing a championship football series in 1906 between the Canton Bulldogs and the Massillon Tigers of the "Ohio League"...
, of conspiring to fix
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...
a two-game series between the two clubs. One account of the scandal called for Canton to win the first game and Massillon was to win the second, forcing a third game—with the biggest gate—to be played legitimately, with the 1906 Ohio League
Ohio League
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1903 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship . As the name implied, its teams were based in Ohio...
championship at stake. While another accused Wallace and East of bribing Massillon players to throw a game in the series. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to damage the club's reputation. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the second game and it remains unknown if there was ever a match-fixing agreement, the scandal tarnished the Bulldogs name and reportedly helped ruin professional football in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
until the mid-1910s.
Rivalry
From 1905 until 1906, the Bulldogs and Tigers were arguably the best two teams in the country. Located just 15 miles apart in Stark CountyStark County, Ohio
Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 375,586. It is included in the Canton-Massillon, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, both teams were constantly fighting to recruit the best players in football. In fact the Bulldogs, or Canton Athletic Club as they were called at the time, formed their football team in 1905 with sole objective of beating the Tigers, who had won every Ohio League championship since 1902.
Both teams spent lavish amounts of money to bring in ringers from out-of-town. The very first Canton-Massillon game was played on November 30, 1905. The game was the season finale for both clubs. Up until that finale game, Massillon had posted an 8-0 record
1905 Massillon Tigers season
The 1905 Massillon Tigers football season was their third season in existence. The team finished with a record of 9-0 and won their third Ohio League championship in as many years.-Schedule:...
, while Canton posted an 8-1 record
1905 Canton Bulldogs season
The 1905 Canton Athletic Club season was their inaugural season in the Ohio League. The team finished 8-2, giving them second place in the league.-Schedule:-References:...
, with only a 6-0 loss against the Latrobe Athletic Association
Latrobe Athletic Association
The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional football team located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, from 1895 until 1909. The team is best known for being the first football club to play a full season while composed entirely of professional players...
from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Massillon went on to win the game 14-4. The victory brought the Tigers the Ohio League championship for the third consecutive season.
Financial charges
In the off-season prior to the 1906 season, a news story in The Plain Dealer alleged that the Canton Athletic Club was financially broke and could not pay its players for the final game of 1905. The club denied the allegation and insisted that every dollar promised had indeed been delivered. Many Canton followers believed the story had originated in Massillon as a trick to discredit their team and make it tougher for Canton to recruit players for 1906. Massillon coach, Ed StewartE. J. Stewart
Edward James "Doc" Stewart was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator...
, who had newspaper connections was believed by Canton to have planted the story. However, while Canton was in fact losing money in 1905, a group of area businessmen shouldered the losses.
In a counter-charge, Canton insisted that the Tigers were also deeply in debt. However, a statement by the Tigers showed $16,037.90 in receipts and only $16,015.65 in expenditures. The only problem with Massillon's figures was that they only listed salaries, including railroad fare, at $6,740.95, which means the players were getting only about $50 per game. However, it is believed, like with Canton, that Massillon's area boosters picked up whatever losses the Tigers incurred during 1905.
Recruitment
For the 1906 season, Canton's coach Blondy Wallace signed the entire 1905 Massillon Tigers' backfieldBackfield
The backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The backfield or offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the quarterback, running back, and/or fullback.-Play...
to play for Canton. While in Massillion, Ed Stewart was promoted from head coach to manager, replacing J.J. Wise
J.J. Wise
Jacob J. Wise was a Republican mayor of Massillon, Ohio from 1898 until 1902. He was also the Clerk of Courts for Massillion from 1903 until 1910. In 1912 he was elected to Ohio Senate for the 80th General Assembly. He was then re-elected in 1914 for the 81 General Assembly...
. Meanwhile Sherburn Wightman
Sherburn Wightman
Sherburn Wightman was a professional American football player-coach in the "Ohio League", which was the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League. He is best remembered for coach the Massillon Tigers to a Ohio League title in 1906, over the Canton Bulldogs. which led to accusations...
, who played under Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
, while attending the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, was named the team's new coach.
Scheduling
An earlier agreement between the two clubs called for each home team to receive 60 percent of the gate admission and reserved seating rights. However, Massillon disliked the deal because Canton would receive more money for the games, since their stadium was larger, and the game at Canton would be played in October, instead of the November weather to be seen in Massillon. This led the Tigers to asked that the game, to be held in Massillon, be played on Thanksgiving DayThanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
, when every football fan would attend regardless of the weather. However that October, Wallace traveled to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to recruit players for the upcoming game against Massillon. There he scheduled a Thanksgiving Day game against the Latrobe Athletic Association, who was the top team in Pennsylvania, and one of the toughest squads in the country. The Latrobe squad featured star quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
John Brallier
John Brallier
John Kinport "Sal" Brallier was one of the first professional American football players. He was nationally acknowledged as the first openly paid professional football player when he was given $10 to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association for a game against the Jeanette Athletic Association in...
, and dealt Canton a defeat in 1905.
Finally the teams agreed to play two games of football against other and share equally the gate receipts. Both games were to be played in November. The Canton home game was slated for Friday, November 16; while the Massillon home game come on Saturday, November 24, the weekend before Thanksgiving. However, many Tigers followers felt that the allegedly scheduled Canton-Latrobe game was only scam to get Massillon to agree to lesser terms. Therefore language was added to the agreement that if Massillon did anything to disrupt the Canton-Latrobe game, they'd lose all of their gate money from their first game at Canton to the Bulldogs. The money from the November 16 was held in a Canton bank. To ensure that the Thanksgiving Day game between Latrobe and Canton was legitimate, the gate money from the second Bulldogs-Tigers as also kept on hold, this time at Merchants' National Bank, in Massillon. If the Canton-Latrobe game never occurred, then Massillon would be entitled to all of Canton's gate money from the second Canton-Massillon game. Each team was also required to put up a $3,000 bond, as insurance that each team would show on the game days.
Game 1
To prepare for their series against Massillon, Blondy Wallace took his team on the campus of Penn State University to conduct drills and practices. There Nittany Lions coach, Tom FennellTom Fennell
-External links:...
, gave Canton, now officially called the "Bulldogs", special instructions in the use of the forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
. Then much anticipated first Canton-Massillon game was finally held at Canton's Mahaffey Park. It was the biggest football game yet in Ohio, even bigger than the clubs' 1905 game. The Bell Telephone Company
Bell Telephone Company
The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts on July 9, 1877 by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company — the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company...
even had men stationed in the grounds observing. As fast as a play was made, it was telegraphed to every major city in the United States.
Game 2
Big games, like these, always brought out theories of a fix. However, Massillon's Ed Stewart stated that it would be impossible to fix the coming game, stating that an entire team, not just certain players would have to be involved. "Big Bill" EdwardsBig Bill Edwards
William Hanford "Big Bill" Edwards was an American football player who played guard at the Princeton University from 1896 to 1899...
, a former player from Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
officiated the game, and kept both teams in check. The first game went to Canton by a score of 10-5.
However things became more heated for second game. The Tigers vowed to defeat Canton with their same roster from November 16, while Bell Telephone again announced it would telegraph a play-by-play account of the second game. The only roster change occurred when the Bulldogs signed Eddie Wood
Eddie Wood
Edward Wood was an early professional football player for the Latrobe Athletic Association, the Franklin Athletic Club and finally for the Canton Bulldogs of the "Ohio League"...
, a regular end from the Latrobe Athletic Association, to play in the rematch for an injured player named Gilchrist. Meanwhile Stewart announced that "Big Bill" Edwards would be unavailable to referee because he'd be officiating that year's Yale-Harvard game. Edward Whiting of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, who'd umpired the first game at Canton, agreed bring a replacement referee with him.
Prior to the start of the game, a disagreement over which ball to use occurred. Massillon showed up with a ball, several ounces lighter than the Spalding
Spalding (sports equipment)
Spalding is a sporting goods company founded by Albert Spalding in Chicago, Illinois, in 1876 and now headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The company specializes in the production of balls for many sports, but is most-known for its basketballs...
brand ball Canton was used to. Blondy Wallace protested that ball made by Spalding was the norm, however, Massillon was adamant about keeping the lighter ball, which was provided to the Tigers by Ed Stewart. Wallace's protest fell on deaf ears, and was told by game's officials that he could either accept the lighter ball or forfeit both the game and the $3,000 guarantee. Historians believe that reason for Massillon's insistence for lighter ball was to help their kicking game. The Bulldogs, coming off of their 10-5 win a week ago, was favored to win the game. However, Massillon outplayed Canton and won the rematch 13-6 and was named the Ohio League's 1906 champions for the fourth straight year.
Scandal
Once the game was over, Canton's coach, Blondy Wallace, in a show of sportsmanship, joined the Massillon celebration and congratulated the Tigers on their championship. However the evening after the second game at the Courtland Hotel Bar, a brawl erupted among several of the Canton players and fans over allegations that the game had been fixed. Jack CusackJack Cusack
Jack Cusack was one of the prominent early figures in professional football in Ohio. At the age of twenty-one, Cusack became the manager and owner of the Canton Bulldogs, one of the leading teams of the day...
, who would become the owner and manager of the Canton Bulldogs from 1912 until 1915, wrote in his book Pioneer in Pro Football that the fight was started by Cusack's neighbor, Victor Kaufmann, a physician who suffered heavy betting losses on the disputed contest. Cusack stated that he went with Kaufmann to the Courtland Hotel Bar, where Kaufman loudly made allegations of a fix. A large bar fight started in the hotel's bar area and quickly spread onto the street. Police were then called to break-up the distrubance, but Cusack and Kaufmann reportedly avoided arrest.
Meanwhile Massillon's Ed Stewart, through his newspaper Massillon Independent, charged that an actual attempt was made to bribe some of the Tiger players into throwing the game and that Blondy Wallace had been involved. One story suggested that Canton players had bet large amounts of money on themselves to win, while approaching the Massillon players and asking them to throw the game in exchange for a share of Canton's winnings.
Some Canton followers then wondered if Wallace threw the game to Massillon in order to collect on some of the game's wagers. At first the play-calling strategy of Wallace was the focus of suspicion, but as the scandal grew, a number of contradictory allegations came out. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to ruin the club's reputation before their final game against the Latrobe Athletic Association on Thanksgiving Day. Canton's counter-charge was that the scandal was designed by the Tigers to cripple the Bulldogs financially by destroying the gate revenue for the Latrobe game. Massillon could not prove the charge, however, the stands were almost empty for the Thanksgiving Day Latrobe-Canton game, leaving Canton unable to pay their players.
Harry March
In 1934 Pro Football: Its Ups and DownsPro Football: Its Ups and Downs
Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs, published in 1934, is a novel by Dr. Harry March that was the first ever attempt to write a history of professional American football. March had served in several executive offices with the New York Giants of the National Football League in the late 1920s and was a...
, a historically inaccurate book documenting early professional football, was published. The book the documented the scandal and was used by sports historians for the next 70 years. The author of this book was Dr. Harry A. March
Harry March
Harry Addison March was an early football historian and promoter, as well as a medical doctor. He also helped organize the National Football League and well as the second American Football League. March is also credited with convincing Tim Mara to purchase an NFL franchise for New York City, which...
was a former player at Mount Union College
Mount Union College
The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
, an executive for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1925 to 1936 and later an organizer of the second American Football League
American Football League (1936)
Sometimes called AFL II, the second American Football League was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League throughout its existence...
. However, March also practiced medicine in Canton in 1906 and was named one of the Bulldogs team doctors.
Of the incident, March stated that Wallace persuaded an unnamed Canton player to deliberately throw the game. When accused by his teammates, this player said he had simply obeyed orders. The player then quickly left town, on the first available train, while still in his uniform. The Professional Football Researchers Association
Professional Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/historian Bob Carroll and six other football researchers and is...
has identified this player, as Eddie Wood of Latrobe. March gave the impression that he was running for his life from angry fans and teammates. However, even before the second Canton-Massillon game began, it was announced that Wood would be on the first train back to Latrobe, once the game ended. Not to mention that when Wood returned on the following Thursday with the Latrobe team, he was not attacked by the fans or his ex-Canton teammates. Also Wood scored the Bulldogs only score of the game. As for following Wallace's orders, Wood often crashed the middle of the field on defense, allowing the Tigers to escape outside. However, Massillon was historically known for running up the middle of field.
Ed Stewart
Massillon manager Ed Stewart never stated that which Canton-Massillon game was fixed. Instead his accusation was that an attempt had been made to bribe some Massillion players before the first game. According Stewart, Massillon players, Tiny MaxwellTiny Maxwell
Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell was a professional football player and referee. He was also a sports editor with the Philadelphia Public Ledger.-Early life:...
and Bob Shiring
Bob Shiring
Robert Shiring was a professional football player from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is best known for playing for the Massillon Tigers from 1903 until 1907. However he also played for the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League in 1902...
had been solicited to throw the first game by Walter East
Walter East
Walter East was the Akron Zips men's basketball head coach in 1909. In twelve games, he guided the team to a 5-7 record.-Scandal:He is best known for fixing a championship football series in 1906 between the Canton Bulldogs and the Massillon Tigers of the "Ohio League"...
, a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player-turned end, who claimed to be backed by $50,000. Maxwell and Shiring then reported the offer to Tigers' coach Sherburn Wightman and the scandal ended before it began. East was then released by the Tigers. Only then was Wallace named by Stewart of being East's accomplice.
Walter East and Sherburn Wightman
When East returned to AkronAkron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, he accused the Tiger's coach Sherburn Wightman of masterminding the scandal. According to East, Wightman had first asked him to solicit Maxwell and Shiring and have them throw the game, he then had East find a backer who would pay Wightman $4,000. However Wightman backed out of the deal at the last minute. He later went on to add that no member of the Bulldogs or their backers, as far as he knew, were connected with the deal. He finally stated that the only reason that Stewart went public on scandal was to ruin the attendance for the Canton-Latrobe game. East then gave the Akron Beacon-Journal a copy of a contract in which Wightman agreed to have the first Canton-Massillon game thrown for $4,000. The contract was signed by East, Wightman and John T. Windsor, one of the owners of East's Akron baseball team. It should also be noted that East, boasted of fixing a college football game, as well as a baseball game in 1905. Meanwhile, Windsor admitted to his part in the scheme, backing up East's story. He said that he never even met Wallace.
In an interview to the The Plain Dealer, Wightman stated that the contract signed by himself, East and Windsor was done in accordance with instruction from Ed Stewart and the backers of the Massillon team. He stated that he reported East's scheme to Stewart, and was told to go along with deal to see which Massillon players would agree to throwing the game and then remove them from the team. He then stated that he kept up the act until he had the signatures of East and Windsor down on paper. Only then was East released from the team. Stewart defended the coach, agreeing that Wightman had entered into the contract with East and Windsor at the behest of the Tiger backers in order to get the goods on the fixers.
Back in Akron, Walter East was seen as being the hapless victim of a crooked team. He was retained as manager of the Akron baseball team for the 1907 season, that is until the team began losing.
Blondy Wallace
The scandal caused Wallace to file a libel lawsuit against Stewart and the Massillon Independent for $25,000, with Wallace claiming that his good name and professional credit have been ruined due to the paper's story. However, his libel suit never came to trial, it is believe that he may have settled the case out of court. By this time, Wallace was too deep in debt to turn down any reasonable cash offer. He later became a bootleggerRum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
in Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
and was, for a time, under federal indictment. As for the scandal, the lack of a trial left the details of the events still disputed by historians and football fans alike. Because Wallace possibly settled out of court, there was no real conclusion to the fix scandal—just charges and countercharges. Due to Harry March's book, Wallace was seen as being responsible for the scandal for the next 70 years.
The Bulldogs
The Bulldogs defeated Latrobe 16-0 in front of their smallest crowd in years, 1,200 fans. Canton blamed the scandal for the small crowd, however, some believe that once the Bulldogs lost to Massillon, many fans lost interest in football. Therefore, regardless of a scandal, the game's attendance still would have fallen well below expectations. Canton players were not paid as a result, in addition. To help pay for the Latrobe team's expenses an effort was established in Latrobe, which raised part of the team's $300 expense debt, and the balance of the money was borrowed by the YMCA so that it could be paid.Meanwhile the Tigers traveled to Chicago to beat the "All-Western" team. The attendance for that game was a mere 2,000 spectators.
The timing of the betting scandal being made public damaged Canton far more than Massillon. Many allegations stated that Canton threw the second game of series, however, if the story had broken after Massillon's earlier loss to Canton, the Tigers would have been more damaged. However, the scandal engulfed both teams and forced them to fold. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the game, it so tarnished Canton's name that virtually no one attended the Latrobe game. The Bulldogs, including Wallace, were now broke. A story by the Pittsburgh Post estimated that team still owed its players $6,000 for the 1906 season. A benefit game between Massillon and Canton to help pay the Bulldog players only drew 500 fans and resulted in a 5-5 tie. The proceeds from the game was only enough to get the remaining Canton players a train ticket home.
The Tigers
The Tigers were also financially broke. However, the team still had enough money to pay its players. The Massillon-area fielded a team of locals in 19071907 All-Massillons season
The 1907 All-Massillons football season was their fifth season in existence. The team was the 1907 incarnation of Massillon Tigers and finished with a record of 7-0-1 and won their fifth Ohio League championship in as many years.-Schedule:...
. The "All-Massillons" under Sherburn Wightman went on to win the 1907 Ohio league championship. Wightman and Stewart were still held in high regard in Massillon.
Impact on Ohio pro-football
The scandal was said to have ruined professional football in Ohio until the mid 1910s. Some others argue that the expense of placing all-star teams on the field each week, also put a hamper on the sport. The Canton Morning News put a $20,000 price tag on the Massillon Tigers 1906 team, while many speculate that the Bulldogs probably cost even more. Stiil others contend that the games involving top teams like Canton and Massilon were too one-sided and lacked excitement. Many towns in Ohio still fielded clubs over the next several years, and these new pros were consisted more of hometown talent, with only the occasional ringer. Peggy ParrattPeggy Parratt
George Watson "Peggy" Parratt was a professional football player who played in the "Ohio League" prior to it becoming a part of the National Football League...
, Massillon's quarterback, stayed in Massillon for 1907, but then began moving from team to team in the region, racking up Ohio League titles on a nearly annual basis. A second incarnation of the Bulldogs would be established in 1911 and would later go to win two championships in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The diminished stature of Ohio pro football led to other areas of the country building top professional teams, including the Washington Vigilants
Washington Vigilants
The Washington Vigilants were an early Professional Football team based in Washington, DC. During the late 1900s and early 1910s, they were considered the top team in professional football, after the dominant teams in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the early and middle 1900s had faded in prominence. The...
.