My family has suffered. Between being bused to a school that I felt like didnt value me, and my dad leaving the house, my academics went downhill fast. The game had saved his life, delivered him from peril, from a path leading nowhere, from dysfunction and illiteracy, to an elite college education and a shot at the NBA and a better future. Today, Cobbs relationship with Boston College remains strained. Ernie Cobb weighed 180 lbs (81 kg) when playing. How much his positive life trajectory was propelled by it? A social worker at the facility, who took notice of Ernies work ethic and burgeoning athletic potential, contacted Herm Alswanger, the varsity basketball coach at Stamford High School, where the youngster would soon enroll upon his release from Meriden. He insisted on taking a polygraph test, against his attorneys advice, which he passed. It was a meaningful existence, a testament to persistence and the strength of believing in the beauty of ones dreams, that hed worked so diligently to reconstruct from the ashes of juvenile delinquency and poverty. The guy called Herm and said, Ernies a good kid and hes going to be coming to your school, said Cobb. Birthplace/Hometown: Stamford, Connecticut, Height: 5-11 (180cm) Weight: 180 (82kg), Current NBA Status: Unrestricted Free Agent. I just knew that not only was I going to make the team, but I was going to be a factor in the NBA. Cmon, you can do it. She was a remarkable individual that helped me so much, in terms of establishing the study and work habits that allowed me to be successful in the classroom.. Burkes gang had just successfully pulled off the Lufthansa airport heist at New Yorks JFK airport, where theyd stolen an estimated $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewels, the largest cash robbery in America at the time. Thats why I got into education and coaching. Cobb and Sweeney admitted to accepting money, but both deny willingly participating while on the basketball court. College: Boston University (1979) NCAA Season Stats - Per Game. The story: Three Boston College players leading scorer Ernie Cobb, forward Richard Kuhn and Sweeney, the team's point guard were fingered by Hill for participating in the point-shaving scheme. He told him that he had talent, but that wasnt enough. When he finished with his testimony, he made a beeline straight for the restroom. He ate, drank, and slept basketball. Old Greenwich was a really rich neighborhood, and theyd have all these beautiful bikes just sitting out there on the lawn. Ernest Cobb in the US: 76 records available . I was better than everybody on the team, but I talked back to him and he cut me because he said I had a bad attitude. How much he was indebted to it? Being at Boston College, when I first got there, was so amazing, said Cobb. As a junior, he averaged 37.6 points per game and was named All-State. Im stuck. He was 87. On October 7, ESPN will air the latest installment of its acclaimed "30 For 30" series with a look back at the infamous Boston College basketball point shaving scandal from the 1978-79 season . . Cobbs older siblings began having brushes with the law. I admitted to receiving that money, and spending it. I was eating Rory Sparrow up, who went on to have a decent NBA career, in that camp. The Ernie Cobb-as-point-fixer story is ancient, but I'm still that guy who supposedly got away with something." Dont get involved with organized crime people.. Boston College 84 Reuben Holmes, Alabama State 107 Bart Kofoed, Kearney State 130 Art Sabb, Bloomfield College 153 Keith Webster, Harvard 1988. In "Playing for the Mob'' which features commentary from Sweeney, Hill, Ernie Cobb, the leading scorer on that Boston College team, and others he tells what happened 36 years ago. I have suffered. We were all so excited for him. We are not making it all up in our heads, thinking well of Kris Dunn because we want to: he has real talents to bring, and a body that for the time being will allow him to use them. I understand that they want to disassociate themselves from the scandal. He turned to me and said, Coach, Im glad youre sticking up for your kid. He craved to clear his name once and for all. Hed have to start setting goals. Also involved were bookmakers across the . Michael Adams, G, 1981-85 - 1,650 . I thought he might have been a student, because he was young and I saw him hanging around Rick Kuhn all the time. But by his sophomore year, when he was inserted into the starting lineup, it was apparent that the 5-foot-11 scorer brought a dimension to the Boston College squad that it sorely needed when he averaged 17.4 points per game. Select the fourth team from the drop down menu. After he interviewed him, he fell in love with him and told me, Hes innocent. Boston College; Induction 2023; Position: Linebacker Years: 2009-11 Place of Birth: Cincinnati, OH Date of Birth: April 20, 1991 Jersey Number: 40 Height: 6-3 Weight: 238 High School: St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) Possessing a powerful combination of size, speed and football intellect, . And he also cultivated interest, in the area's black community, in terms of being engaged and intrigued bywhat was going on with Boston Colleges basketball program. Despite never having played organized basketball before, Cobb was moved up to the varsity squad as a freshman. A failed minor league baseball player from Pittsburgh turned college basketball player in Boston. He was naive at the time, believing that his exoneration would pave the way for apologies and acknowledgments of his innocence: from the NBA, the federal government and Boston College. About. Thats the story chronicled by the latest edition of ESPNs 30 for 30 documentary series, Playing for the Mob, which premieres Tuesday night at 9 p.m. And look what he did to the lives of those kids. age of adaline comet. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey. I dont know. And as black kids who loved ball in Boston, he represented something for us, giving the younger generation something to aspire toin terms of their basketball skillsbecause he was putting in some serious work.. Browse our public records directory to see Ernest Cobb's contact info, age, cell phone number, email address, social media profiles, and more. The vast expanses of grass fields allowed him to run free and clear his mind. He doesnt belong here and I think he can really make something of himself if somebody gives him a chance.. She did the best she could. He was adamant, that he would take the stand in his own defense, despite his lawyers pleas not to do so. Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. Visser became the NFLs first female beat writer in 1976, when she was assigned by the paper to cover the New England Patriots. When the story first broke, it said that Michael Bowie and I were the ones implicated, said Cobb. Tell me what you did and what you didnt do. Cobb insisted on having his day in court, of clearing his name. Hill also named former BC athletes Ernie Cobb and James Sweeney as participants in the scandal. But for Bowie, it was too little, too late. All of Henry Hills and the Perla brothers information was coming from Rick Kuhn, and who knows what he was saying to them to cover his own skin., (Jim Sweeney, Photo Credit: tampabay.com), Kuhn and Sweeney got in over their heads, Cobb continued. Ernest was born in Harlem, the first son of the . But for many, there is a fierce bitterness that still lingers to this day. He stopped in my office with his bike with the flat tire and borrowed $20 to get it fixed and to get home. Three basketball players at Boston College Jim Sweeney, Ernie Cobb, and Richard Kuhn became entangled with members of the Mafia in a points-shaving scandal during the 1978-79 season. Meridan had all this space and all these green fields where you could just run, said Cobb. Height: 5'11" (180 cm) Weight: 0 lbs (- kg) Position: PG. I wanted my name cleared and it took a long time.. And those people had no patience for me. I got to know him really well. Thursday, March 22nd, 1984. I felt bad for my mom, he said. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. His only response was an indication that the investigation was being continued. Per Game Team and Opponent Stats. For all I know, he told them I was in, that it would cost an extra $2,500 per game and he was trying to hustle the gangsters while pocketing the extra money. Find out more. If you got your own apartment after high school, that was considered a success. It all seemed like a fairy tale, until he was indicted for allegedly fixing college basketball games for the mob. He worked hard in class. Contribute to The Shadow League today and help us share our narratives. Most people may conjure up nightmarish images while trying to imagine being incarcerated at such an early age, butErnie's experience wasquite the opposite. We get home, I open it up, and theres $1,000 in there.. The history of Boston College's involvement in illegal activity involving sports travels back to 1954, but the most notorious of the indiscretions was uncovered in 1981. . Golub was a brilliant lawyer, and he told me that hed have to interview Ernie first to see if he was gonna take the case on. Good morning!ESPN's "Playing for the Mob" has rekindled embarrassing memories for not only Boston College but also The Boston Globe, 35 . I feel like if I can change one life, like he changed mine, man, it makes everything Ive been through worthwhile.. He insisted on taking a polygraph test, against his attorneys advice, which he passed. Couldnt people see how much he loved the game? He had all of this ability, and he worked so hard, said Alswanger. Cobb was always a competitive kid. Professor Emeritus Richard Cobb-Stevens, a widely praised phenomenology scholar who chaired the Philosophy Department for nine years and played a leadership role in the revision of Boston College's core curriculum during the early 1990s, died on July 6. . Thats the real strength of his story, that you pick yourself up and make something of yourself.. Ex-basketball star Ernie Cobb was acquitted Friday of taking part in a point-shaving scandal that rocked Boston College in 1978-1979, and tearfully asked for a fair shot to resurrect his chances . Until of course, he was caught and arrested for stealing one. He made other African-American ballers feel like they could go there and really showcase what they could do on a national level. These trading cards represent card number 247 in the Topps 1969 baseball card series. Loughery told me that I had the ability to play in the NBA. The game had saved his life, delivered him from peril, from a path leading nowhere, from dysfunction and illiteracy, to an elite college education and a shot at the NBA and a better future. Obviously, I couldve done things differently, Sweeney said. One of his passions was riding and racing bicycles. Im going off on the basketball court, scoring like crazy, the gamblers are losing their shirts, and they start talking about, We have to have Cobb. Anybody thats ever seen me play knows that I was only stuck in one gear, and that was super-charged-turbo! I did everything I needed to do in terms of having the grades and the standardized test scores to get in. My character grew, along with my basketball skills. A fitness fanatic who augmented his training by swimming and riding his bicycle very long distances, Cobb hopped on his ten-speed shortly after the indictment was announced and began pedaling. Im ready to move on from the actual filmmaking process. You cant change things in life. The Globe would later admit that they were wrong in reporting that Bowie was involved, after he was not implicated nor investigated by the federal government for any role in the scandal. Find Ernest Cobb's current house address. He just loves to play basketball. So for me to have a chance to go to college, that was so exciting to me.. I was tremendously focused because I knew that I was going places., In my neighborhood, people didnt go to college, said Cobb. The final player involved in the fix, Rick Kuhn, is . NCAA. he keeps to himself. And after they put my name out there, and after I admitted to taking that $1,000, they didnt have enough evidence to prosecute me. The tone is set by black-and-white mug shots and film strips from surveillance of mobsters interspersed with BC team photos and action shots from newspaper coverage of the season. He refused to take a plea deal in return for a reduced sentence. Couldnt they see how grateful he was, that hed never cheat the thing that gave his life such meaning and purpose? He saw that I was heading in the wrong direction and tried to mentor me.. Press release from the City of Menifee: MENIFEE - Menifee's street projects and construction updates are getting an upgrade! (Boston College, photo credit: bostonmagazine.com), Academically, it was a great school and my family could come and see me play, he said. He is a friend who has quietly built a considerable reputation within college basketball for honesty and tactical brilliance but who now is living the horror every coach dreads most -- a point . Couldnt people see how much he loved the game? won by only two points and I had a lot of losing money down on this game. The reasons for their failure may have been inherent to the whole project. Check out the detailed 1976-77 Boston College Eagles Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. It devastated me as a youngster. So from then on I had a juvenile record. I knew that I could play basketball with anybody. But as it turned out, the trial was simply one chapter of many in his life, and not the defining one. He sensed something in that moment, something transformative. My girlfriend and I bought a new stereo, television and some furniture. He would teach me about these attributes and I began to internalize them. He graduated on time with a degree in sociology. If you missed Part I, you can read it here. They were so many activities and all this food. There were times when the work got really hard, when I wanted to give up, when I had to stay up all night reading or studying or writing papers, and shed be right there pushing me, telling me, You cant give up! Per Game Team and Opponent Stats Table G MP FG FGA FG% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS; Team: 26: 30.6: 72.3.423: 12.9: 18.4.701: 40.6: 11.1: He took advantage of an opportunity that surfaced when a pro team from Israel offered him a spot on their roster. Location unknown)Boston College's Ernie Cobb pulls down a rebound off his own shot against Holy Cross's Leo Kane during a men's college basketball. Select the players you wish to trade from the rosters below. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? He talks about how he wanted to be an NBA player. And now, here I was on that same floor, pumped sky high, giving my defender buckets! I wanted my name cleared and it took a long time.. Profile. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com . I had my own place to live and all the food I wanted to eat. I cant read., When he told me that, we immediately got him a tutor, said Alswanger. When he told Alswanger about the indictment, his old high school coach spoke sternly with him, as he'd done sometwelveyears earlier when Cobb had just returned home fromthe juvenile detention facility. They treated me great. A Maryland Dumping Site Was Actually A Black Cemetery. Hed lost his older brother to drugs. I excelled. . Class of 1979. Of course, of course I was upset, but what could I do? That includes Rick Kuhn, the former minor league baseball player who started the scandal and who Sweeney says got him involved in it. Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. When Henry Hill started threatening Kuhn and Sweeney, promising that they couldnt play with broken limbs, the players, according to Hill, claimed that they were doing their best, but the scheme would never work unless Ernie Cobb was in on the fix. I was back at home, visiting for the summer and about to return to Israel, Cobb said. With having to work long hours, her children had a lot of free, unsupervised time on their hands, some of which was not utilized wisely. This is Part II of The Shadow League's feature story on former Boston College basketball player Ernie Cobb. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Select the second team from the drop down menu. The City of M. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. He was hopeful that hed have another chance to make it in the NBA. ET on ESPN. There was no getting around that. He craved to clear his name once and for all. 14, left in first row), and Jim Sweeney (No. Sometimes, B.C. Convinced that Cobb was innocent after his mentee walked him through everything that had transpired, and certain that he was being used by the federal government to send more organized crime figures to prison, Alswanger began working the phones. Cobb was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 6th Round and cut during training camp. Utah Jazz, 6th round (1st pick, 109th overall), 1979 NBA Draft, More Ernie Cobb pages at Sports Reference, More Ernie Cobb Basketball Reference pages. Jack McCluskey | Special to ESPNBoston.com, '30 For 30' tackles BC point-shaving scandal, Steve Addazio calls Tyler Murphy clincher vs. USC, Harvard's Zack Hodges gets his shot with Colts, Wesley Saunders helps Harvard recover to capture crucial Ivy win, Beanpot final, consolation moved to Feb. 23, Signing Day Notes: Fences going up for local programs, Boston College unveils 25-man recruit class, Northeastern knocks BC from Beanpot throne. 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