The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time: Ranking Sports' Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups, and Scandals

by Elliott Kalb, Mark Weinstein (With), Cris Collinsworth (Foreword by)

Overview

Separating fact from myth, Kalb attempts to determine which of these long-held conspiracy theories hold water, and which ones fall flat under scrutiny. Ranking the conspiracies from 1 to 30 and the likelihood of each conspiracy from 1 to 5, Kalb boldly asks:

• Did baseball avoid integration in the 1930s and 1940s with an unwritten agreement?
• Was Super Bowl III a fixed game?
• Did Sonny Liston throw both of his fights vs. Muhammad Ali?
• Was the NBA’s first-ever draft lottery fixed?
• Why did Michael Jordan really retire from basketball the first time?
• Are some NASCAR race outcomes too good to be true?
• Did the New England Patriots cheat their way to a dynasty?
• What really happened at the 1921 Kentucky Derby?
• Why weren’t any Japanese players signed to major league contracts from 1965-1995?
• And much more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626369917
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	07/01/2009
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Elliott Kalb has been the Editorial Director of MLB Network since its inception in 2009. Previously, Kalb was known for his broadcast work with NBC Sports, HBO Sports, TNT, and CBS-Westwood One Radio Network. He is an eight-time Sports Emmy winner, including a 2009 victory for producing baseball for NBC from the Beijing Olympics. Kalb wrote columns for foxsports.com for three years, and is the author of three previous books, including Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Baseball? Kalb lives in northern New Jersey with his wife Amy and his children. Mark Weinstein is a book editor and writer specializing in sports. He lives with his wife in New York City.

Table of Contents

Foreword Cris Collinsworth ix

Introduction 1

1 Baseball avoided integration in the 1930s and 1940s by an unwritten agreement 13

2 NBA owners cater to the "white dollar" in the 1950s with a quota system 25

3 Baseball owners collude against free agents in the mid-1980s 35

4 Did Sonny Liston throw his fights against Muhammad Ali? 47

5 NBA's first-ever draft lottery delivers Patrick Ewing to New York 57

6 AFL gains credibility with victory in Super Bowl III 71

7 Isiah Thomas left off the 1992 Olympic Dream Team 85

8 Michael Jordan's first retirement 95

9 Alan Eagleson colludes with NHL owners to keep hockey salaries down 103

10 Gamblers attempt to fix the 1946 NFL championship game 111

11 Was there a secret agreement between Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti? 123

12 Why were Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker allowed to remain in the league after being found guilty of gambling? 135

13 Are some NASCAR outcomes too good to be true? 147

14 Cheaters conspire to steal signs, throw illegal pitches, steal pennants 159

15 The steroids era in baseball 169

16 Who's keeping Dennis Rodman and Peter Vecsey out of the Basketball Hall of Fame? 177

17 Funny business at the Kentucky Derby 187

18 Why weren't any Japanese players signed to major league contracts from 1965-1995? 193

19 Attempts to keep minorities from breaking cherished baseball records 203

20 Was NFL legend Sammy Baugh involved in a gambling scandal? 215

21 Did John McGraw conspire to fix games and World Series? 223

22 Did the NFL conspire in the mid-1980s to monopolize professional football? 233

23 Shoeless Joe Jackson kept out of Baseball Hall of Fame 243

24 U.S. Olympic basketball team gets cheated out ofthe gold in 1972 251

25 Olympic gold medalist in women's 100-meter hides a secret 261

26 Did UNLV throw the 1991 NCAA semi-final game vs. Duke? 267

27 Was Cal Ripken's 2001 All-Star Game home run a set-up? 281

28&29 Two conspiracy theories in one! Did the New England Patriots, with an assist from the NFL, cheat their way to a dynasty? 289

30 Did Chinese Olympic hero Liu Xiang fake an injury in the 2008 Beijing Games? 309

Summary 319

Acknowledgments 321

Sources 325

Index 333