The CCNY point-shaving scandal of was a college basketball point-shaving gambling scandal which revealed widespread bribery and match fixing going on with major colleges and universities both in and around New York City, particularly at the Madison Square Garden.
While the public scandal officially involved at least seven American colleges and universities with one university having a player retroactively participating in the event during this time after initially being missed during the original investigation period , [ 1 ] the scandal has been most closely associated with the —50 CCNY Beavers , which won both the NCAA basketball tournament and National Invitation Tournament and had a number of players implicated in point shaving and match fixing.
Players in California specifically in Southern California and San Francisco , Oregon , Colorado , Georgetown , and the Ivy League were also to have met up with gamblers as well, though only one player from those areas would ultimately accept any of their offers. Previous investigations related to the scandal also revealed widespread bribery of police and corruption within the New York City Police Department, which led to the resignations of mayor William O'Dwyer and police commissioner William O'Brien alongside multiple other police officers that accepted bribes.
The scandal itself threatened the integrity of college basketball and threatened its very existence at the time. The earliest reported attempt at fixing a college basketball match occurred on January 21, , when Wabash College athletic director Harry Scholler reported that a professional gambler attempted to bribe their star player, Benjamin "Benny" Devol, before their game against Franklin College of Indianapolis.
By , illegal bookmakers were common in the United States. Many started out as bootleggers and expanded into gambling and prostitution rings following the end of Prohibition and the start of the Great Depression. Bookmakers often cooperated with law enforcement to report attempted bribery in order to develop a reputation for honesty dealing with bettors, seek political protection, and avoid losing a rigged bet.
