The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time - Elliott Kalb [48]
The conspiracy in this case is not the fixing of the Championship Game, it’s the conspiracy by the two players and their families to keep quiet about the bribery, and the nature of their sudden friendship with the shady Paris.
The story was big news around the country on Sunday morning. Was this game a legit contest, and should the commissioner give either player the benefit of the doubt?
The Bears won the NFL Championship 24-14.
Because the Bears’ margin of victory was only ten points, and the point spread went off at ten, the game was a push (neither side winning their bet) for gamblers who bet on the game. In the months to follow, Commissioner Bell suspended both Hapes and Filchock indefinitely for failing to report the bribe. Paris received a reduced one-year sentence for turning state’s evidence.
EVIDENCE AGAINST A CONSPIRACY
According to the Chronology of Professional Football section in the league’s annual Record and Fact Book, “Backs Frank Filchock and Merle Hapes of the Giants were questioned about an attempt by a New York man to fix the Championship Game with the Bears. Bell suspended Hapes but allowed Filchock to play; he played well, but Chicago won 24-14 on December 15.”
The commissioner found out at the trial of Alvin Paris that Filchock had lied about receiving an offer to fix the Championship Game. At least he hadn’t accepted it. Hapes and Filchock eventually wound up playing professionally in Canada. Filchock returned to the United States to play for the Baltimore Colts in 1950, and actually became the first head coach in the history of the Denver Broncos franchise.
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT A CONSPIRACY
This game was fixed, pure and simple. Just because the District Attorney had tapped into phone calls made by Paris to Ginsburg doesn’t mean they tapped into all his phone calls. He easily could have made phone calls from delicatessens and bars and friends’ homes. The police stumbled onto Paris, who was a small-time guy. Could Paris—or others—have gotten to other members of the Giants or Bears? Could threats have been made—subtle or otherwise—regarding the health of Filchock or a member of his family if the game didn’t go a certain way? The Giants’ quarterback had assured the gamblers that “the fix is no-go,” and that the gamblers were able to hedge their bets and make even bigger ones on the Giants to win (or lose by less than double-digits). If that were the case, Filchock had to deny any involvement In a fix attempt to all the authorities, and do everything he could to play in the game and keep the Bears from covering the spread.
Papa Bear describes the game thus: “With blood pouring from his Sprinkle-administered broken nose, a vindication-seeking Filchock played the game of his life. He threw two touchdown passes to send the game into the fourth quarter tied 14-14 . . .” Bears quarterback Sid Luckman called the title game “the most vicious football game I’d ever played in my entire life.”
I have to put some perspective into Filchock’s performance, described as “the game of his life,” in Papa Bear and described as “playing well” in the NFL Record and Fact Book. If one views the quarterback’s performance with 1946 eyes, one sees a very different effort than with 2007 vision and sensibilities. Carl Lundquist wrote on December 15, 1946, for UPI, “Frank Filchock did everything a football player can do to win a game, but it wasn’t enough.” Filchock completed 9-26 passes for 128 yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions (one returned for a touchdown). He would never be forgiven if he posted those numbers in a modern day playoff game (look at the criticism that Bears quarterback Rex Grossman received in Super Bowl XLI for throwing just two interceptions).