say, âI need some bread.â Then heâd ask me to make a bet for him and myself. If the Lions were ten-point favorites, heâd say, âWell, weâll probably win by six or seven. We wonât cover the spread.ââ
Dawson adds that Layne had fixed games or shaved points in no fewer than seven games over a period of four yearsâwhile Layne played with Detroit Lions and later the Pittsburgh Steelers. 4
On the subject of whether there were other players who fixed games and shaved points, Dawson told me, âThere were a lot of players who did business. Thatâs all I can say. I wouldnât want to say anything else because they are still alive and have families. Bobby was one of several players I knew. Naturally, I wanted to do business with the quarterback because he handles the ball on every play. And a lot of quarterbacks were shaving points. Sure, it happened. The players didnât make any money [from playing football], and so they bet. In those days, they were barely getting by. They were getting their brains beaten out for almost nothing.
âI was involved with players in at least thirty-two NFL games that were dumped or where points were shaved. I knew a lot of players and then through them I got acquainted with other players and then did business with them.â 5
Within the organized-crime syndicate, troubles were brewing as the U.S. Senate created yet another select committee to investigate corrupt union and management practices. In January 1957, the Senate Rackets Committee, as it became known, was created and chaired by Senator John McClellan of Arkansas. His chief counsel was a tough, young attorney Robert F. Kennedy, whose brother John Kennedy, the junior senator from Massachusetts, was a member of the panel. The Kennedy brothers were the sons of Joseph P. Kennedy, the former ambassador to Great Britain, who, in his past life, had been a Prohibition bootlegger and an associate of Frank Costello.
But the Kennedy brothers, especially Robert, were not theirfather and did not share his enthusiasm for the dark side of American business. To the contrary, their driving passion was to shed some light on it.
The underworld was so concerned over this investigation that it became a main topic of discussion the following November when over a hundred reputed mobsters from around the country gathered in Apalachin, New York, at the home of mob boss Joseph M. Barbara, for the largest-known meeting of organized-crime figures. However, through brilliant police work, the state police discovered the Apalachin Conference and raided it, arresting fifty-eight of those in attendance, many of whom had been convicted for illegal gambling. Several of these gangsters were marched in front of a national television audience after being subpoenaed to testify before the McClellan Committee.
The committee would operate until March 1960 after conducting 270 days of hearings and receiving testimony from 1,526 witnesses who filled 46,150 transcript pages. Congress was finally going to war with the organized-crime syndicate.
While the Senate Rackets Committee conducted its investigation, the organized-crime syndicateâs gambling operations went further underground.
Handicapper William Kaplan, a chunky man with a ruddy complexion, born in 1897, had created the Kaplan Sports Service during the 1930s. He put out football line information to his subscribers in a scratch sheet called Handicapped . A bachelor, he operated out of Chicagoâs Croydon Hotel. In the Chicago yellow pages, his business was listed under âFootball Service.â
Kaplan was also a close associate of Sidney Wyman, a former St. Louis bookmaker and a known front man for mob casino operations in Las Vegas. Among other jobs, Wyman had worked at the Flamingo and the Riviera.
Kaplan paid protection to Ralph Pierce, a former personal adviser to Al Capone. Pierce operated out of Chicagoâs Fifth Ward, which was
Dawson adds that Layne had fixed games or shaved points in no fewer than seven games over a period of four yearsâwhile Layne played with Detroit Lions and later the Pittsburgh Steelers. 4
On the subject of whether there were other players who fixed games and shaved points, Dawson told me, âThere were a lot of players who did business. Thatâs all I can say. I wouldnât want to say anything else because they are still alive and have families. Bobby was one of several players I knew. Naturally, I wanted to do business with the quarterback because he handles the ball on every play. And a lot of quarterbacks were shaving points. Sure, it happened. The players didnât make any money [from playing football], and so they bet. In those days, they were barely getting by. They were getting their brains beaten out for almost nothing.
âI was involved with players in at least thirty-two NFL games that were dumped or where points were shaved. I knew a lot of players and then through them I got acquainted with other players and then did business with them.â 5
Within the organized-crime syndicate, troubles were brewing as the U.S. Senate created yet another select committee to investigate corrupt union and management practices. In January 1957, the Senate Rackets Committee, as it became known, was created and chaired by Senator John McClellan of Arkansas. His chief counsel was a tough, young attorney Robert F. Kennedy, whose brother John Kennedy, the junior senator from Massachusetts, was a member of the panel. The Kennedy brothers were the sons of Joseph P. Kennedy, the former ambassador to Great Britain, who, in his past life, had been a Prohibition bootlegger and an associate of Frank Costello.
But the Kennedy brothers, especially Robert, were not theirfather and did not share his enthusiasm for the dark side of American business. To the contrary, their driving passion was to shed some light on it.
The underworld was so concerned over this investigation that it became a main topic of discussion the following November when over a hundred reputed mobsters from around the country gathered in Apalachin, New York, at the home of mob boss Joseph M. Barbara, for the largest-known meeting of organized-crime figures. However, through brilliant police work, the state police discovered the Apalachin Conference and raided it, arresting fifty-eight of those in attendance, many of whom had been convicted for illegal gambling. Several of these gangsters were marched in front of a national television audience after being subpoenaed to testify before the McClellan Committee.
The committee would operate until March 1960 after conducting 270 days of hearings and receiving testimony from 1,526 witnesses who filled 46,150 transcript pages. Congress was finally going to war with the organized-crime syndicate.
While the Senate Rackets Committee conducted its investigation, the organized-crime syndicateâs gambling operations went further underground.
Handicapper William Kaplan, a chunky man with a ruddy complexion, born in 1897, had created the Kaplan Sports Service during the 1930s. He put out football line information to his subscribers in a scratch sheet called Handicapped . A bachelor, he operated out of Chicagoâs Croydon Hotel. In the Chicago yellow pages, his business was listed under âFootball Service.â
Kaplan was also a close associate of Sidney Wyman, a former St. Louis bookmaker and a known front man for mob casino operations in Las Vegas. Among other jobs, Wyman had worked at the Flamingo and the Riviera.
Kaplan paid protection to Ralph Pierce, a former personal adviser to Al Capone. Pierce operated out of Chicagoâs Fifth Ward, which was
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