THE SAINTS SCANDAL AND SPORTS

The sports news is full of the New Orleans Saints scandal, and that brings to mind some of the more devious players and teams that have graced the playing fields and arenas of sports. Here are one of each, the worst until the saints came along.

The 1951 New York Giants-

Probably the biggest cheaters in professional sports wore ‘Giants’ across their chests. Stealing signs and their way to a pennant they didn’t deserve, they rigged an elaborate system to beat the National League AND the Brooklyn Dodgers out of a pennant. Led by Leo Durocher, a man with questionable character to begin with, the Polo Grounds was the scene of numerous crimes.

In center field stood the clubhouse for both the home and visiting teams. Herman Franks, the Giants coach would sit with a set of binoculars and read the signs from the opposing catcher and relay via a buzzer or bell to the bullpen, what was coming. Someone in the bullpen in turn would relay the sign to the dugout, so the batter would know what was coming.

Ty Cobb

By far the dirtiest player ever to wear a uniform in sports, Cobb didn’t care who he hurt and what he did to his opponents, or for that matter the fans.

Know for his aggressive style of base running, he was also an intimidator. Sitting in the dugout in full view of the opposing infielders, he would sharpen his spikes! Connie Mack, probably one of the gentleman of all gentlemen in baseball at the time said of Cobb: “He’s one of the dirtiest players I ever saw.”

And this from Shoeless Joe in "Field of Dreams" said: "Ty Cobb wanted to play, too. But none of us could stand the son of a bitch when he was alive, so we told him to stick it!"

If that isn’t enough, he once deliberately spiked a pitcher on purpose with a deliberate bunt down the first base line.  The first up against the pitcher, the ball beaned Cobb, whether intentionally or not: I don’t know, but when Cobb came to bat a second time to face the young pitcher this is what happened. Cobb bunted the ball down the first base line, and the pitcher came in to field it, and as he did, Cobb deliberately knocked him over and then stomped his chest, cutting the pitcher open. They had to remove him from the game.

Then there is the story of Cobb being heckled one day by a fan and his climbing into the stands and beating the fan with his fists. Some claim the fan was handicapped!

That’s all I wrote, folks!