Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal
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| Date | November 16, 1906 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Mahaffey Park, Canton, Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Big Bill Edwards | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 8,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | November 24, 1906 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Hospital Grounds Stadium, Massillon, Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 8,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
The Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal was the first major scandal in professional football in the United States. It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon, Ohio newspaper charging the Canton Bulldogs coach, Blondy Wallace, and Massillon Tigers end, Walter East, of conspiring to fix a two-game series between the two clubs. One account of the scandal called for Canton to win the first game and Massillon was to win the second, forcing a third game—with the biggest gate—to be played legitimately, with the 1906 Ohio League championship at stake. Another account accused Wallace and East of bribing Massillon players to throw a game in the series. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to damage the club's reputation. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the second game and it remains unknown if there was ever a match-fixing agreement, the scandal tarnished the Bulldogs name and reportedly helped ruin professional football in Ohio until the mid-1910s.
From 1905 until 1906, the Bulldogs and Tigers were arguably the best two teams in the country. Located just 15 miles apart in Stark County, both teams were constantly fighting to recruit the best players in football. In fact the Bulldogs, or Canton Athletic Club as they were called at the time, formed their football team in 1905 with the sole objective of beating the Tigers, who had won every Ohio League championship since 1903.
Both teams spent lavish amounts of money to bring in ringers from out-of-town. The very first Canton-Massillon game was played on November 30, 1905. The game was the season finale for both clubs. Up until that finale game, Massillon had posted an 8–0 record, while Canton posted an 8–1 record, with only a 6–0 loss against the Latrobe Athletic Association from Pennsylvania. Massillon went on to win the game 14–4. The victory brought the Tigers the Ohio League championship for the third consecutive season.
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