Canton Bulldogs – Massillon Tigers betting scandal The Canton Bulldogs – Massillon Tigers betting scandal was the first major scandal in professional football in the United States . It was more notably the first known case of professional gamblers attempting to fix a professional sport . It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon 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 . On account of 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 . While another 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 , the scandal tarnished the Bulldogs name and reportedly helped ruin professional football in Ohio until the mid - 1910s . Rivalry . 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 sole objective of beating the Tigers , who had won every Ohio League championship since 1902 . 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 . 1905 - 06 off - season . Financial charges . In the off - season prior to the 1906 season , a news story in " The Plain Dealer " alleged that the Canton Athletic Club was financially broke and could not pay its players for the final game of 1905 . The club denied the allegation and insisted that every dollar promised had indeed been delivered . Many Canton followers believed the story had originated in Massillon as a trick to discredit their team and make it tougher for Canton to recruit players for 1906 . Massillon coach , Ed Stewart , who had newspaper connections was believed by Canton to have planted the story . However , while Canton was in fact losing money in 1905 , a group of area businessmen shouldered the losses . In a counter - charge , Canton insisted that the Tigers were also deeply in debt . However , a statement by the Tigers showed $ 16 , 037 . 90 in receipts and only $ 16 , 015 . 65 in expenditures . The only problem with Massillon ' s figures was that they only listed salaries , including railroad fare , at $ 6 , 740 . 95 , which means the players were getting only about $ 50 per game . However , it is believed , like with Canton , that Massillon ' s area boosters picked up whatever losses the Tigers accured during 1905 . Recruitment . For the 1906 season , Canton ' s coach Blondy Wallace signed the entire 1905 Massillon Tigers ' backfield to play for Canton . While in Massillion , Ed Stewart was promoted from head coach to manager , replacing J . J . Wise . Meanwhile Sherburn Wightman , who played under Amos Alonzo Stagg , while attending the University of Chicago , was named the team ' s new coach . The series . Scheduling . An earlier agreement between the two clubs called for each home team to receive 60 percent of the gate admission and reserved seating rights . However , Massillon disliked the deal because Canton would receive more money for the games , since their stadium was larger , and the game at Canton would be played in October , instead of the November weather to be seen in Massillon . This led the Tigers to asked that the game , to be held in Massillon , be played on Thanksgiving Day , when every football fan would attend regardless of the weather . However that October , Wallace traveled to Pennsylvania to recruit players for the upcoming game against Massillon . There he scheduled a Thanksgiving Day game against the Latrobe Athletic Association , who was the top team in Pennsylvania , and one of the toughest squads in the country . The Latrobe squad featured star quarterback John Brallier , and dealt Canton a defeat in 1905 . Finally the teams agreed to play two games of football against other and share equally the gate receipts . Both games were to be played in November . The Canton home game was slated for Friday , November 16 ; while the Massillon home game come on Saturday , November 24 , the weekend before Thanksgiving . However , many Tigers followers felt that the allegedly scheduled Canton - Latrobe game was only scam to get Massillon to agree to lesser terms . Therefore language was added to the agreement that if Massillon did anything to disrupt the Canton - Latrobe game , they ' d lose all of their gate money from their first game at Canton to the Bulldogs . The money from the November 16 was held in a Canton bank . To ensure that the Thanksgiving Day game between Latrobe and Canton was legitimate , the gate money from the second Bulldogs - Tigers as also kept on hold , this time at Merchants ' National Bank , in Massillon . If the Canton - Latrobe game never occurred , then Massillon would be entitled to all of Canton ' s gate money from the second Canton - Massillon game . Each team was also required to put up a $ 3 , 000 bond , as insurance that each team would show on the game days . Game 1 . To prepare for their series against Massillon , Blondy Wallace took his team on the campus of Penn State University to conduct drills and practices . There Nittany Lions coach , Tom Fennell , gave Canton , now officially called the " Bulldogs " , special instructions in the use of the forward pass . Then much anticipated first Canton - Massillon game was finally held at Canton ' s Mahaffey Park . It was the biggest football game yet in Ohio , even bigger than the clubs ' 1905 game . The Bell Telephone Company even had men stationed in the grounds observing . As fast as a play was made , it was telegraphed to every major city in the United States . Game 2 . Big games , like these , always brought out theories of a fix . However , Massillon ' s Ed Stewart stated that it would be impossible to fix the coming game , stating that an entire team , not just certain players would have to be involved . " Big Bill " Edwards , a former player from Princeton officiated the game , and kept both teams in check . The first game went to Canton by a score of 10 - 5 . However things became more heated for second game . The Tigers vowed to defeat Canton with their same roster from November 16 , while Bell Telephone again announced it would telegraph a play - by - play account of the second game . The only roster change occurred when the Bulldogs signed Eddie Wood , a regular end from the Latrobe Athletic Association , to play in the rematch for an injured player named Gilchrist . Meanwhile Stewart announced that " Big Bill " Edwards would be unavailable to referee because he ' d be officiating that year ' s Yale - Harvard game . Edward Whiting of Cornell University , who ' d umpired the first game at Canton , agreed bring a replacement referee with him . Prior to the start of the game , a disagreement over which ball to use occurred . Massillon showed up with a ball , several ounces lighter than the Spalding brand ball Canton was used to . Blondy Wallace protested that ball made by Spalding was the norm , however , Massillon was adamant about keeping the lighter ball , which was provided to the Tigers by Ed Stewart . Wallace ' s protest fell on deaf ears , and was told by game ' s officials that he could either accept the lighter ball or forfeit both the game and the $ 3 , 000 guarantee . Historians believe that reason for Massillon ' s insistence for lighter ball was to help their kicking game . The Bulldogs , coming off of their 10 - 5 win a week ago , was favored to win the game . However , Massillon outplayed Canton and won the rematch 13 - 6 and was named the Ohio League ' s 1906 champions for the fourth straight year . Scandal . Once the game was over , Canton ' s coach , Blondy Wallace , in a show of sportsmanship , joined the Massillon celebration and congratulated the Tigers on their championship . However the evening after the second game at the Courtland Hotel Bar , a brawl erupted among several of the Canton players and fans over allegations that the game had been fixed . Jack Cusack , who would become the owner and manager of the Canton Bulldogs from 1912 until 1915 , wrote in his book " Pioneer in Pro Football " that the fight was started by Cusack ' s neighbor , Victor Kaufmann , a physician who suffered heavy betting losses on the disputed contest . Cusack stated that he went with Kaufmann to the Courtland Hotel Bar , where Kaufman loudly made allegations of a fix . A large bar fight started in the hotel ' s bar area and quickly spread onto the street . Police were then called to break - up the distrubance , but Cusack and Kaufmann reportedly avoided arrest . Meanwhile Massillon ' s Ed Stewart , through his newspaper " Massillon Independent " , charged that an actual attempt was made to bribe some of the Tiger players into throwing the game and that Blondy Wallace had been involved . One story suggested that Canton players had bet large amounts of money on themselves to win , while approaching the Massillon players and asking them to throw the game in exchange for a share of Canton ' s winnings . Some Canton followers then wondered if Wallace threw the game to Massillon in order to collect on some of the game ' s wagers . At first the play - calling strategy of Wallace was the focus of suspicion , but as the scandal grew , a number of contradictory allegations came out . Canton denied the charges , maintaining that Massillon only wanted to ruin the club ' s reputation before their final game against the Latrobe Athletic Association on Tahnksgiving Day . Canton ' s counter - charge was that the scandal was designed by the Tigers to cripple the Bulldogs financially by destroying the gate revenue for the Latrobe game . Massillon could not prove the charge , however , the stands were almost empty for the Thanksgiving Day Latrobe - Canton game , leaving Canton unable to pay their players . Inaccuracies and outcomes . Harry March . In 1934 " " , a historically inaccurate book documenting early professional football , was published . The book the documented the scandal and was used by sports historians for the next 70 years . The author of this book was Dr . Harry A . March was a former player at Mount Union College , an executive for the New York Giants from 1925 to 1936 and later an organizer of the second American Football League . However , March also practiced medicine in Canton in 1906 and was named one of the Bulldogs team doctors . Of the incident , March stated that Wallace persuaded an unnamed Canton player to deliberately throw the game . When accused by his teammates , this player said he had simply obeyed orders . The player then quickly left town , on the first available train , while still in his uniform . The Professional Football Researchers Association has identified this player , as Eddie Wood of Latrobe . March gave the impression that he was running for his life from angry fans and teammates . However , even before the second Canton - Massillon game began , it was announced that Wood would be on the first train back to Latrobe , once the game ended . Not to mention that when Wood returned on the following Thursday with the Latrobe team , he was not attacked by the fans or his ex - Canton teammates . Also Wood scored the Bulldogs only score of the game . As for following Wallace ' s orders , Wood often crashed the middle of the field on defense , allowing the Tigers to escape outside . However , Massillon was historically known for running up the middle of field . Ed Stewart . Massillon manager Ed Stewart never stated that which Canton - Massillon game was fixed . Instead his accusation was that an attempt had been made to bribe some Massillion players before the first game . According Stewart , Massillon players , Tiny Maxwell and Bob Shiring had been solicited to throw the first game by Walter East , a baseball player - turned end , who claimed to be backed by $ 50 , 000 . Maxwell and Shiring then reported the offer to Tigers ' coach Sherburn Wightman and the scandal ended before it began . East was then released by the Tigers . Only then was Wallace named by Stewart of being East ' s accomplice . Walter East and Sherburn Wightman . When East returned to Akron , he accused the Tiger ' s coach Sherburn Wightman of masterminding the scandal . According to East , Wightman had first asked him to solicit Maxwell and Shiring and have them throw the game , he then had East find a backer who would pay Wightman $ 4 , 000 . However Wightman backed out of the deal at the last minute . He later went on to add that no member of the Bulldogs or their backers , as far as he knew , were connected with the deal . He finally stated that the only reason that Stewart went public on scandal was to ruin the attendance for the Canton - Latrobe game . East then gave the " Akron Beacon - Journal " a copy of a contract in which Wightman agreed to have the first Canton - Massillon game thrown for $ 4 , 000 . The contract was signed by East , Wightman and John T . Windsor , one of the owners of East ' s Akron baseball team . It should also be noted that East , boasted of fixing a college football game , as well as a baseball game in 1905 . Meanwhile , Windsor admitted to his part in the scheme , backing up East ' s story . He said that he never even met Wallace . In an interview to the " The Plain Dealer " , Wightman stated that the contract signed by himself , East and Windsor was done in accordance with instruction from Ed Stewart and the backers of the Massillon team . He stated that he reported East ' s scheme to Stewart , and was told to go along with deal to see which Massillon players would agree to throwing the game and then remove them from the team . He then stated that he kept up the act until he had the signatures of East and Windsor down on paper . Only then was East released from the team . Stewart defended the coach , agreeing that Wightman had entered into the contract with East and Windsor at the behest of the Tiger backers in order to get the goods on the fixers . Back in Akron , Walter East was seen as being the hapless victim of a crooked team . He was retained as manager of the Akron baseball team for the 1907 season , that is until the team began losing . Blondy Wallace . The scandal caused Wallace to file a libel lawsuit against Stewart and the " Massillon Independent " for $ 25 , 000 , with Wallace claiming that his good name and professional credit have been ruined due to the paper ' s story . However , his libel suit never came to trial , it is believe that he may have settled the case out of court . By this time , Wallace was too deep in debt to turn down any reasonable cash offer . He later became a bootlegger in Atlantic City and was , or a time , under federal indictment . As for the scandal , the lack of a trial left the details of the events still disputed by historians and football fans alike . Because Wallace possibly settled out of court , there is no real conclusion to the fix scandal just charges and countercharges . Due to Harry March ' s book " Pro Football : Its Ups and Downs " , Wallace seen as being responsible for the scandal for the next 70 years . The Bulldogs . The Bulldogs defeated Latrobe 16 - 0 in front of their smallest crowd in years , 1 , 200 fans . Canton blamed the scandal for the small crowd , however , some believe that once the Bulldogs lost to Massillon , many fans lost interest in football . Therefore , regardless of a scandal , the game ' s attendance still would have fallen well below expectations . Canton players were not paid as a result , in addition . To help pay for the Latrobe team ' s expenses an effort was established in Latrobe , which raised part of the team ' s $ 300 expense debt , and the balance of the money was borrowed by the YMCA so that it could be paid . Meanwhile the Tigers traveled to Chicago to beat the " All - Western " team . The attendance for that game was a mere 2 , 000 spectators . The timing of the betting scandal being made public damaged Canton far more than Massillon . Many allegations stated that Canton threw the second game of series , however , if the story had broken after Massillon ' s earlier loss to Canton , the Tigers would have been more damaged . However , the scandal engulfed both teams and forced them to fold . Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the game , it so tarnished Canton ' s name that virtually no one attended the Latrobe game . The Bulldogs , including Wallace , were now broke . A story by the " Pittsburgh Post " estimated that team still owed its players $ 6 , 000 for the 1906 season . A benefit game between Massillon and Canton to help pay the Bulldog players only drew 500 fans and resulted in a 5 - 5 tie . The proceeds from the game was only enough to get the remaining Canton players a train ticket home . The Tigers . The Tigers were also financially broke . However , the team still had enough money to pay its players . The Massillon - area fielded a team of locals in 1907 . The " All - Massillons " under Sherburn Wightman went on to win the 1907 Ohio league championship . Wightman and Stewart were still held in high regard in Massillon . Impact on Ohio pro - football . The scandal was said to have ruined professional football in Ohio until the mid 1910s . Some others argue that the expense of placing all - star teams on the field each week , also put a hamper on the sport . The Canton Morning News put a $ 20 , 000 price tag on the Massillon Tigers 1906 team , while many speculate that the Bulldogs probably cost even more . Stiil others contend that the games involving top teams like Canton and Massilon were too one - sided and lacked excitement . Many towns in Ohio still fielded clubs over the next several years , and these new pros were consisted more of hometown talent , with only the occasional ringer . Peggy Parratt , Massillon ' s quarterback , stayed in Massillon for 1907 , but then began moving from team to team in the region , racking up Ohio League titles on a nearly annual basis . A second incarnation of the Bulldogs would be established in 1911 and would later go to win two championships in the National Football League . The diminished stature of Ohio pro football led to other areas of the country building top professional teams , including the Washington Vigilants .