Canton vs. Massillon

November 24, 1906:

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. 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. 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.