Frank Filchock
Encyclopedia
Frank Joseph Filchock was an American
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

 tailback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

/quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 and coach. As a consequence of a famous scandal regarding the 1946 NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 Championship game, he was suspended by the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 from 1947 to 1950 for associating with gamblers.

Early career

Born in 1916 in the small Pennsylvania mining town of Crucible
Greene County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,672 people, 15,060 households, and 10,587 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile . There were 16,678 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

, Filchock was a star player at Redstone Township High School and later at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

. After graduating from university, he became the second pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates (now the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

) in the second round of the 1938 NFL draft. The Pirates' first first-round draft choice that year was Byron (Whizzer) White
Byron White
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...

 of Colorado, who later became a U.S. Supreme Court judge. Filchock appeared in six games for the Pirates in 1938, and then was sold to the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

.

At Washington he appeared in six more games in the 1938 season, as understudy to Sammy Baugh
Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University, where he was a two-time All-American. He then played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952...

. He remained with the Redskins through the 1941 season, part of the time alternating quarters with Baugh. During this period of alternation, the two were known as Slingin' Sam and Flingin' Frank.

On October 15, 1939 Filchock threw the first 99-yard touchdown pass in NFL history, to Andy Farkas
Andy Farkas
Andrew Geza Farkas was an American football fullback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions.-Early life:Farkas was born in Clay Center, Ohio of Hungarian origins, and attended St...

, in a game against his old team, the Pirates. This set a record for longest play from scrimmage, a record that can only be tied, not broken. In 1939 and 1944 he led the league in touchdown passes. In the latter year he also won the league passing championship, just edging out teammate Baugh.

In 1942 and 1943 Filchock was out of professional football and on active duty with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. While in the service he played for Georgia Pre-Flight, where he was named to the U.P. All-Service team at tailback. In 1944 he returned to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where the Redskins had just switched to the T-formation.

After the 1945 season coach Steve Owen
Steve Owen
Steven Richard "Steve" Owen is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Martin Kemp.-Backstory:Prior to his arrival in Albert Square, Steve owned and managed a number of bars and nightclubs across southern Britain...

 of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 asked owner Tim Mara
Tim Mara
Timothy James "Tim" Mara was the founder and administrator for the New York Giants of the National Football League. The Giants', under Mara, would win NFL championships in 1934, 1938, and 1956 and divisional titles in 1933, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1958, 1959.-Early life:Mara was born into poverty...

 to get Filchock to serve as passer in Owen's A-Formation offense. Mara made the trade with the Redskins, but actually signing Filchock was more difficult. Not only did Mara end up exceeding his traditional salary ceiling, but he also agreed to the first multi-year contract in Giants' history. Filchock got a reported $35,000 for three seasons. Even such Giant greats as Benny Friedman
Benny Friedman
Benjamin "Benny" Friedman was an American football quarterback who played for the University of Michigan , Cleveland Bulldogs , Detroit Wolverines , New York Giants , and Brooklyn Dodgers .He is generally considered the first great passer in professional football...

, Mel Hein
Mel Hein
Melvin Jack Hein was an American Professional Football player for the New York Giants. Hein played fifteen seasons for the Giants and never missed a down due to injury...

 and coach Steve Owen had never received multi-year contracts (Owen, in fact, coached the Giants for 22 years without a contract).

In spite of a painful arm injury, Filchock had a good first year in New York, passing for 1,262 yards and 12 touchdowns. He ran for another 371 yards and was chosen an all-pro halfback and the most valuable player for the Giants. His passing threat was what the Giants needed to make Owen's offense work, and Filchock led the team from a 3-6-1 record in 1945 to 7-3-1 and first place in the Eastern Conference in 1946. This set up the 1946 NFL title game with the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, scheduled for Sunday, December 15.

The scandal

Hours before game time, a story broke on radio that gamblers had attempted to fix the game—and that Filchock and another Giant back, Merle Hapes
Merle Hapes
Merle Alison Hapes was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League. He played two seasons for the New York Giants .-External links:...

, were involved. It later developed New York City mayor Bill O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer was the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950.-Biography:O'Dwyer was born in County Mayo, Ireland and migrated to the United States in 1910, after abandoning studies for the priesthood...

, NFL commissioner Bert Bell
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell was the National Football League commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he helped chart a path for the NFL to facilitate its rise in becoming the most popular sports attraction in the United States...

, police commissioner Arthur Wallander and Giants' owner Tim Mara
Tim Mara
Timothy James "Tim" Mara was the founder and administrator for the New York Giants of the National Football League. The Giants', under Mara, would win NFL championships in 1934, 1938, and 1956 and divisional titles in 1933, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1958, 1959.-Early life:Mara was born into poverty...

 had met in the mayor's office to assess the situation on the day before the game. O'Dwyer also wanted to meet with the players, and Filchock and Hapes were brought to the mayor's residence later that day. At this meeting, Hapes admitted being approached, while Filchock denied it.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, only twelve hours before game time, the district attorney's office announced that Filchock and Hapes had been offered $2,500 each plus the profits from a $1,000 bet that Chicago would win by more than ten points. The players also had been offered off-season jobs supposed to bring them another $15,000.

Bell announced that although the police had concluded no player had taken a bribe, the league would conduct its own investigation of the offers. The championship game would go ahead as scheduled. Filchock, who during the meeting with the mayor had denied being approached, would be allowed to play in the game. Hapes, who had admitted his failure to report the bribe attempt, would not be allowed to play.

Thus the Giants went into the game minus one of their backfield stars and with a cloud hanging over another. When Filchock was introduced, he was roundly booed. He reportedly played hard, suffering a broken nose, but the Giants lost to the Bears 24-14. This was the precise betting line of the gamblers; they neither won nor lost their bets.

Filchock played 50 minutes and was responsible for all of the Giants' scoring, throwing touchdown passes to Frank Liebel
Frank Liebel
Frank Edward Liebel was a professional American football end/defensive back in the National Football League. He played seven seasons for the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears . He led the league in 1945 in yard per reception and receiving touchdowns...

 and Steve Filipowicz
Steve Filipowicz
Stephen Charles "Flip" Filipowicz was a professional American football and baseball player.-Football:...

. He completed 9 of 26 passes for 128 yards and had 6 intercepted. The winning players each received $1,975.82, the losers $1,295.57. Both Filchock and Hapes received full shares.

The day after the game, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 reported

Alvin J. Paris
Alvin J. Paris
Alvin J. Paris was a New York bookmaker and gambler who, as a "front man" for a gambling syndicate based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, fixed college sporting events through bribing of star athletes, including Rocky Marciano....

, a self-styled 'big bettor' on athletic contests, was arraigned on a bribery charge, accused of having offered Merle Hapes and Frank Filchock, Giant backfield men, $2,500 each to agree not to play their best in the championship contest. Police exonerated both players but Hapes was kept out of the game at the order of Bert Bell, commissioner of the league. Filchock, the key man in the Giants' backfield, played virtually all the game.


The aftermath

Alvin Paris was convicted of bribery January 8, 1947. The same day Bell suspended both of the players, even though the judge in the Paris trial had found that "Frank Filchock was not an accomplice, and was in fact an unfortunate victim of circumstances."

After Paris's trial, three other gamblers were indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges. Paris had not taken the stand in his own defense, but he was the prosecution's star witness at the second trial. He testified that $500 was bet for each of the two players on the Giants to win their final regular-season game, against the Redskins. This was presumably without the players' knowledge. Paris paid them the proceeds after the game. According to him Hapes accepted the money without argument, but Filchock required some persuasion. Paris also claimed that Hapes was willing to throw the championship game and that Filchock considered the offer overnight before rejecting it.

Hapes and Filchock also testified. They strongly denied ever receiving any money from Paris or ever considering any bribery offers.

The three conspirators in the second trial were convicted and received sentences of five to ten years. Paris's sentencing had been deferred until after the second trial. His testimony for the prosecution was taken into account, and he received only a one-year sentence. He was paroled after nine months.

Within 24 hours of the second verdict, Commissioner Bell extended the suspensions of Filchock and Hapes indefinitely. He did this, he said, because he had found the players "guilty of actions detrimental to the welfare of the National Football League and of professional football." This suspension applied not only to the NFL, but to all minor leagues associated with it. It did not apply to the new All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...

, but they were not about to pick up a player banned by the senior league for gambling connections. In effect, Filchock was banned from playing professional football in the United States.

When Filchock was asked about his plans, he replied "I haven't made any future plans simply because I never though of being out of football. I still want to play football. I guess I always will."

A second career in Canada

Although no team in the United States would hire Filchock, there was definite interest in Canada. Both the Hamilton Tigers
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...

 and the Ottawa Rough Riders
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...

 of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (or Big Four) made offers. Filchock accepted the Tigers' offer, and on August 13, 1947 he joined the team as a player-coach. Rumor put his salary at $7,000 for the season.

There was a problem, however. While Canadian football teams were still technically amateur, it was an open secret that all of the teams in Canada's two major leagues of the time—the Big Four and the Western Interprovincial Rugby Union (WIFU) paid their players. Lew Hayman
Lew Hayman
Lewis Edward "Lew" Hayman was an American sports figure. He was one of the driving forces behind the Canadian Football League as coach, general manager, team president, and league president. As head coach, he was a five-time Grey Cup winner with three different teams...

, then in the process of building his new Montreal franchise, the Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

, but who had been involved in football in eastern Canada for many years, said in 1946:

In the days before the war, the players were paid off in the dark. Some of the Canadian players took money and others didn't, though nearly all of them accepted gifts. Imports from the United States were paid in cash — somewhere between $1,000 and $1,200 for a season. Today you have to pay them all, homebreds or imports, and you have to pay them about four times as much as you did before the war.


Everyone knew about this, but no one openly admitted it. For a high-profile, professional player like Frank Filchock to play in the Big Four, pretenses would have to be dropped. Not everyone was willing to do that. Immediately after Filchock's signing, the Canadian Rugby Union
Canadian Rugby Union
The Canadian Rugby Union may refer to:*Football Canada, the governing body of amateur Canadian football in Canada, previously known as the Canadian Rugby Union from 1892 to 1967....

, an umbrella organization for all levels of football throughout the Dominion, rejected his application for a player's certificate without comment, and the IRFU voted three to one that he could not play for Hamilton. Filchock was now blacklisted by every football league in the United States and Canada. Nevertheless, the Tigers were adamant: Filchock would play.

Frank played two exhibition games and four league games, all forfeit in advance, before the Big Four voted unanimously to allow him to play. The Tigers finished the 1947 season at 2-9-1.

Filchock was back with the Tigers for 1948, but in the meantime the team had resigned from the IRFU. Filchock's appearance in Big Four games had increased every team's attendance, but due to the lack of a gate-sharing program, the Tigers were able to benefit only up to the 12,000-seat capacity of their own stadium. Since they were paying Filchock's salary — undoubtedly the highest in the league — the Tigers felt they should receive some of the benefits from increased attendance at other parks. The three other teams did not see it that way, and the Tigers withdrew from the league. In 1948 Filchock was the MVP of the ORFU.

Hamilton Wildcats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...

, who had been playing senior football in the Ontario Rugby Football Union
Ontario Rugby Football Union
The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...

 (a cut below the Big Four) only since 1943, promptly applied to fill the vacancy. They were accepted and the Tigers, a team dating back to 1869 and a founding member of the Big Four in 1907, were forced to play in the ORFU. In 1950 the Tigers and Wildcats finally merged as the Big Four's Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Filchock left the Tigers and returned to the Big Four in 1949, with Lew Hayman
Lew Hayman
Lewis Edward "Lew" Hayman was an American sports figure. He was one of the driving forces behind the Canadian Football League as coach, general manager, team president, and league president. As head coach, he was a five-time Grey Cup winner with three different teams...

's Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

, at a salary reported to be $20,000 for two years. His earning power was now close to what it had been with the New York Giants. The Alouettes went 8-4 in the regular Big Four season, and then beat the ORFU champion Hamilton Tigers 40-0 for the Eastern Canadian title. In the Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 they met the Western champions, the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...

. The Stampeders had a 28-2-1 record over the last two seasons, including a 1948 Grey Cup victory over Ottawa. In the game, Filchock completed 11 of 19 pass attempts for 204 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also intercepted three Calgary passes. The Alouettes won the game 28-15.

Reinstatement

Hoping to end his NFL suspension, in July 1950 Filchock appeared at a hearing before Commissioner Bert Bell. He was accompanied by Leo Dandurand, Alouettes' president, and the two presented testimonials from businessmen, clergymen and sportsmen lauding his conduct. New York Mayor Bill O'Dwyer and Assistant District Attorney George Monaghan also urged Bell to lift Filchock's suspension.

Bell agreed to reinstate Filchock. In his announcement he state that Filchock "has at all times conducted himself in a manner reflecting the highest standards of sportsmanship... [and] has made a real contribution to the promotion and development of clean sports in Canada."

Jack Mara of the Giants (Filchock's previous NFL team) announced that he was "glad to hear that Frank has been reinstated... [but] we do not plan to make him an offer because we are stressing youth." Filchock was 33 years old at the time.

Filchock returned to Montreal and played the entire 1950 season there. The Alouettes finished out of the playoffs and he then signed with the Baltimore Colts
Baltimore Colts (1947-50)
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The first team to bear the name Baltimore Colts, they were members of the All-America Football Conference from 1947–1949, and then joined the National Football League for one season before folding...

, whose NFL season had not yet ended. The Colts folded after that season, and Filchock never played another down of football in the NFL.

Final years in football

In 1951, Filchock played with the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

 of the WIFU, and for the first time in Canada his statistics were officially compiled. Official record-keeping began in Western Canada only in 1951, and not until 1954 in the East. He was made player-coach of the Eskimos in 1952 and led them to the WIFU championship. He was named to the second team Western all-stars the same year. The Eskimos fired him after they lost the 1952 Grey Cup, reportedly because he demanded more money.

Pro Football Coaching career

In 1953 Filchock moved to the Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...

, where he was both quarterback and head coach. This was his last season as a player, but he continued to coach at Regina through 1957, compiling a regular-season record of 41-35-4 with the team but never making it to the Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

.

In 1958 he became head coach of the Sarnia Golden Bears of the ORFU. The team had an outstanding crop of imports, including quarterback and kicker Gino Cappelletti
Gino Cappelletti
Gino Cappelletti is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player. He played at the University of Minnesota, and was a star in the American Football League for the Boston Patriots...

. It suffered only one defeat in ten games, and that by only a single point. Two playoff victories gave Filchock his second league championship as a coach. However, the ORFU was no longer considered a major league and had lost its berth in the Eastern playoffs some years earlier.

In 1959 Filchock served as backfield coach for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

. He was named the first head coach of the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the new American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 on January 1, 1960. In December, 1961, he was fired after two disappointing seasons. His final record with the Broncos was 7-20-1.

In 1964 he was defensive coach with the Quebec Rifles of the United Football League. That was his final year in football. All told, he had played or coached professional football in twelve cities, six leagues (he just missed the AAFC by playing with Baltimore the year of the merger) and two countries. He had also starred in high school, collegiate and service football, and had played minor-league baseball with three teams. His overall major-league record as head coach was 67-65-7.

See also


External links

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