Hbo Will Document Scandal ‘City Dump’ Focuses On 1951 Point-Shaving Incident In N.Y.

Sherman White, the nation’s leading scorer in 1951 at Long Island University when he was jailed in a point-shaving scandal, thinks fixers could infiltrate the game again.

“They’re still blaming the ballplayers entirely,” White told The New York Times. “Not that the ballplayers aren’t responsible for their actions, because they are. I’m not saying I didn’t do something wrong because I know I did something wrong.

“But there are a lot of things that cause these scandals, not just the ballplayers. And if they don’t look out, they’re going to have another scandal.”

In 1951, investigators found that between 1947 and 1950, 86 college games had been fixed and 32 players, including White, were implicated. The scandal was centered in New York, where Madison Square Garden had college doubleheaders twice a week.

Since then, point-shaving has been uncovered periodically, most recently involving Arizona State last year. HBO is airing a documentary this week, “City Dump,” focusing on the City College of New York, which had seven players involved in the 1951 scandal.

“HBO wanted me but I told them no,” White, now 69 and retired in New Jersey, said in Sunday’s editions of the Times. He said the documentary places too much blame on the players and not enough on the coaches and institutions of the game.