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You’ve heard of the Flu Game—but have you heard of the Orange Juice Game? Future Hall of Famer Chet “The Jet” Walker had his juice spiked to sideline him in the Bradley vs. St. Bonaventure matchup. According to Charley Rosen’s The Wizard of Odds, here’s what happened…
“Aside from the Harold Johnson fight, there was only one other time that I
used the drug to fix an athletic event. Dave Budin convinced me to try and
drug the Bradley University basketball team during a game against St.
Bonaventure at the Garden. Through Budin’s contacts we already had a
handle on Bradley’s second-best player, a six-foot-seven jumping jack named
Al Sanders. Chet Walker was Bradley’s All-American and they were a really
tough team, one of the best in the country. Bradley was a six-point favorite
over St. Bonaventure and we felt that if we could get Walker doped up, then
the Bonnies would be a lock. Sanders, by the way, was Walker’s roommate,
and he insisted that he also be doused with the drug so nobody would suspect
him of anything crooked.
“So on the afternoon of the game, Budin hired this black kid named Rufus,
dressed him up in a waiter’s uniform, gave him a tray and a pitcher of
doctored orange juice, then drove him to the Paramount Hotel, where
Bradley was staying. It was a funny scene with the passersby trying to figure
out why a waiter was climbing out of a car balancing a pitcher of orange
juice on a tray. Anyway, Rufus walked right through the lobby without being
challenged by anybody, got on the elevator, found the right room, and
knocked on the door. When Sanders opened the door, Rufus said, ‘Here’s
your orange juice.’ Sanders then grabbed the pitcher and poured a glassful
for himself and one for Walker.
“‘What’s this all about?’ Walker asked. ‘We’ve never had orange juice
before.’
“‘Coach’s orders,’ Rufus said. ‘You can call him and ask him about it, but
I don’t think he’ll appreciate that you’re questioning his decision. The coach
told me he wants everybody to drink orange juice to give them extra energy
for the ball game.’
“So Sanders and Walker each gulped down a glass of the juice, then gave
the empty pitcher back to Rufus. ‘No tip will be required,’ Rufus said, then
he left the room, put the pitcher and the tray down on the floor right outside
the door, took off his uniform and laid it right next to the pitcher, took the
elevator down to the lobby, walked calmly into the street, jumped back into
the car, and off he went.
“We all laid our bets on St. Bonaventure with six points. I bet about two
thousand and Budin must’ve bet ten thousand. The game was close from wire
to wire. Walker would play three minutes, then a substitute would be sent in
while he ran to the bathroom. He’d come back to the bench a few minutes
later and be sent back into the game for another short stretch, and this went on
all game long. It’s ironic that Sanders didn’t seem to be affected at all by the
drug. I figured that the drug had sunk to the bottom of the pitcher and since
Walker drank the second glass, he got the heavy hit.
“Long about the end of the third quarter, somebody handed me a copy of
the next morning’s Daily News, the early edition. The headline on the back
page said that the Bradley players had been drugged and there was a picture
of the pitcher, the tray, and Rufus’s discarded uniform! Anyway, Walker
wound up with twenty points, Bradley won by eleven points, and we lost our
wagers.
“Afterward, there was a big investigation by the Manhattan district
attorney, who believed that Walker had dumped the game. Sanders, who was
dumping, was never suspected, but the shadow of scandal hung over
Walker’s career even after he became an All-Star player in the NBA.”
*NOT FOR SALE*
Item: 13890
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