The 25 Worst Things "Allegedly" Done By Hall of Famers

Image via Complex Original

Hall of Fame: Baseball

What do you think is worse? Beating up a handicapped person? Beating up a couple, most likely, because you're racist? Or horsewhipping your own son for dropping out of college? Honestly, with Ty Cobb you have your pick of those three. Our approach was to choose at random, because you really can't go wrong.

That brought us to a 1912 story where Cobb got into a drawn out arguing match with a heckler before eventually entering the stands (92 years before Malice at the Palace) to fight the fan (Claude Leuker). Leuker was beaten to a pulp and couldn't return punches on account of the fact that he only had two-fifths of a fucking hand (a printing press accident had cost him eight fingers).

Before you feel bad for Lueker however, know that he called Cobb a "half-n-word," except that in 1912 they didn't say "n-word." Like we alluded to in the first paragraph, Cobb was involved in a racist incident or two, the most notorious of which was beating up a black groundskeeper (and his wife) for the condition of a baseball field. So...it's not exactly like he was sticking up for Civil Rights with this act of violence.

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

The Knicks hired Isiah Thomas as their President of Basketball Operations in late 2003 where he did an awful all-around job (evidence: highest NBA payroll, second worst NBA record). At that point New York promoted him to head coach because they were in the midst of their "We have no clue what we're doing" phase. He then led them to a team record in losses before getting fired. In addition to that management incompetence, he also cost his bosses $11.6 million due to a sexual harassment case filed by team executive Anucha Browne Sanders, thereby completing a (then) unprecedented trifecta of being a horrendously shitty employee.

Hall of Fame: World Boxing

Not only has promoter Don King been sued by pretty much every boxer he's ever represented (usually settled with "six to eight figure payoffs"), but he is one of a few guys on this countdown who's so slimy he gets his own list. For today, we'll just focus on the time he beat an employee to death over a $600 debt.

Sam Garrett, formerly worked for King and owed him the aforementioned amount of money. Garrett was "sickly, small, and drug addicted" and King bounced his head off the street like a "rubber ball." He then served four years on a reduced charge of manslaughter, and his crime was later pardoned because a bunch of powerful people wrote letters to Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes on his behalf.

As King himself would say "Only in America!"

Hall of Fame: World Boxing

Esteban de Jesus was a Puerto Rican boxer who hit his peak in the 1970s and finished his career with a 58-5 record. Unfortunately, he couldn't continue building upon that because he went to prison around Thanksgiving 1980 after shooting a 17-year-old in the head during a cocaine-fueled traffic dispute. While in prison he excelled at baseball and became a three-time selection to ther Puerto Rican penal all-star team, a squad topped in notoriety by only the 1986 New York Mets.

After eight years (and an alleged born-again Christian conversion, along with contraction of AIDS) de Jesus was pardoned. He died a month later, at the age of 37.

Hall of Fame: Baseball

We really don't care about gambling, but when you're fixing a game, that's pretty much just stealing. Technically associating with "known gamblers" is what got player-turned-manager Leo Durocher suspended from baseball in 1947. After Happy Chandler (baseball's commissioner at the time) investigated Durocher he found that the (then) Dodgers skipper had worked an opponent (allegedly Detroit Tiger, Dizzy Trout) in a "fixed craps game." Without Durocher, the Dodgers (and new infielder Jackie Robinson) went on to win the pennant.

he next year, upon his return, they regressed, he clashed with management, and then he was fired.

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

Just prior to the opener of the 1997-98 season, Houston Rockets forward Charles Barkley was at a bar in Orlando when a 20-year-old man threw a cup of ice at him. Barkley responded by throwing said man out of a plate glass window. When police showed up Barkley told the man who was bleeding on the ground ''For all I care, you can lay there and die.'' Hey, the man told you he's not a role model.

Don't blame him if you didn't listen.

Hall of Fame: Pro Football

Mel Blount played 14 years in the NFL, all of them for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Over that time he made five Pro Bowls and won four Super Bowls. After the 1983 season he retired, served as the Director of Player Relations for the NFL for seven years before founding the Mel Blount Youth Home, a shelter for child neglect and abuse in 1990.

Roughly three years after the home opened, they themselves were facing allegations of child abuse, with the Legal Aid Society stating that Blount violated a "consent decree" that required he stay out of disciplinary matters. Apparently the home was using corporal punishment on victims of child abuse.

Go ahead and let that one sit for a second.

Hall of Fame: International Boxing

Honestly, we had forgotten this bit of Oscar De La Hoya's past, but raping a minor has a tendency to make it to your Wikipedia page. The incident allegedly took place in a Cabo San Lucas hotel room in 1996 with a 15-year-old girl. De La Hoya was 23 at the time. De La Hoya's promoter Bob Arum expressed outrage over the suit, citing that the accuser never said a word to authorities for two-and-a-half years. Still, that didn't prevent it from being settled out of court in 2001. 

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

In April of 2009, Louisville coach Rick Pitino was the target of an attempted extortion by Karen Cunagin Sypher, who happened to be the wife of Louisville's equipment manager. Apparently, in 2003 Pitino bonked Cunagin (who wasn't yet married) in the bathroom of a Louisville restaurant. This wasn't the good type of one-night stand, it was the type you dread, the type where you get a woman pregnant. Sypher then asked Pitino for money for an abortion, so Pitino gave her $3,000.

When this embarrassment came to light, Pitino admitted his infidelity but downplayed the incident saying the complete act "took no more than 15 seconds.

How that quote didn't lead to further embarrassment, we really don't know.

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

It should come as no surprise, with his history of crazy behavior, that Dennis Rodman has had three separate arrests for domestic disputes. That's in addition to having a Newport Beach home visited by police 70 times for excessive noise. You think you'd learn your lesson after, like, 64 times but hey, we've never walked a mile in those shoes.

Hall of Fame: Pro Football

We really don't care about Irvin's drug issues, we care more about his "stabbing a teammate in the neck with a pair of scissors" issues. That transgression occurred in Cowboys training camp, roughly a month before the 1998 season. That whole thing stemmed from an argument over which Cowboy was more suited for a haircut, Irvin or incoming guard Everett McIver. While McIver was already in the chair mid-cut, Irvin attempted to evict him by shouting "Seniority!" angrily. He yelled it three more times before screaming "Punk get the fuck out of my chair!"

Even though McIver was in his fifth season in the league, Irvin really wanted that haircut. After a fellow lineman told McIver "You're no fuckin' rookie. He can't tell you what to do," the 6'5", 325 lbs. McIver got up and shoved Irvin who shoved back, McIver punched Irvin, when another massive lineman (Leon Lett) tried to tear the two apart, but before he could Irvin grabbed a pair of scissors, stabbed McIver two inches deep above the collarbone, and missed his carotid artery (i.e. probable death) by centimeters.

At that point blood spurted everywhere, which we assume looked like this. Irvin went onto a 1,000 yard season, before a career ending neck injury the year afterward. McIver played with Dallas through 1999 and then retired without fanfare from the NFL.

Hall of Fame: Hockey (formerly)

He never actually stepped onto the ice, but he was enshrined in Toronto all the same. Alan Eagleson was a lawyer, promoter and hockey agent who became the first executive director of the NHL Players Union. On top of that, he argued for pro players to be able to participate in international hockey tournaments. But it was soon found out that his consolidation of power allowed him to profit immensely off of others.

He was convicted of fraud, embezzlement, and skimmed profits from player contracts, pensions, and tournaments. When he was exposed as a scumbag he resigned from the Hockey Hall of Fame as, in a unique twist of irony, 18 Hall of Famers banded together to request that either he be removed, or they'd all resign together.

Hall of Fame: International Boxing

Mike Tyson once said he did "five to seven" things worse than rape. But it's Mike Tyson so it's kind of hard to quantify whether he's serious or whether he realizes how crazy of a quote that truly is. Tyson is another guy on here whom we've singled out for his own list. He's pretty much punched out everybody, in fact there's a pretty good chance someone you know has been knocked out by Tyson. Since we just talked about Tyson last week, we won't rehash old stories. But again, if you don't know what makes his life interesting enough to host his own one-man show, click this list.

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

Two weeks into the 1990-91 season, James Worthy got an idea of how to pass the boredom on the road, and that idea was two prostitutes working in tandem towards a common goal (presumably, to get Worthy off). Unfortunately, the Houston police department had previously shutdown the escort service of Worthy's choice and sent two undercover cops instead. Fortunately, we haven't been there, but we can't imagine what a contrast it is to think you're about to be part of a threesome, only to find out you're being arrested and processed. Talk about a mood killer.

That being said, to us getting busted with a prostitute is not that big of a deal unless, of course, you happen to be Worthy's wife.

Hall of Famer: Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Hall of Fame: Baseball

Kenesaw Mountain Landis was a federal judge and later the first commissioner of Major League baseball.  He was installed in that position as a response to the 1919 White Sox throwing the World Series. Like just about every other commissioner since, he was on a massive power trip, basically ruling the sport with an iron fist. He served for 24 seasons from 1920-1944 and the only reason he resigned was because he was, well, dead.

That death came three years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, which is a source of major contention regarding Landis's tenure at the top.

Several authors, historians, formerly mentioned manager Leo Durocher, and even baseball executive/team owner Bill Veeck all claimed that Landis purposely meddled in baseball race relations. He meddled in Negro League affairs without jurisdiction on at least one occasion. Some other evidence contradicts that cookie cutter description, depicting him as inconsistent on race issues.

At the very least, he appears to have worked together with owners of his era (who themselves did not want black players in MLB) to keep baseball segregated.

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

We've written about this at length before, so we'll just go over the basics if you're not much for clicking links. Gary Payton, Sam Cassell, and Jason Caffey walk into a Toronto strip club, Gary Payton decides he wants to talk to one of the "dancers," but instead of calling her a dancer, or something crazy (like her name), he calls her a "whore." Turns out the "dancer's" boyfriend is also a stripper in the same place at the same time. He objects, gets his ass kicked by three professional athletes, and then opts to sue the trio.

While a judge declares that the (then) Milwaukee Bucks were "probably" instigators, he throws the case out because the two strippers can't keep their story straight.

Hall of Fame: Baseball

Kirby Puckett was one of my favorite players when I was really young. I have an autographed picture of him in my room. I did a biographical presentation on him in the fourth grade. When he had a downfall I had my nuts first metaphorically squashed, and then physically when I needed to sit down to take it all in.

That's because at age 36, Kirby woke up with glaucoma that prematurely ended his Hall of Fame career. After that the world caved in on him. He was exposed for having a career-long affair, which resulted in a restraining order. All that time he was cheating on his mistress with several other women. He groped an innocent lady after pushing her into a restaurant bathroom (he was found not guilty, but still had to give up a cushy Twins executive position). And then Sports Illustrated wrote a big feature exposing him as totally different than his public persona.

He just basically did whatever he wanted, including taking pisses in full view of the public. Maybe the most damning was that his wife said that he put a gun to her head, and also tried to strangle her with a power cord.

Somehow my naive little dipshit fourth grade biography presentation glossed over all those deficiencies, which pretty much qualified me to be a writer for Major League Baseball.

Hall of Fame: College Football

Billy Cannon played three years at LSU in the late 1950s, with his career culminating in a 1959 Heisman Trophy. That basically cemented a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. After that, he played 10 seasons in the AFL, followed by one season in the NFL. After football, he became an orthodontist, but bad investments and bets left him little money (despite the success of his practice). At that point he became a part of a scheme to make his own cash, burying $50 million in fake hundreds in his backyard.

He served 2.5 years for this crime. The story has a somewhat happy ending as he combined his two post-football passions and found employment as the resident dentist at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.

Hall of Fame: Baseball

After Johnny Roseboro (the catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers) threw return throws too close to his head, Giants pitcher Juan Marichal went ballistic and went after him with a bat. Usually that's the type of treatment for people who can't repay loan sharks, but the fact that he did it on a baseball field gets it chocked up to a heated competitive moment, instead of an insane act of over-the-top violence. 

Take it off the diamond and it's (somehow) even more terrifying.

Hall of Fame: International Tennis

Back in the roaring twenties, Bill Tilden won Wimbledon three times, and the U.S. Open, seven. In 1946, Tilden committed the first of two major crimes, both of which alone would land him on this list. You see, he was arrested by Beverly Hills police for "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" which means he had sex with a 14-year-old boy in a moving car. He then signed a confession without reading it because he didn't have his glasses. This led to a 7.5 month stay in jail.

Apparently, that wasn't enough as he was arrested again, in 1949, this time for sex with a 16-year-old. It's sort of hard to blame on "not reading" when it happens a second time.

Hall of Fame: Baseball

Ed Delahanty was one of the best baseball players in the world at the start of the 20th century. With 2,596 hits at age 35, he was poised to become the second player in history to reach 3,000. Unfortunately, he died after being kicked off a train for disorderly conduct. After downing "five whiskeys" Delahanty threatened terrified passengers with a straight razor. When a conductor tossed him off, he attempted to cross the International Bridge connecting the states with our neighbors to the north. Either he drunkenly slipped, killed himself, or possibly (long shot) was murdered in a robbery.

However you slice it, he ended up at the bottom of Niagara Falls.

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

Former MTV VJ Kennedy was having dinner with both Russell Simmons and Michael Jordan in 1995 when Jordan busted out a pair of dice in a New York City restaurant. Being a massive gambling addict, Jordan suggested that if he won Kennedy would come back to his hotel room that night. In case you didn't read the headline, she was a virgin at the time. And being won in a game of dice probably wasn't as romantic as she envisioned (at least we hope not).

Kennedy claims that she attempted to swap her virginity for Knicks tickets, Jordan then reminded her he was a married man and countered with Nets tickets. And even after reading that from 10 different sources while researching this story we still have no fucking idea what that means.

Hall of Fame: Pro Football

The fourth of five people on this rundown who has their own list. We're not sure if that's an honor, but Taylor's worst offense (in our minds) was having sex with a 16-year-old prostitute for $300. Any time you have to register as a sex offender, that's probably a bad day.

Hall of Fame: Naismith Memorial Basketball

If you're a regular reader of this channel, you know the story by now. Karl Malone, then a sophomore at Louisiana Tech, knocked up a 13-year-old. After his collegiate career he went on to make millions but still contested a $125 weekly child support payment. His son, Demetress Bell, turned out to be an NFL player. Still, unlike most deadbeat dads who find out their son's a pro athlete, Malone didn't mend the relationship (probably because he had his own money).

Instead the Mailman told Bell it was "too late" to be a father, which was such a dick move that it made it to No. 1 on our own Karl Malone Jackass Moments list.

Hall of Fame: Pro Football

When you commit a potential "Crime of the Century" nobody's going to top you. And even though O.J. was technically found "not guilty," he had already lost the PR battle against shut-ins, the unemployable, and other people watching his double-murder trial unfold on daytime TV. Over 12 years after O.J. was arrested for killing his ex-wife and her friend, he helped write a book called If I Did It, about how the murders would've hypothetically happened had he actually committed them.

Wow, if that's not wagging your dick at the justice system, we don't know what is.