Sunday, February 7, 2010

Welcome to the NFL


Carroll Rosenbloom’s gambling had gotten so out of control that the league didn’t know what to do. He owned money to every Mafia family in the United States and had no way to get action so he could get even. They eventually forced him to “trade” his Baltimore franchise so he would be the new owner of the Los Angles Rams so they could keep better tabs on him. At the time the Chicago mob was into him for the most money and controlled the LA rackets. They also forced Rosenbloom to marry Gerogia Frontiere who was a dancer who was the lover of both Sam Giancanna and Jack Kennedy. Rosenbloom was initially resistant but became reconciled to the idea after finding out that Ms. Frontiere could fit an entire football in her mouth. The Outfit (as the Chicago Mob was know) made a lot of money laying off bets on the Rams during Rosenbloom’s tenure but eventually were double crossed when the Rams covered the spread on the final game of the 1979 season. Rosembloom had laid off his bet with Vinnie the Chin Gigante in New York and thought he was free and clear. However it was not to be. While swimming in the Atlantic he was held under water until he drowned by Lloyd Bridges of Sea Hunt fame who was deeply in debt to the Chicago Mob as well. Miss Frontiere remained owner of the team eventually moving it to Saint Louis where is was never heard of again.
(Reverse the Call on the Field, The Secret History of the NFL, Doris Kearns Goodwin, ESPN Press 2010)

4 comments:

Beth said...

Hey Trooper -

Happy Lombardi Gras!

Hoosier Daddy said...

Hey Beth congratz on your Saints. They were definitely the better team yesterday. I think if our defensive backs actually tried covering the receivers it might have turned out differently :-)

Beth said...

Thanks, Hoosier.

In defense of your backs, Drew Brees threw eight passes to eight different receivers on that last scoring drive. Who would they choose to cover exactly?

Beth said...

And it was a testament to their respect for Peyton Manning that the Saints game plan was all about keeping the ball out of his hands as much as possible. That onsides kick was a tribute to him.