The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time: Ranking Sports' Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups, and Scandals [Paperback]

Elliott Kalb (Author), Mark Weinstein (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009

In The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All Time, long-time TV sports statistician and self-professed skeptic Elliott Kalb examines the most notable conspiracies in sports history, from Major League baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, Olympics, NASCAR, the horse track and the prize ring.

Separating fact from myth, Kalb attempts to determine which of these long-held conspiracy theories hold water, and which ones fall flat under scrutiny. Ranking the conspiracies from 1 to 30 and the likelihood of each conspiracy from 1 to 5, Kalb boldly asks:

• Did baseball avoid integration in the 1930s and 1940s with an unwritten agreement?
• Was Super Bowl III a fixed game?
• Did Sonny Liston throw both of his fights vs. Muhammad Ali?
• Was the NBA’s first-ever draft lottery fixed?
• Why did Michael Jordan really retire from basketball the first time?
• Are some NASCAR race outcomes too good to be true?
• Did the New England Patriots cheat their way to a dynasty?
• What really happened at the 1921 Kentucky Derby?
• Why weren’t any Japanese players signed to major league contracts from 1965-1995?
• And much more!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elliott Kalb has been the Editorial Director of MLB Network since its inception in 2009. Previously, Kalb was known for his broadcast work with NBC Sports, HBO Sports, TNT, and CBS-Westwood One Radio Network. He is an eight-time Sports Emmy winner, including a 2009 victory for producing baseball for NBC from the Beijing Olympics. Kalb wrote columns for foxsports.com for three years, and is the author of three previous books, including Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Baseball? Kalb lives in northern New Jersey with his wife Amy and his children. Mark Weinstein is a book editor and writer specializing in sports. He lives with his wife in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 366 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing; Original edition (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602396787
• ISBN-13: 978-1602396784
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Essays
  • #87 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > History of Sports

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Insider's take on sports' greatest conspiracies, August 26, 2009

By 

invisible lasso (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time: Ranking Sports' Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups, and Scandals (Paperback)

Awesome. One of the best books on sports I've read in years. Kalb and Weinstein take you through some of the biggest moments in sports that you've always wondered about and manage to introduce you to some conspiracy scenarios that you never knew about before. The writing style is fun, yet authoritative and leaves you thinking, "Wow, could that really have happened that way?" The chapters on the Patriots and UNLV/Duke are particularly outstanding. I highly recommend this to both conspiracy nuts and sports nuts alike. It's also a great read for lovers of truth and non-fiction.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read..., January 21, 2012

By 

Karen Johnson (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time: Ranking Sports' Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups, and Scandals (Paperback)

Bought it for a friend who likes it. I previewed a few pages and it was interesting. I may even borrow it to read the whole thing.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Are you joking?, January 29, 2012

By 

Nobama - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time: Ranking Sports' Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups, and Scandals (Paperback)

Look, to be honest I didn't even read this book, but the idea that you can write a book on sports conspiracies without mentioning Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Kings and Lakers, or NBA refereeing in general, makes the entire book worthless. If there is one conspiracy that is provable beyond a doubt it is that game which everyone points to. Garbage!