NHL’s First Gambling Scandal in 1948 Led to Expulsion of Rangers & Bruins Players
In late October, NHL player Shane Pinto was suspended by the league for 41 games for “activities related to sports wagering.” However, this wasn’t the first instance of hockey’s top league suspending a player for gambling-related reasons. Indeed, in the very first season of The Hockey News’ operation, the NHL dropped an ever harsher verdict on a pair of veteran players. In this story from THN’s exclusive Archive, we look back to 1948 with a story that chronicled the gambling scandal of the day. (Also, this is your daily reminder – you unlock full access to our 76-year Archive by subscribing to our magazine.)
In this cover story from our March 10, 1948 edition – Vol. 1, Issue 24 – THN profiled New York Rangers center Billy Taylor and Boston Bruins center Don Gallinger, each of whom received major suspensions from NHL president Clarence R. Campbell. Taylor and Gallinger were linked to Detroit criminal and gambler James Tamer, and while Gallinger was initially suspended indefinitely by Campbell, Taylor was expelled from the league. Taylor played most of his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he’d played just two games of the 1947-48 season when Campbell handed down his permanent ban from the league. “Taylor’s interest in this wager was that he authorized Tamer to place for him a bet of $500 on the Chicago Black Hawks,” Campbell said in announcing the ruling against the two men.
Gallinger spent all of his NHL days with the Bruins, but after his initial indefinite suspension, he, too, was banned from the league for life. Neither man played another NHL game, although the league did lift the permanent ban on both of them in 1970.
TAYLOR OUT FOR LIFE: GALLINGER SUSPENDED
Lansing, Mich. – President Clarence S. Campbell of the NHL announced today the expulsion from the National Hockey League of Billy Taylor of the New York Rangers and the indefinite suspension of Don Gallinger of the Boston Bruins. President Campbell made the following statement from the Michigan State Executive Offices of Governor Kim Sigler.
“I have today ordered the expulsion from the National Hockey League of William ‘Billy’ Taylor of the New York Rangers Hockey Club for conduct prejudicial to and against the welfare of hockey in that he knowingly associated and communicated with James Tamer, a criminal and gambler of Detroit and that he was interested with Tamer in a wager on the outcome of an N.H.L. Championship game played in Chicago on February 18 between Boston and Chicago Black Hawks. “Taylor’s interest in this wager was that he authorized Tamer to place for him a bet of $500 on the Chicago Black Hawks. “I have today ordered the indefinite suspension of Donald ‘Don’ Gallinger of the Boston Bruins Hockey Club pending further investigation of his association with James Tamer, the Detroit criminal and gambler.”
Mr. Campbell stated that Taylor’s expulsion and Gallinger’s suspension are effective immediately and that the management of the six N.H.L. clubs were being notified today. BRILLIANT YOUNGSTER Taylor, who as “Billy the Kid” with Oshawa Generals Juniors had all the pro scouts on his trail, promised a brilliant career that somehow began to fizzle out as team after team gave up on him. He reached his pre-service peak in 1942-43 with Toronto Maple Leafs, when he sank 18 goals and assisted on 42 more for a total of 60 points. When he made his comeback in the 1945-46 campaign, he piled up a creditable total of 23 goals and 18 assists, but before the 1946-47 campaign opened Leafs traded him to Detroit in a straight deal for Harry Watson, now a Toronto stalwart. Taylor made that trade look bad for the Leafs last season as he racked up 63 points, and apparently had recovered all his old style. But just two days before the 1947-48 schedule got underway, Wings traded him to Bruins in a straight, deal for Bep Guidolin.
The Kid was a disappointment in the Hub almost from the start. The fans jeered him when he couldn’t get going, and he lost heart. Knowing he wasn’t giving his best — but perhaps could be of value to another team in a different setting, the Bruins front office traded him to New York Rangers for Grant ‘Nobby’ Warwick, just over a month ago. He played only two games with the Blueshirts after the trade, then went back to his home in Oshawa. METEORIC RISE Gallinger had an even more meteoric rise to the big top than Taylor. In 1940-41 he played for a midget team which copped the Ontario Hockey Association title. In 1941-42 he played for St. Catharines Junior “B” team, and the next year he was up with the Bruins. Though only 17 years old at the time, he chalked up 14 goals and 20 assists to rate as one of the most – watched newcomers in the loop. After playing 23 games of the 1943-44 season, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and didn’t get back into pro hockey action until the 1945-46 campaign.
