 Molinas, circa 1951 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1931-10-31)October 31, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 3, 1975(1975-08-03) (aged 43) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Stuyvesant (New York City, New York) |
| College | Columbia (1950–1953) |
| NBA draft | 1953: 1st round, 3rd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Playing career | 1953–1962 |
| Position | Small forward /power forward |
| Number | 6 |
| Coaching career | 1960–1961 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1953–1954 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1954–1959 | Williamsport Billies |
| 1960–1961 | Hazleton Hawks |
| 1961–1962 | Wilkes-Barre Barons |
Coaching | |
| 1960–1961 | Hazleton Hawks |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 370 (11.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 228 (7.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 51 (1.6 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Jacob Louis Molinas (October 31, 1931 – August 3, 1975)[1] was an American professionalbasketball player, playing first forColumbia University in New York City, and later briefly in the earlyNational Basketball Association (NBA) with theFort Wayne Pistons. He also played for multiple minor league teams after his brief NBA stint (mostly out inPennsylvania, although he would play in the summer leagues, sometimes with other players that had controversial pasts as well) during the 1950s and early 1960s. During that period of time, he supposedly became an associate of theGenovese crime family due to his association with a couple of people there, and he later became a key figure in one of the most wide-reachingpoint shaving cheating scandals incollege basketball history.
Molinas grew up inBrooklyn and attended the then all-boys premier academic selective specializedStuyvesant High School inManhattan of New York City. His parents owned a bar onConey Island, the ocean-side resort inBrooklyn. Molinas notably was among a part of the crowd of people to see his hometownNew York Knicks in their first ever home game at theMadison Square Garden against theChicago Stags in theBasketball Association of America on November 11, 1946 (with Molinas sitting at Section 325 during that night's game) due to him being among a group of students that were from theBronx High School of Science that he would sometimes hang out with; that game not only was a game where he could see himself competing against the rest of the competition in that league (which would later be rebranded into theNational Basketball Association), but also continue seeing him getting involved with the world of gambling after he previously met up with Joe Hacken (who had the nickname of Joe Jalop) at the young age of 12 years old.[2]
He attendedColumbia University from 1950 to 1953 where he played basketball. In the 1952–1953 season he was the captain ofColumbia's team and led the team in scoring. In 1953, he set a team record for most points scored in a game—a mark that was eclipsed a few years later byChet Forte.[3] During his time in Columbia, he was measured to have a genius-level I.Q. of 175.[4] He also had some involvement in the1951 college basketball point-shaving scandal back when he played college basketball, though he was never caught while he played for Columbia.[5]
TheFort Wayne Pistons drafted him third in the1953 NBA draft. He played in 32 games before the league banned him for wagering on Pistons games.[6] Molinas was selected for the1954 NBA All-Star Game, but was suspended at the time of the game and was replaced by teammateAndy Phillip. He later sued the NBA for $3 million, claiming the league's ban was an unreasonable restraint of trade. JudgeIrving Kaufman ruled against him in the case.[7] Molinas would be the last active player to be banned from the NBA for gambling until 2024, 70 years later, whenJontay Porter was banned from the NBA for his own involvement in gambling on NBA games in which he played.[8][9][10]
Molinas played in theEastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) from 1954 to 1962 for the Williamsport Billies,Hazleton Hawks andWilkes-Barre Barons. He was selected as theEPBL Most Valuable Player in 1956. Molinas was a five-time All-EPBL First Team selection (1955–1958, 1960) and two-time Second Team selection (1959, 1961).[11] He served as aplayer-coach for the Hawks during the 1960–61 season.[12] After his playing career was nearing its end, he entered theBrooklyn Law School, graduating with a law degree. Before his admission to law school, theBronx County District Attorney investigated his case and concluded that he had not committed a crime. The bar association also reviewed his case and admitted him to the New York Bar.[6]
Molinas became the central figure in the1961 point-shaving scandal. The gambling ring went on from 1957 to 1960 and involved 50 players from 27 colleges.[13] Two of the most notable players ensnared in the scandal were futureHall of FamersConnie Hawkins andRoger Brown. Molinas gave Hawkins $250 during his first year atIowa but never encouraged him to throw games. Although Molinas never implicated Hawkins in any way, both Hawkins and Brown were effectively blackballed from both collegiate and professional basketball until signing with the upstartAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967. Hawkins also played in theAmerican Basketball League (ABL) for its entire existence (1961–63), and filed a lawsuit against theNBA in 1967 with the objective of being admitted to the league; the lawsuit was settled and Hawkins signed in 1969 with thePhoenix Suns. Meanwhile, Brown spent his entire professional career in the rival ABA, leading theIndiana Pacers to three ABA titles before retiring from basketball in 1975; the Pacers retired his number (No. 35) on November 2, 1985. In 1963, Molinas was convicted for his role in the scheme and was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. He was paroled in 1968 after serving five years.[13][14] Molinas was said to have contacts with New York City mobstersThomas Eboli andVincent Gigante.[3] According to Molinas' attorney in the case, Jacob Evseroff, it was possible that he could have won his case had he taken the stand on his own behalf, yet he failed to do so since he notably lost his nerve (the only time he had done so during the case) in relation to members of organized crime and sports gambling.[15]
Molinas moved toLos Angeles in 1970. After unsuccessfully negotiating with film producers to have his life portrayed in a motion picture, he began writing an autobiography.[16]
In 1973, authorities arrested and charged him with interstate shipment of pornography and furs inTaiwan (Republic of China) and was scheduled to stand trial on those charges at the time of his death.
At 2:00 am on August 3, 1975, at age 43, Molinas was killed while standing in the backyard of his home in Los Angeles. Joseph Ullo[17][18] fired five shots, with at least one shot being a bullet to the head, while standing in the yard of Molinas' neighbor using a long-barreled .22 caliber pistol steadied on the fence. Molinas was hit in the neck, and his girlfriend, Shirley Marcus, and dog were both wounded as well.[19][20] Police did not rule out a mob-related murder.[3] His business partner, Bernard Gusoff, had been beaten to death in November 1974.[13] Molinas and Gusoff both had life insurance policies worth $500,000 on each other due to them being partners in a fur-importing business at the time.[21][22]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–54 | Fort Wayne | 32 | 29.9 | .390 | .759 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 11.6 |
| Career | 32 | 29.9 | .390 | .759 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 11.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954–55 | Williamsport | 28 | 22.7 | |||||
| 1955–56 | Williamsport | 26 | 27.3 | |||||
| 1956–57 | Williamsport | 29 | 26.5 | |||||
| 1957–58 | Williamsport | 26 | 32.2 | |||||
| 1958–59 | Williamsport | 19 | 26.1 | |||||
| 1958–59 | Williamsport | 19 | 26.1 | |||||
| 1959–60 | Williamsport-Hazleton | 22 | 66.8 | 7.4 | 3.6 | 25.0 | ||
| 1960–61 | Hazleton | 22 | 77.9 | 9.5 | 2.6 | 30.0 | ||
| 1961–62 | Wilkes-Barre | 7 | 69.8 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 17.7 | ||
| Career | 157 | 27.0 | ||||||
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