Alex Karras' NFL Gambling Suspension--Part Three of Three

Late one December night in 1963 just before closing, Johnny Butsicaris was tending bar while Alex Karras was sitting in a booth counting money and doing some bookkeeping. Celebrated Detroit defense lawyer Joseph Louisell came in and ordered a triple shot of bourbon, took off his overcoat and scarf, and sat across from Karras.

Defense lawyer Joseph Louisell

Louisell was a popular customer at the Lindell AC. He was a heavy set, jovial man who was well-read and an avid sports fan. Louisell was known for winning some of Detroit's most notorious cases. He earned respect for bringing acquittals or reduced sentences for many local crime figures. He lived in the same Grosse Pointe Park neighborhood with many of Detroit's top-ranking mob figures. Their kids even went to school together.

"I want to talk with you about your suspension, Alex. The NFL meets in Miami next month. Have you made any plans regarding your reinstatement?"

"No, Rozelle wants me to drop my interest in the bar and I can't afford to do that."

"I've thoroughly checked out your bar activities.... You're as clean as snow."

"Tell that to Rozelle!"

"Give me the okay and I'll represent you."

"I can't afford you, Joe."

Over 65% of Joseph Louisell's law practice was devoted to civil and corporate law. That's how he and partner Ivan Baris made their money, but that bored Louisell. Joe would take some cases pro bono (free) if they interested him. Winning several high-profile defense cases helped build his reputation. Louisell was a diehard Lions fan, as were other interested parties who wanted to see Karras back in a Lions uniform, but they preferred to remain anonymous not wanting to prejudice the case against him.

"I'll take your case pro bono. I want to see you back on the gridiron, Alex. Here's my argument."

Louisell cited a provision in Michigan liquor licensing that states if your name appears on a Michigan liquor license, you can't sell your business for one year--by law. That includes taverns and liquor stores.

"What does that mean for me?"

"Were you to sell your interest in the bar business, you can 't get another liquor license for three years. We can sue them for lost wages if they force you to sell your stake in the Lindell, and they don't reinstate you."

Louisell told Alex to quit working at the bar, return to his family in Clinton, Iowa, maintain a low profile, and most of all, do not speak with the press. "Wait for my phone call," Louisell emphasized. In late January, Louisell made sure Karras' formal reinstatement appeal was on Commissioner Pete Rozelle's desk.

NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle

In early March, Louisell and Karras went to meet with Commissioner Rozelle at his New York offices. After waiting for almost an hour in a reception room, the two men were led into the commissioner's office where Rozelle on the phone ignored them for some minutes. With Karras about to storm out of the office in frustration, Louisell calmed him down and told Rozelle to get off the phone, "This man's life is important."

Cutting short his phone call, Rozelle said, "Okay, Mr. Louisell, I'm listening."

Louisell explained that gambling is as intrinsic to professional football as the two-pointed pigskin, and Rozelle knew it. NFL football gambling existed on every level of American society and occurred weekly in office and factory pools, in Las Vegas sports betting parlors, and with private wagers made by John Q. Public--most of it innocent enough.

"You've unjustly punished Alex Karras for a year. My advice to you is make a decision within a week. If it's negative, I will tear the NFL apart." Louisell and Karras rose promptly from their seats and left the commissioner to think it over.

Rozelle knew any bad publicity with a headline-hungry press was not good for the league. He also knew that Louisell was not some ambulance-chasing shyster. His client list included many of Detroit's most notorious power-players including Jimmy Hoffa and the Giacoloni brothers. The last thing the NFL wanted was a media circus broadcast nationwide.

On March 16, 1964, both Green Bay Packer Paul Horning and Detroit Lion Alex Karras were reinstated. The NFL issued a statement saying both men bet on football games but never against their own teams, and there was no evidence either man performed less than his best in any football game.

"After personal discussions with each man, the commissioner is satisified that they have a clear understanding of the seriousness of their offenses," said an NFL spokesman. Nothing was mentioned about Karras' co-ownership of the Lindell AC sports bar.

***

In a 1969 interview with Sport magazine writer Lou Proto, Karras was led into the subject of his 1963 suspension. "It is my understanding," said Proto, "that you had to sell your interest in the Lindell AC when ordered by Pete Rozelle."

"I kept it for five more years."

"How did you manage that?"

"It was a verbal thing. If Rozelle would have claimed something illegal was going on at the Lindell, he would have been slapped with a lawsuit."

"Then, you were lying when you told Rozelle in 1964 that you sold your interests in the bar?"

"Lying to whom? The guy who was trying to screw me?"

Karras was outspoken but not altogether candid in the interview. He didn't care; he knew the end of his football career was near, and he had already shifted his career trajectory into show business by signing a contract with Hannah-Barbera Productions--already appearing in the TV series Daniel Boone with Fess Parker and a western named The Hard Case with Clint Walker.

William Clay Ford

Recently, Mel Butsicaris revealed to me what really happened. His father Johnny went to see Lions owner William (Bill) Clay Ford. He told Bill Ford if he ever wanted to see Karras in a Lions' uniform again, he needed to lend him and his brother Jimmy the money to buy out Karras' share of the Lindell. They put up their sports bar as security, cut a deal, and Ford had his lawyers write up the promissory note. It took the Butsicaris brothers five years to pay off the loan.

"My dad paid the last installment to Bill Ford personally and took the promisory note, twisted it up, and set one end on fire to light his cigar."

Although I can appreciate the symbolic gesture, the researcher in me regrets that this piece of documentation when up in smoke.

More background on Joseph Louisell

Karras NFL Suspension--Part One 

Karras NFL Suspension--Part Two

Alex Karras' NFL Gambling Suspension--Part Two of Three

Anthony Giacalone - Vito Giacalone - Odus Tincher

On August 18, 1962, Detroit crime figures Tony and Vito Giacalone and a few of their friends--including Jimmy and Johnny Butsicaris--went to Cleveland in their private bus to see the Lions play the Browns in an exhibition game. Jimmy and Johnny shared the driving chores. After the game, Jimmy invited Alex Karras and his teammate John Gordy to return to Detroit on the luxury bus instead of uncomfortable team-provided transportation. As team protocol required, they asked Lion's head coach George Wilson for approval, which he gave.

Karras and Gordy entered Vito Giacalone's renovated Detroit Street Railways (DRS) bus. The exterior was painted in the Detroit Lion's team colors of silver and Honolulu blue. The inside of the former municipal bus was gutted and refurbished with two comfortable couches set across from each other between the bus's doors. A rectangular table could be lowered between the couches from the ceiling for eating or playing cards. A compact bar and a curtained platform with a double bed was situated in the back of the bus. Giacalone was permitted to park the bus behind the Lindell AC when not in use. In return, Jimmy and Johnny occasionally borrowed the bus for family vacations. It was a simple handshake agreement among friends.

Bus layout sketch by Mel Butsicaris.

 

The football players were welcomed aboard with a chilled beer before settling in to play cards for the return trip to the Lindell AC, with an FBI cruiser tailing them all the way back to Detroit. The next morning, Lions' general manager Andy Anderson summoned Karras into his office.

"The FBI reported to Police Commissioner Edwards that you and John Gordy rode back from yesterday's game in a 'party bus' with undesirable elements who do not belong in a professional football player's life. Your bar partners--known gamblers--were also on the bus."

"So what?"

"We've had this conversation before, Karras. Drop your interest in the Lindell AC. That's final!"

"Mr. Anderson, do me a favor."

"What?"

"Trade me!"

Alex Karras--Just a pawn in a world he didn't understand?

 

On January 9, 1963, The Detroit News broke the story of the "hoodlum-operated party bus." The next day, NBC News wanted to interview Karras about the bus ride and the gambling charges that they discovered the NFL was investigating.

The Butsicaris brothers counseled Alex against granting the interview, but he was characteristically headstrong. Karras was guileless and expected everyone else to be that way. With the conviction of the righteous, Karras agreed to the NBC interview which was taped on January 13th. Towards the end of the thirty-minute interview, Karras was asked if he ever bet on sporting events. He glibly answered, "Yes, I do, with my brothers for a cigar or a pack of cigarettes."

When the interview was edited for broadcast, all that anybody heard was the sound bite of Karras answering "Yes, I do" coming from his own mouth. From there, the quote went to the wire services and was distributed nationwide to newspaper, radio, and television outlets. Alex was blindsided by NBC News.

With the end of the regular season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, a league attorney, and a stenographer held a meeting with Karras. Alex believed gambling was a part of Greek ethnic character. From the age of fifteeen, he hung out with his older brothers in the Fifth Avenue Pool Room in Gary, Indiana. He bet on pool and played cards for entertainment. Everyone he knew did. "I never thought it was sinful and never attempted to hide it or felt the need to do so," he explained to Rozelle.

"Did you ever gamble on NFL games?"

"Never more than $50 a game and never against the Lions. I haven't thrown any football games, and I don't have ties with gangsters. This whole incident is being blown out of proportion."

Even after offering to take a lie-detector test, Karras was suspended for the 1963 football season and fined $2,000 for betting on the Green Bay Packers/New York Giants championship game. The Detroit Lions were fined $4,000 for minimizing information concerning "undesirable associations" and allowing questionable people to sit on the Lions' bench during games.

The Lions' fine was aimed directly at Jimmy Butsicaris, who was often seen on the bench. In addition to being a tavern owner, Jimmy had a weekly radio sports show in Detroit called Sportstalk on WXYZ-AM radio. He had a press pass authorizing him to have team and field access.

Karras told a Detroit Free Press reporter on January 18, 1963, "I must be the most naive guy in the world. How could I get myself in a mess like this when I know I didn't do anything wrong?" In the meantime, Karras settled into his suspension and learned the bar business from the ground up.

End of Part Two

Karras Gambling Suspension Part One 

Karras Gambling Suspension Part Three

The Evolution of America's Patriotic Images: Yankee Doodle, Uncle Sam, Miss Columbia, and Lady Liberty

Originally titled Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Spirit of '76 was painted in 1876 by Archibald MacNeal Willard for the centennial celebrations in Philadelphia.

Today, the most internationally recognized personification of the United States is Uncle Sam, but it wasn't always so. Before and during the Revolutionary War, the British Red Coats characterized ramshakle colonial soldiers as Yankee Doodle Dandies. It wasn't a compliment. The rousing British drinking song portrayed colonists as foppish, anti-royalists impugning their manhood.

The colonists were able to co-opt the insulting song and make it their own. Taking the song's melody, Edward Bangs--a Harvard University sophomore by day and a Minuteman by night--wrote fifteen new verses to the British song in 1775 and circulated the lyrics throughout New England. Yankee Doodle Dandy went from being an insult to a song of American national pride.

On September 7, 1813, Uncle Sam became the official nickname and image for the United States government. The name is attributed to cattle tender and meat packer Samuel Wilson. He supplied oak barrels of meat to the United States government for rations during the War of 1812. His workers stamped US on his government shipments, and he became known locally in Troy, New York as Uncle Sam. Soldiers soon picked up on the name.

Early on, the image of Uncle Sam did not have a standard appearance. Popular political cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with the first image of Uncle Sam in a November 20, 1869 editorial cartoon in Harper's Weekly supporting the Fifteenth Amendment for universal sufferage. Uncle Sam (symbol of the government) and Columbia (symbol of the country) are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for a group of diverse immigrants. Nash's Harper's Weekly editorial cartoon images of Uncle Sam helped establish the patriotic icon we know today.

The image we all recognize as Uncle Sam evolved over time. The long and lanky man with the white goatee and white hair, dressed in red and white striped pants, a dark blue frock coat, a white top hat with a blue starred band, and a red bow tie was the creation of James Montgomery Flagg for the famous 1917 World War I United States Army recruiting poster which was used again during World War II. Millions of copies were distributed establishing Uncle Sam as the national symbol of American patriotism and pride.

The earliest known personification of pre-United States appeared in 1738. Miss Columbia was the embodiment of liberty. European nations used the term "Columbia" to refer to the New World and then the thirteen colonies, based on the mistaken belief that Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered America. Miss Columbia's image was depicted as a strong, classical woman modeled after Greek goddess Athena and infused with a healthy dose of Americanism. She became a central figure in the narrative of early America, its values, its Westward expansion, and its promise of establishing the American ideals of liberty and justice for all.

 

 

Columbia's image was often seen in political cartoons in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, but her dominance as America's favorite female icon was challenged in 1886 by the installation of the Statue of Liberty. The two iconic images co-existed for thirty years, but the personification of Columbia fell out of favor with the issuance of Liberty Bonds in support of the World War I war effort which had The Statue of Liberty's image printed on them.

When Columbia Pictures chose their trademark in 1924, they created a blended version of Miss Columbia with The Statue of Liberty pose, doing neither icon any favors. To compound Miss Columbia's troubles, some of America's most iconic coinage bore the image of Lady Liberty, who became the favored personification of liberty.

 

Columbia endures as the name of many cities and streets throughout the United States, as well as Columbia University in New York, Columbia Records, Columbia Pictures, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), and the name of our ill-fated space shuttle which exploded in mid-air on February 1, 2003. 

Contemporary cartoonist for The Independent Weekly in Durham, North Carolina D.C. Rogers may have expressed it best, "One of the reasons Miss Columbia has declined is that The Statue of Liberty has risen." The most famous American monument to liberty was a gift from the people of France.

America's enduring symbol of freedom--The Statue of Liberty.

Lady Liberty's image also has a long and distinguished history on American coinage. A one cent coin was struck in 1793. Liberty's cameo image was considered unattractive with a wild mane of hair and a balding, sloped forehead. It was quickly retired making this coin one of the most sought after American coins for collectors.

In 1795, the Liberty Draped Bust silver dollar showed an attractive, middle-aged Lady Liberty with flowing hair held back with a decorative bow. She is surrounded by stars representing the number of states. This image of Lady Liberty was minted from 1795 until 1804. 

 

In 1878, George T. Morgan designed what is known as The Morgan Silver Dollar, prized by collectors because of its size and weight. The model for the coin, Anna Willness Williams, became known as the "Silver Dollar Girl." Morgan designed a cameo profile with Liberty's beautifully quaffed hair in a Phrygian cap which signifies freedom and the pursuit of liberty. This silver dollar was minted until 1921.

The Walking Liberty half dollar was minted from 1916 until 1947. This silver coin is rich with symbolism. Lady Liberty walks towards the dawn of a new day. She carries a bouquet of laurel and oak representing military and civil victories of the nation. Her outstretched arm imparts the spirit of liberty to others. She is clothed in a lovely, flowing gown representing the American flag, and she is wearing a Phrygian cap. The coin was reissued for collectors because of its exceptional beauty. It is also known as the American Silver Eagle because of the image on the reverse side.

 

 

Rosie the Riveter--Another American Icon