As noted by a sportswriter of the day, “any professional base ball club will ‘throw’ a game if there is money in it.” Indeed, in 1877, the Louisville Grays, one of the league’s original teams, found itself embroiled in a betting scandal and was forced to fold at the end of the season. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (now known as the National League of today’s Major League Baseball) was formed in 1876 in an attempt to clean up the game, but it too suffered from the problem. Cheating - players taking money from gamblers to intentionally lose games - was probably a significant factor in its early demise. The first fully professional sports league in the U.S., the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (also known as the National Association), was formed in 1871, but lasted only five years. And where there were games, gambling was sure to follow - along with match-fixing.
As rising prosperity gave people both more disposable income and more free time, spectator sports became an increasingly popular entertainment option. Organized sports have a long and complicated relationship with gambling.
