The New England files
Documents in the FBI archives show the bureau has been involved in a number of cases related to sports in New England since 1945. Records related to Red Auerbach, Billy Sullivan, and Willie Pep were released to the Globe under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. Material on the other cases previously was released to other researchers.
Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige - On July 21, 1945, the FBI's Boston field office monitored a regional convention of the Communist Party of the United States at New England Mutual Life Hall in the Back Bay.
An investigative report cited a participant, Nat Garfield, stating that "the Communist Party should redouble its efforts in behalf of Negroes, particularly toward getting them in the Major Leagues." Garfield "mentioned that Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson were to appear in Boston and said that these two negroes would be of great help to either the Boston Red Sox or the Boston Braves," according to the report.
Paige and Robinson were scheduled to play that summer at Braves Field for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League against a team from the Charlestown Navy Yard, and Garfield recommended circulating petitions at the game to protest segregation in Major League Baseball, the report stated.
Mickey Mantle - On Sept. 4, 1953, the FBI's Boston office dispatched a memo alerting agents in Washington and New York that the Yankees had received an anonymous letter - postmarked in Boston - warning Mantle not to play in a Labor Day doubleheader at Fenway Park or "your career will come to an end with a .32" caliber bullet. Boston Police handled the investigation and provided extra security for Mantle. The games were played without incident.
Rocky Marciano - On March 9, 1954, a letter was mailed to Marciano's father, Perrino Marchegiano, in Brockton, advising him to warn Marciano, the world heavyweight champion, to throw his upcoming title fight against Ezzard Charles or "your wife and child get bumped off." Marciano told the FBI he had received similar letters. Despite the threats, Marciano defeated Charles in a 15-round decision June 17, 1954, at Yankee Stadium to retain his title. An FBI investigation led to the arrest in 1955 of a Pennsylvania man, but agents determined the man "may be mentally retarded" and the charges were dropped.
Billy Sullivan - On June 23, 1959, five months before he became the founding owner of the Patriots, Sullivan sent FBI director J. Edgar Hoover a letter thanking him for a tour that Sullivan, his wife, and six children recently had received of the bureau's headquarters in Washington. "As a partial courtesy for the great kindness extended to us," Sullivan wrote, he "would consider it a real privilege to be of service" to the FBI.
Ten days later, Sullivan sent a second letter of thanks, telling Hoover that his "fight against Communism is by all odds the most inspiring achievement of your numerous accomplishments."
Hoover responded by recommending that the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office develop Sullivan as a source of information. Ten months later, the agent informed Hoover that "development of Mr. Sullivan has been delayed due to his extensive interests in the new professional football team in Boston."
There was no record of the FBI pursuing the matter.
Willie Pep - A former featherweight champion from Hartford, Pep had fallen on hard times when FBI agents in New Orleans filed a report in 1963 on his activities. According to the document, Pep was operating Willie Pep's Lounge on famed Canal Street in New Orleans with another former boxer, Jerome Conforto. "Conforto is reported to have a wide acquaintanceship among burglars, pimps and prostitutes," the memo states. "Pep is a nationally known sports figure and as such has made many friends who are either in the rackets or associated with people in the rackets. Pep is presently in financial difficulty."
It was no secret that Pep, who was married six times, often struggled financially. He also had been convicted of a gambling charge in Hartford nearly 15 years earlier.
Wilt Chamberlain - On May 23, 1969, the FBI's New York office, citing a confidential informant, filed a report alleging that Chamberlain bet on his team, the Lakers, to beat the Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Boston Garden. The informant "stated that Chamberlain has been betting on his team for years," the report said. The Celtics won the game, 99-90. An FBI memo on Sept. 17, 1969, stated that the bureau dropped the investigation after failing to substantiate the allegations.
Earlier, an informant told the FBI about rumors that Chamberlain may have been involved in "a possible fix" of a game between his team, the 76ers, and the Celtics in Philadelphia on Oct. 29, 1966. (The 76ers won, 138-96). The informant was directed to continue monitoring Chamberlain as well as the Celtics. The investigation turned up no evidence to support the rumors about Chamberlain. The informant also "advised he had been unable to develop any information concerning betting activities of any kind on the part of members of the Boston Celtics."
Howard Cosell - Ten days before ABC broadcast a "Monday Night Football" game Oct. 1, 1979, between the Patriots and Packers in Green Bay, the sheriff's office there received a death threat against Cosell, the network's controversial football commentator. "If Howard Cosell comes to Green Bay on October 1, I'm going to kill him. And your sheriff's department can't stop me," the threat stated.
Cosell worked the game, with the FBI helping to ensure his safety. The Packers upset the Patriots, 27-14.
Red Auerbach - In January 1982, a letter was mailed to Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight in which the writer expressed a desire to harm several individuals, including Auerbach, Knight, and former Alabama coach C.M. Newton. The writer also demanded $75 million in extortion money. He was never apprehended.
