The Legend of Jimmy the Greek 4-5.mpeg

The NFL Today on CBS was one of the preeminent sports programs on television in the early 1980s. It was a perfect combination of reporting, analysis, predictions, humor and talent. But there was no personality on the show more popular than Jimmy The Greek Snyder. Born in Steubenville, Ohio, to Greek immigrants, Jimmy overcame childhood tragedy, moved to Las Vegas, and eventually became the biggest name in the world of sports handicapping. When CBS added him as an analyst on The NFL Today, The Greek not only further increased his stature as a sort of national folk hero, but he also gained an air of respectability never before associated with gamblers. Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Fritz Mitchell, who broke in as an intern on The NFL Today, will examine Snyders impact on the growth of sports gambling, while also taking a fresh look at The Greeks tragic downfall.

Personal Statement

I was appalled the first time I laid eyes on Jimmy The Greek Snyder. The billowing aroma of his cologne, the chunky gold jewelry and his coarse street language would have been enough to shock any snotty young kid just out of college. Of course, I had seen him a thousand times before but always on TV. Now he was right up close, along with the rest of it. Gorilla-size television cameras swayed back and forth like ballerinas through the traffic of technicians, set directors and make-up people. The directors voice of God echoed through the hysteria of rehearsal and hot white lights filled every socket of Brent, Irv, Phyllis and, of course, The Greek. I was scared out of my mind as I sat on the set of The NFL Today show, a newly hired researcher in the fall of 1984.

Twenty-five years later I have the good fortune to look back and try to figure out the man, whom I first found so jarring and later came to feel a genuine affection for. More recently I have so many questions about The Greek—his rise to power as a commentator on that iconic pregame show and his swift fall from grace after his fateful remarks concerning African-American athletes. How was this odds maker and gambler able to make his profession seen so legitimate, almost the way Susan Sarandon made prostitution seem innocent in Bull Durham? How did he make his way to The NFL Today show? What was his appeal and how did the NFL feel about his presence on the show? But most importantly, how did he bring odds making and gambling out of the shadows to mainstream America?

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[metathus]

So, because Jimmy the greek made comments that were 100% true, he was called a racist and was fired. Why? White owners really DID breed the biggest black man and woman so they could have a big strong kid to get more work done in the fields. The bigger and stronger the kid, the more work that is going to get done. It happened, it is real history, so why is it rwcist to ackowledge it. That would be like calling somebody a nazi just for talking about the holocaust.

[terrinyc29]

He was right. Should have never been fired. He was totally honest and it scared people.

He was not Being RACIST at all.

[truvianni]

@willjrdn23 actually I saw that documentary which gave me the idea to write a blog about the Greek, I remember Jimmy "The Greek" from my time in America and felt he was unfairly treated by the media who were just starting with all that political correctness stuff.

[truvianni]

@patsman191 I think to myself what did they want this man to say? They asked him though the question is never shown why black athletes were so outstanding. If oneconsideres the matter anything he said with regards to that question would have been considered racist.Cosell for instance called a black football player a little monkey and he did not get fired from Monday Night Football

[truvianni]

@metathus This is true what you said and I might add that slave owners in America could have bought slaves in South America but considered Indians to be to weak which was the reaason they got slaves in Africa. Also when they got the slaves in Africa they took the strongest because only they could survive the trip to a America so you might say that they had to be strong to begin with.I think what he said was taken the way it was because of what he said about whites not so much about blacks

[KWCline91]

@terrinyc29 If he had said it on a day other than MLK day, then yes he would've not been fired.

[willjrdn23]

View My Channel For All ESPN 30 For 30 Documentaries Inclunding Episode 6 Jimmy The Greek

[patsman191]

The black is a better athlete to begin with because he's been bred to be that way — because of his high thighs and big thighs that goes up into his back, and they can jump higher and run faster because of their bigger thighs. This goes back all the way to the Civil War when during the slave trading, the owner — the slave owner would breed his big black to his big woman so that he could have a big black kid.