McNeil may not have invented the point spread but made it popular.
The National Football League has two categories of sports betting marketing partnerships. There are the Official Sports Betting Partners and the Approved Sportsbook Operators. For a group that once went to court to oppose legalized sports betting, NFL owners have totally embraced it. The football industry gained an awful lot of popularity because of a man who never played the game. The Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame should consider putting Charles K. McNeil, a compulsive gambler, into their museums as a builder. In the 1930s, McNeil may have invented the point spread which made the outcome of football games more interesting than just a final score for bettors. It is not known if McNeil came up with the idea or borrowed it but McNeil refined it and opened up a new, albeit illegal, industry. People bet on scores, not which team won. The line is the point where every football bet starts.
McNeil had a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and he was friends with legendary college football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg but allegedly never told Stagg about his betting business. McNeil was a numbers or analytics guy. He had his own booking making operation in Chicago during the 1940s. He shut down his operation in the 1950s because he didn’t want any partners in the endeavor. There will be an awful lot of talk about the upcoming Super Bowl point spread. The Super Bowl’s most famous point spread was in Super Bowl III on January 12th, 1969. The Baltimore Colts NFL team was a 17 ½ point favorite to beat Joe Namath and the New York Jets AFL team. The Colts lost. The NFL’s partners will pitch various bets available with the Super Bowl approaching but none of them will acknowledge McNeil’s invention.
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