Full Description
Atlanta insurance salesman George Burnett found himself at the center of a football scandal when he overheard a phone conversation between University of Georgia athletic director Wally Butts and University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Butts seemed to be giving Bryant play formations that would help Alabama defeat Georgia 35-0 in the 1962 season opener.
When the Saturday Evening Post published Burnett's story months later, Butts and Bryant successfully sued the magazine for libel. The case went to the Supreme Court where it was upheld in a landmark 5-4 decision that expanded the legal definition of "public figures."
Referencing more than 3,000 pages of letters, depositions and trial transcripts, the author reveals new information about this scandal and its resulting trial.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Fumbled Telephone Call
2. The Enigmatic Life of Wally Butts
3. Bear Bryant: The Supercoach
4. The Whistleblower Talks
5. The University Investigates, Butts Resigns
6. The Saturday Evening Post Breaks the Story
7. The Governor and Attorney General Investigate
8. Pre-Trial Hearings Dominate the Summer
9. The Sports Trial of the Decade
10. Bolton and Griffith Testify Against Butts
11. More Coaches Testify
12. Bear Bryant Dazzles the Jury
13. Wally Butts Has His Day in Court
14. The University Presidents Testify
15. Attorneys Make Their Closing Arguments
16. The Jury Reaches a Verdict
17. Why Butts v. Curtis Publishing Matters
Appendix 1—George Burnett's Notes, Transcribed
Appendix 2—Georgia Football Under Wally Butts, 1939-1960
Appendix 3—Affidavit of George Burnett
Appendix 4—"The Story of a College Football Fix"
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
