Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder Paved The Path For Sports Betting Talk On TV – Sports Handle

Oftentimes, I sit back and wonder: What would Jimmy The Greek Snyder think if he was still around to see whats happened to his trade?

You ask what The Greeks trade was? The Greeks trade involved talking sports.

In particular, The Greek liked to tell millions of television viewers his opinion on who would win or lose games in the National Football League. The legendary Las Vegas oddsmaker reached celebrity status after becoming a regular fixture on CBS The NFL Today show. He was the real O.P. (Original Prognosticator) of sports TV.

For a dozen years (1976-1988), James George Snyder Sr. sat on The NFL Today set alongside Hall of Fame sportscaster Brent Musburger, analyst Irv Cross, reporter Phyllis George, and later reporter Jayne Kennedy, offering opinions on the weekly NFL matchups during the fall and winter months. His role on the highly popular Sunday morning NFL pregame show was primarily to provide predictions for NFL games.

At that time, to put it plainly, The Greeks job was unique to television. Talking about sports gambling on TV wasnt commonplace. It was like hearing curse words during a prime-time network TV show. It just didnt happen.

Oh, how times have changed.

Now its easy to find oddsmakers on television and social media. Theyre on TV daily, predicting winners and talking point spreads and odds. Many have their own sports betting shows.

During The Greeks time, hed sit with Musburger in front of a studio scoreboard and opine on why he thought teams would win or lose a contest. However, phrases like a team will cover the spread or take the points or bet on the underdog werent permitted to be said during the broadcast, as words alluding to gambling were forbidden.

Yet The Greek understood his trade and did more during his roughly five-minute segment with Musburger than pick winners. He offered nuggets of information about teams and players, and shared inside stories about NFL owners and the league. Hed talk about a matchup and reveal his opinions about which team had the best defense, the best offense, and the best special teams.

And just before hed share with Musburger his prediction about a specific game, complete with a final score, The Greek would talk about intangibles to look for during a contest. In short, he was an oddsmaker who became the first NFL insider on TV.

No one previously with a Las Vegas Strip gambling background had ever reached such acclaim in the sports media. The Greek carved out a niche in sports media for guys who liked to talk sports wagering. He brought not only information to The NFL Today set each week, but he also added to the entertainment and appeal of the show, which reigned as the highest-rated program in its time slot during The Greeks tenure.

The Greek became more than just an oddsmaker and NFL insider. The Steubenville, Ohio, native reached celebrity status. He made cameos in movies and was parodied on TV shows.

It wasnt until he made some racially insensitive remarks about African-Americans in 1988 that The Greeks shine as a sports personalitysuffered any significant scrutiny. CBS fired The Greek for his comments on Jan. 16, 1988, and his career in sports broadcasting came to an abrupt end. Snyder passed away at the age of 77 after suffering a heart attack in 1996.

The Greek didnt live to see how dramatically the sports world would change when it came to sports betting. Much of what he couldnt talk directly about on TV is now daily discussion on sports talk shows. From point spreads to the over/under, nothing is off limits.

Its literally a new world when it comes to the acceptance of sports wagering in the U.S. More than 30 states have some form of legalized sports betting. That wasnt the case when The Greek was riding high as a key figure on The NFL Today.

Seriously, I wonder: What would The Greek think if he was still around to see whats happened to his trade?

Photo: Manny Rubio/USA TODAY

Link:

Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder Paved The Path For Sports Betting Talk On TV - Sports Handle