Edward Roman (June 2, 1930 – March 1, 1988) was an American college

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He was the leading scorer of the

1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team The 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team represented the City College of New York. The head coach was Nat Holman, who was one of the game's greatest innovators and playmakers. Unlike today, when colleges recruit players from all over the c ...

, the only team to win both the NCAA tournament and the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) in the same year. He was also a central figure in the point shaving scandal that came to light in the aftermath of that season.

College career

Roman, a 6'6"

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, followed his

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teammate

Irwin Dambrot Irwin Dambrot (May 24, 1928 – January 21, 2010) was an American basketball player, best known for his college career at the City College of New York. Early life Dambrot was born in the Bronx and attended William Howard Taft High School in the ...

to play college basketball for

Nat Holman Nat Holman (October 19, 1896 – February 12, 1995) was an American professional basketball player and college coach. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is the only coach to lead his team to NCAA and National In ...

at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. Roman was part of a strong 1948 recruiting class for the Beavers. Roman,

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Ed Warner Edward Emory Warner (June 20, 1889 – February 5, 1954) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and died in New York ...

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

Alvin Roth Alvin Eliot Roth (born December 18, 1951) is an American academic. He is the Craig and Susan McCaw professor of economics at Stanford University and the Gund professor of economics and business administration emeritus at Harvard University.

and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

Floyd Layne would comprise four-fifths of the starting lineup for

CCNY The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...

's double championship squad in their first year of eligibility. Roman led the team in scoring that year at 16.4 points per game and was named to the All-tournament team for the 1950 NCAA Tournament.

Point shaving scandal

The next season, junior Roman and teammate Ed Warner were named co-captains for the Beavers and were poised to defend their championship titles. However, on February 18, 1951,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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Frank Hogan Frank Smithwick Hogan (January 17, 1902 – April 2, 1974) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as New York County District Attorney for more than 30 years, during which he achieved a reputation for professionalism and ...

arrested seven Beavers for shaving points in three games during the championship season - including Ed Roman. Roman was sentenced to six months in prison but received a suspended sentence. For his involvement in fixing games, Ed Roman was banned for life from the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. The City College of New York would deemphasize athletics as a result of the scandal.

Later life

After two years in the Army, Roman finished his studies (ultimately receiving a doctorate at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

) and worked in the city public school system in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

as a teacher of physical education and, after the mid-1970s, as a psychological consultant. He had three children: Mark, Joanne and Tammy. Ed Roman died on March 1, 1988 of leukemia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Ed 1930 births 1988 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York City CCNY Beavers men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Jewish men's basketball players New York University alumni Sportspeople involved in betting scandals Sportspeople from the Bronx