# Contract scandal, bounties, guns, goons, Idi Amin and '71 Bulls in Fla...crazy story



## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

Another mystery...page 3 of the online article appears to be missing. What we have of the story is interesting enough to warrant posting. If the rest of the story shows up, perhaps an updated link and further quote will be forthcoming...

I just gotta know what this whole Idi Amin connection is all about.


http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050619/SPORTS/506190388/1006



> Each year Howard Porter attends the NBA All-Star game. He meets with old friends such as Wes Unseld and Dave Bing and they spin timeworn tales deep into the night.
> 
> This year, Porter had a new story to tell.
> 
> ...





> It was agreed the Condors would relent and hand Porter's rights over to the Bulls. Porter then signed a five-year deal with Chicago worth $1.5 million.
> 
> In exchange, Pittsburgh received a player named Paul Ruffner and could keep the gate receipts from an exhibition game against the Bulls at the site of its choosing.
> 
> ...





> According to Cranwell, who said he was inside the locker room at Robarts Arena, Binstein placed a $500 bounty on Porter before the game.
> 
> "He said, 'Look, I'm not saying we should go out and try to hurt Howard Porter, but if something happens where he's injured and can't play...





> One night around 1978, Cranwell played back a message left on his home phone. It was a collect call from Brisker, who cryptically said he was going to Africa to fight in a war.
> 
> During that time, Brisker's name had been linked to Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
> 
> ...


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: Scandal, bribe to injure, mysterious death and '71 Bulls in Sarasota...Odd Story*

Filling in some of the gaps...

http://www.remembertheaba.com/Pittsburgh-Condors.html



> For the record, the October 2, 1971 game between the Pittsburgh Condors and the Chicago Bulls was NOT played in Pittsburgh, but rather in Sarasota, Florida, the hometown of Howard Porter. The game was part of a settlement between the Bulls and the Condors -- who both had Porter under contract. The Condors agreed to allow Porter to fulfill his contract with the Bulls. And the Condors could keep all the gate receipts from the exhibition game. We had offered to play the game at Villanova -- from whence Porter came (costing Villanova big NCAA bucks as well as many forfeitures) -- but AD Art Mahan declined. This game did not attract a large crowd. I remember Mark Binstein offering a $500 bonus to any player who could "accidentally" cause Porter not to finish the game. After a skirmish, Porter was forced to leave the game and did not return. John Brisker returned to Pittsburgh $500 richer.


-- Memories of Fred Cranwell



> This year, I was at a luncheon at St. Peter's College in Jersey City where Fred Cranwell is the college's public relations man (a position he held with Pittsburgh). Fred always recalls sitting in his Condors office with John Brisker. He was on the phone with a Condors' executive, and in his pocket he had a court injunction to prevent Brisker from jumping to Seattle in the NBA. All Cranwell could think about was that John owned a gun. He basically froze while the executive kept yelling on the phone, from long distance: "give 'im the damn papers!" Fred said Brisker was actually a nice sweet man with children. Some years later, Fred said he picked up Brisker's voice on his telephone answering machine saying hello. He didn't sound well, said Fred. He never heard from Brisker again. Fred told me, believe it or not, that Brisker may have gone to Africa to fight for Idi Amin during civil war in Uganda. Fred told me this with a straight face and swears it's true."


-- Memories of Augustin Torres


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: Scandal, bribe to injure, mysterious death and '71 Bulls in Sarasota...Odd Story*

More stories and rumors about John Brisker, including a $500 bounty placed on _him._

http://stocksandnews.com/print/print.asp?Id=1383&adate=6/12/2003



> John Brisker
> 
> Finally, back to Brisker (this is a bonus tale from a 2/01 Bar
> Chat), he was an all-star for the Pittsburgh Pipers / Condors,
> ...


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## TomBoerwinkle#1 (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: H. Porter scandal, bounties, John Brisker, Idi Amin and '71 Bulls in Sarasota...crazy*

I know this is "Slow News Day" stuff, but I found this story pretty entertaining, and downright weird.


It is also food for thought for those of us who consider the whole "Right Way" stuff to be a return to "the good old days." Maybe we get misty-eyed when we watch Gene Hackman in Hoosiers, but the "good old days" of the NBA included sucker punches when the refs weren't looking, injury, players threatening each other with guns in practice illegal contracts, financial shenanigans and inter-league skullduggery.

Yikes. A good reminder that maybe today's NBA is in pretty good shape. I'll take cornrows, tattoos, uniform malfunctions and pager throwing incidents over players whose skills decline because of rampant drug use, coaches hiring football player goons as practice players to keep their own players in line and "$500 to the guy who injures ______" pep talks, all in a game the public didn't give two hoots about.


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