Jimmy Snyder (sports commentator)
James George Snyder Sr. (born Dimetrios Georgios Synodinos, September 9, 1918 – April 21, 1996), better known as Jimmy the Greek, was an American sports commentator and Las Vegas bookmaker. A regular contributor to the CBS program The NFL Today, Snyder predicted the scores of NFL games, which sports bettors used to determine the point spread. In January 1988, Snyder was fired by CBS after he made comments suggesting that breeding practices during slavery had led blacks to become superior athletes.
"Jimmy the Greek" redirects here. For the restaurant, see Jimmy the Greek (restaurant).
Jimmy Snyder
April 21, 1996 (aged 77)
Union Cemetery
Steubenville, Ohio
Greek
James George Snyder, Sr.
Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder
Early life and career[edit]
Snyder was born in Steubenville, Ohio. According to his New York Times obituary of April 22, 1996, Snyder's family roots were in the village of Tholopotami (Θολoποτάμι), on the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea. As a teenager in Ohio, he became acquainted with bookmakers. When he was ten years old, he lost his mother when his uncle, driven mad by the loss of his wife, shot and killed Snyder's mother and aunt, who were walking home, before killing himself. Snyder told his mother that he wanted to stay at the grocery store that his father was running and play rather than walk home with his mother, which he cited as likely saving his life but also as a reason he became a gambler.[1]
According to his autobiography Jimmy the Greek, Snyder bet $10,000 on the 1948 election between Thomas Dewey and Harry S. Truman, getting 17–1 odds for Truman to win. In a later interview he indicated that he knew Truman was going to win because Dewey had a mustache and "American women didn't trust men with a mustache".[2]
He invested money in oil drilling and coal mining, but those ventures failed. He lived in Las Vegas after moving there in the 1950s. He worked as an oddsmaker and gambler, at places such as the Vegas Turf and Sportsroom.[3] In 1962, he was convicted of interstate transportation of bets and wagering information alongside conspiracy and violating the Federal Communications Act (having been caught giving a betting tip over the telephone). He was fined $50,000 and labeled a convicted felon. He worked in public relations for a time, including a couple of years working for Howard Hughes.[4] In the mid 1960s, he began a news column involving a sports betting line for the Las Vegas Sun, which eventually received widespread publication.[5]
In 1974, he received a presidential pardon from Gerald Ford.[6]
Personal life[edit]
Snyder and his wife Joan lost three of their five children to cystic fibrosis.
Snyder suffered from diabetes in his later years and died of a heart attack on April 21, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 77. He was buried at Union Cemetery in his native Steubenville.