Punting Profiles: Art Schlichter
This story was first published on Punting Ace in 2008
This weekend, at Radio City Music Hall, the NFL will hold its 73rd draft. All thirty two teams will have finished with all the research, the workouts, the film study, the interviews, the measurements and the forecasting and will be complete and with crossed fingers and prayers to the Gods, the selections will be made. Some selections will be written into legend, remembered by history as positive for both the team and the league. Others, however, will be considered failures, draft busts who disappoint fans and leave franchises reeling. History is littered with those who could not make the transition to the professional game. Some did not have the tools to step up. Others did not have the dedication to make it as a pro. There were some who could not handle the fame. Others could not shoulder the responsibility.
Rewind twenty six years. It is 1982 and the Baltimore Colts are coming off their worst season in franchise history, going 2-14 in 1981. New coach, legendary Arizona State mentor Frank Kush, has been given his first NFL head coaching position, charged with turning the fortunes of a franchise that has not seen playoff football in half a decade and built a 19-45 record over the previous four seasons. Kush, along with the remainder of the Colts brainstrust, decided to draft their franchise quarterback. The Colts had hit rock bottom. It was time to rebuild.
The Colts chose Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter with the number four overall pick.
It would turn out to be a tragic pick, both for the Colts and Schlichter. The Colts had to live with one of the great busts in draft history and the knowledge that football legends like Jim McMahon and Marcus Allen were still on the board when the Colts had their pick. And Schlichter, he had to live with the spotlight constantly glaring, the responsibility he could not bear and the money he could not handle.
It was, of course, no surprise that Schlichter went so early. He was the golden boy quarterback of his generation, a legend who led the vaunted Ohio State program to the verge of a National Championship. Schlichter was the top recruit in Ohio after starring for Miami Trace High School and he did not let Buckeye fans down after agreeing to play under iconic coach Woody Hayes. The gunslinger started four seasons and finished in the top ten in Heisman Trophy voting over his last three seasons. With brooding good looks and his athletic abilities affording him the latitude to do as he pleased, Schlichter was seemingly untouchable.
The source of his athletic accomplishment, however, was also the source of his undoing and in the end it would be torment and addiction that would reign supreme.
To understand Art Schlichter, you have to understand Max Schlichter, his father, and the paternal relationship that shaped, guided and insulated Art from the early days of infancy. Max lived vicariously through Art, fulfilling his football dreams through his son. Max dominated Art from a young age, steering him not only in football but in life. Art became entirely dependent on his father and held some resentment against the man for the control he exerted and the loneliness he caused. Schlichter also held deep a great sense of guilt, at times crippling, that his father paid little heed to anybody else, including Art’s siblings.
Schlichter needed an outlet, an escape. He had an indomitable drive to flee himself and his life. He wasn’t a drinker and drugs weren’t his scene. But he was a risk taker. He loved walking the edge of a cliff on his tip-toes. He loved the rush. Not surprisingly, he was drawn to the punt.
As a kid, Art would hustle up card games for coins. By the time he made it to college, Schlichter would roam the corridors of Stebb Hall, his OSU dorm, looking for action, usually in the form of poker and backgammon. He would also head out to Scioto Downs, the local harness racing track and would often be seen with renowned big time gamblers, fellow teammates and even coach Earle Bruce. In those early days at Ohio State, $50 would usually be enough to last him an afternoon.
When he signed with the NFL, Schlichter was already well down a dangerous road. He wasn’t betting on information or numbers or for any intelligent reason at all. He was betting for the thrill and was still chasing that first loss. Every bet, he later claimed, was still trying to win back that initial loss.
After signing with the Colts, Schlichter was given a bonus of $350,000. Art wanted nothing more than to gamble and that is exactly where his signing bonus went. By midseason, it was all gone, taken by bookmakers who would set him on nearly anything. This, of course, included betting sports and horses, a blatant violation of the NFL’s strict, all-encompassing prohibition on player gambling. One anecdote tells of a Friday night full of NBA action, twelve games across the board. It is early in Schlichter’s rookie season but he just sees the full board. He had $150,000 worth of bets on one night’s slate. When a friend of his was called to verify the size of the bets, the friend halved the wagers. Schlichter went 11-1, winning $136,000. He was livid, however, that the bets had been halved. By the end of the weekend, he had not only lost his six figure win, he was down $48,000.
By the end of his rookie season, Schlichter had played three uninspiring games in a horrid Colts season, netting no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also down $700,000 and come draft day 1983, another $389,000 had been lost betting the NCAA Tournament. He had bet not only on other sports but on the NFL as well. Schlichter could not pay and when his bookies threatened him with violence and exposure, he went to the FBI and the NFL.
Schlichter was suspended indefinitely but continued to gamble throughout his time on the sidelines. By 1984 he had been reinstated but his on-field performances were weak and he was cut early in the 1985 season. The Colts gave the reason that Schlichter was gambling again, a claim later accepted as true by the accused. In 1987 he was arrested for his involvement in a gambling ring and was subsequently denied reinstatement by the NFL.
When he was out of the NFL, his gambling only got worse. He had less money but he gambled more. He played in the Canadian Football League, joined the low-rent Arena Football League and worked as a sports radio host but all the money he made was lost to bookmakers. He moved to Las Vegas in 1994 and by then Schlichter was too far gone. He had started writing bad checks and stealing cash to fund his addiction. His wife left him and took the kids after their home was raided and the gravity of her husband’s gambling became apparent. Over the next decade he would spend time in and out of prison. He would repent and call for clemency before starting the punt back again, funding his addiction through more crime. He would scam friends and associates with everything from ticket swindles to straight out robbery. In 2004, he was caught gambling with a mobile phone that had been smuggled in by his lawyer and was thrown into solitary confinement for four months.
Today he is out of prison and is attempting to treat his condition. He has, however, said this all before. He has established a foundation with his former wife dealing with problem gambling and speaks to kids about the pitfalls of the punting life. It is estimated that he still owes half a million in restitution.
There are few gamblers who have lost more from the punt than Art Schlichter. There are plenty of gamblers who have lost plenty of money but few have fallen as far as few started with so much. Art Schlichter was, in the eyes of most, living the American Dream. He had it all and was destined for fame, fortune and legend. What he got was infamy and a listing in the book of wasted potential. Schlichter bet it all. He lost.
