Walter East

Who is Walter East?

Walter Rufus East was the Akron Zips men's basketball head coach in 1909, when he guided the team to a 6-7 record. He was also involved in minor league baseball, managing several teams from the Ohio-Pennsylvania League. He also played for teams in the Southern Association, Eastern League, Missouri Valley League, Ohio State League and the Ohio-Pennsylvania League.

In 1906, he played American football for the Massillon Tigers of the "Ohio League". He played his first game, at end, for the Tigers on October 20, 1906 in a 57-0 victory over the Shelby Athletic Club. East had a big day and his play was publicly commended. A week later, he played again for Massillon against combined Benwood-Moundsville team in a game that saw Peggy Parratt throw pro football's first forward pass to Bullet Riley. On November 4, 1906, East was reportedly released by the Tigers after having a good game in a 33-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Lyceum. However a scandal later became the reason Massillon's management decided to end their relationship with East.

East is best known for his role fixing a championship football series in 1906 between the Canton Bulldogs and the Massillon Tigers. The scandal began when an allegation was made by a Massillon newspaper charging the Bulldogs coach, Blondy Wallace, and East of conspiring to fix a two game series between the two clubs. The scandal called for Canton to win the first game and Massillon was to win the second, forcing a third game-with the biggest gate-to be played legitimately, with the championship at stake. Both Wallace and East denied the charges.