Bizarre with Mick Molloy and Titus O’Reily

It’s part three of our look at the history of FIFA, and in this episode, we introduce a young man with a sparkle in his eye, Sepp Blatter. Part Bond villain, part, well actually, all Bond villain; under Blatter, FIFA made the final step towards adopting corruption as the sole reason for its existence. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine the rise of Blatter, from President of a pressure group encouraging women to wear suspenders, the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, to President of FIFA. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s part two of our look at the history of FIFA, and its somewhat eccentric accounting practices. In this episode, we look at João Havelange, President of FIFA from 1974 to 1998, who brought in the money and bought the votes to be President. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy examine the career of João Havelange, the man who taught Sepp Blatter everything. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the FIFA World Cup in Qatar fast approaching, we begin a multi-episode dive into the corruption that led to FIFA thinking a country the size of the Falkland Islands, with no infrastructure and temperatures hovering around the 'too hot to play football' mark, could host arguably the biggest sporting event in the world. To kick off, Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine the problems with Qatar and look back at the formation of FIFA. The next episode will be out later this week, so get ready for a festival of football and corruption. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 4 June 1974, the Cleveland Indians decided to host a ten-cent beer night to attract fans; beer at the stadium normally cost 65 cents, so ten cents was a real incentive. The Indians were in a 30-year slump at the time, as was the city, their river would catch fire with alarming regularity, so the scene was set for trouble. Oh, and it was a full moon. The result was pure, unbridled chaos. There were streakers, firecrackers, a woman trying to kiss the home plate umpire and eventually, a full-scale riot. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine a night that started badly and then got worse. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frederick Charles Standish left England in 1852 under a false name and fleeing moneylenders. Landing in Melbourne, he was forced to live on the goldfields and run a sly grog business. Yet, just six years later, he would be the colony's Chief Commissioner of police, be a pallbearer at Robert O’Hara Burke's funeral, invent the Melbourne Cup, become a key player in the formation of the VRC and lead, very unsuccessfully, the hunt for Ned Kelly. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine the life of one of Australia's strangest characters, a man who paused the hunt for Ned Kelly while the weights of the Melbourne Cup were declared. Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Timothy John Rossovich was a star defensive end and linebacker at the University of Southern California and the Philadelphia Eagles, but it was off the field where his genius shone. Rossovich was famous for surreal pranks that included chewing glass, setting himself on fire and opening his mouth in a meeting to speak, only for a sparrow to fly out. After football, Rossovich would go on to be an actor and stuntman, appearing in "MacGyver," "Baywatch," "The Love Boat," "Knight Rider," "Charlie's Angels," "Remington Steele," "Soap," and "The A-Team." Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy look at the life of a man who was once bored at a party, took all his clothes off, proceeded to pretend to hop like a frog and jumped into the birthday cake. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert Standish Sievier was one of the most colourful personalities of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, a man who revolutionised bookmaking in Australia before returning to England, where his horse Sceptre won four of the five English classics. Joining the army and fighting in South Africa at 16, Sievier would go bankrupt countless times, father seventeen illegitimate progeny and be involved in some of the highest profile cases of the times. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy examine the life of a man who once brought a libel charge against someone for calling him a thief, a card cheat, and a murderer, only for the jury to find these were probably all true. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Contracts in sports contain clauses so weird they are scarcely believable. There are clauses banning players from going to nightclubs, but there's also been a clause insisting a player got drunk after every game. Contracts have included clauses for free sushi at all times, a demand a player ate sheep's testicles, a ban on extravagant haircuts and a bonus for growing a moustache. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy examine the weirdest contracts in sports, from the ones that saw enormous financial windfalls to the clauses that saw players demand everything from bulldozers to horses. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an All-Star career, Dock Ellis managed to win a World Series, pitch a no-hitter on LSD, hit every batter that came to the plate in a game and set a clubhouse on fire. But for every bit of craziness, Ellis was also ahead of his time as a spokesperson on a range of issues from free agency to racism while devoting his life to combating alcohol and drug abuse. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy look at the complex career of one of the most interesting athletes of all time. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the 2000 Paralympic games, a new category, Basketball for the Intellectually Disabled, was to be included in the games. It got the head of the Spanish Paralympics Fernando Martin Vicente thinking, what if you could get people who weren’t intellectually disabled but who could act like they were? Surely that would make it easier to win? Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look at one of the most outrageous cheating scams in history and how a massive twist undid it all. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1900 Paris Olympics were a disaster of planning and execution, to the point many athletes never even knew they’d participated in an Olympics. So poorly organised were the games that the discus field was too narrow and throws went into the crowd, while the long jumpers turned up to discover they had to dig their own pit. As well as standard Olympic fare, there was cannon shooting, hot air ballooning, pigeon shooting, kite flying, driving a mail carriage and fishing. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look at the most shambolic Olympics ever, an event that saw kids press-ganged into competing and the marathon ended in a twelve-year legal battle. This episode refers to another episode, The Worst Event in Olympic History, which is another bonkers story. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1930s, several English football clubs experimented with a new treatment sweeping the globe, ingesting, injecting or transplanting testicular tissue from monkeys into people. So widespread was the practice that the 1939 FA Cup final between Wolverhampton and Portsmouth became known as the ‘Monkey Gland Final’. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy, look back at arguably the strangest doping scandal of all time and the coaching career of Major Frank Buckley, who trialled the treatment at Wolverhampton. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman has recently offered to go to Russia to talk to President Vladimir Putin about the imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner. While Rodman claims somewhat falsely that "I know Putin too well," there’s one dictator he does know well, North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Between 2013 and 2018, Rodman made numerous trips to North Korea, calling Jong-un a ‘friend for life’. At one point, Rodman was one of only two men in the world who had met Kim Jong-un and then President Donald Trump. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy discuss the strangest relationship in international politics and look at claims Rodman was an intelligence officer working for the Central Intelligence Agency or just a useful idiot for the North Koreans. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sporting curses are always strange, but perhaps none is stranger than the Curse of Colonel Sanders, which has seen the Japanese baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, suffer decades of poor performances after offending the spirit of the KFC founder. Attempts to lift the curse have included fans apologizing to KFC store managers and making offerings to the statues of the Colonel outside of restaurants. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look at the Curse of the Colonel and another curse that set back Birmingham City decades, with the Nazis bombing their stadium, only for the National Fire Service to then accidentally burn the stand down a year later. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1893, John Wren, unemployed and from a poor family, set up the Collingwood Tote, an illegal betting shop that would achieve mythical status, depending on who you asked, as either a den of vice ruining the lives of many or as a symbol of the working class fighting back against discriminatory laws. In its twenty years of operating, the police attempted to raid the tote so many times and failed to the point they gave up completely. Instead, the establishment banned Wren’s horses from racing in the Spring Racing Carnival. In response, Wren set up multiple alternative racecourses and significantly hurt their finances. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look at the rise of John Wren, a man who took on the establishment and built up a sporting empire that crossed horse racing, cycling and boxing. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1967 Intercontinental Cup saw Scottish club Celtic and Argentinian side Racing Club face off across three brutal matches. In one match, the Celtic goalkeeper was knocked unconscious by a bottle thrown from the crowd before the game; despite this, the game still went ahead with a very nervous backup keeper. Reuters described another match as "a bar-room brawl with soccer skills abandoned for swinging fists, flying boots and blatant body checking". The series would result in the ‘Curse of El Cilindro’, when opposition fans buried the bodies of seven black cats at Racing’s home ground, Estadio Juan Domingo Perón. Decades of bad luck followed, leading to even the Catholic Church getting involved in an attempt to end it. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look back at the ‘Battle of Montevideo’, one of the most hostile sporting encounters of all time. Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Albert Griffiths, or ‘Young Griffo’ began life in the slums of Sydney as the leader of a local street gang. This proved to be the perfect training for boxing, and before he was twenty, he was the World Featherweight Champion. Moving to the United States, Young Griffo would become one of the greatest boxers of all time, despite never training and rarely fighting sober. In a career spanning 232 fights, Girffo would lose only nine, despite multiple arrests and stints in bot jail and various asylums. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look at one of the greatest boxers of all time, whose life which was stranger out of the ring than in it. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1904 Olympics in St Louis, Missouri, were a disaster in every way possible. Held over six months alongside the World’s Fair, it had a human zoo and a ‘savage Olympics’ pitting various indigenous groups against each other. But the marathon would be the biggest mess; competitors were refused water, runners were chased off course by dogs, there was cheating, several near deaths, and the first recorded case of doping in Olympic history. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look back at the worst event ever held at an Olympics and find their favourite Olympic competitor, a Cuban named Félix de la Caridad Carvajal y Soto. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Days out from the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships, Nancy Kerrigan had just finished training at the Cobo Arena in Detroit when a man approached and hit her with a metal object just above her knee. Almost immediately, the FBI would identify four men as behind the attack, all linked to Kerrigan’s main rival, Tonya Harding. Titus and Mick look back on the motley crew that carried out the attack, how they managed to botch almost every part of their plan and left a trail of clues so wide that anyone on the planet could have solved the case. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the first Tour De France, riders were putting all kinds of things in their bodies, caffeine, strychnine, cocaine and alcohol. Drugs were so much part of the sport that the 1930 rulebook, given to all riders, reminded them that drugs would not be provided by the organisers. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look at the use of doping in the Tour De France from 1903 until the Festina Affair in 1998, the year before Lance Armstrong ‘won’ his seven consecutive yellow jackets. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The early years of the Tour De France were a hot mess, with a spiked bottle of lemonade, itching powder put in cyclists’ shorts, riders taking rides in cars and trains, attempted murder and pitched battles between cyclists and spectators. Beginning in 1903 as a marketing exercise to boost the circulation of the newspaper L’Auto, the first was won by Maurice-François Garin, who knocked an opponent off their bike, and then jumped on the wheels so they couldn’t ride it anymore. The second Tour would result in the top four finishers all being disqualified, with the reasons never made public. Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look at the early years of the Tour De France, and how those bizarre early races would set the tone for one of the most popular sporting events in the world. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On March 4, 1973, it was announced New York Yankees pitchers Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson would be holding separate press conferences that day. Both men would be announcing a trade, nothing unusual in baseball where players move around more than children in the back seat of a car. The assembled media got ready to learn where each of them was being traded. Mike Kekich explained the trade to the media. The two pitchers were not trading teams, they were trading wives. Not just wives, their entire families, even their dogs. Former teammate Jim Bouton, would later remark, “I can see trading your wife, but the dog?” Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy look back at one of the most bizarre sports stories of all time and discuss how it all worked out for the couples involved, plus a detour onto Yankees owner George Steinbrenner’s haircut policy. Titus O'Reily and Mick Molloy are excited to announce the launch of Bizarre Plus, the new Membership program for even more Sports Bizarre. As a member, you’ll get: A weekly bonus podcast Exclusive behind-the-scenes access A fortnightly newsletter Access to the members-only chatroom Ability to vote on future episodes Early access to any live show tickets Click here to join today Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Titus O’Reily and Mick Molloy are on the hunt for the most bizarre stories to ever occur in the world of sport. Sports Bizarre delves into the history of sport to find the stories that you wouldn’t believe if they hadn’t happened. No sport is off-limits, athletics, swimming, rugby, American Football, cricket, baseball, badminton, motorsports, tennis and even that sport on the ice with brooms Follow Sports Bizarre on: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.