Art Schlichter

Arthur Ernest Schlichter (, born April 25, 1960) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Colts franchise.

He also played one Canadian Football League (CFL) season with the Ottawa Rough Riders and three Arena Football League (AFL) seasons with the Detroit Drive and Cincinnati Rockers.

A highly touted college football prospect with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Schlichter's professional career was cut short by a gambling addiction that resulted in him facing legal trouble for nearly four decades.

Art Schlichter was born in Bloomingburg, Ohio, on April 25, 1960.

He played basketball and football at Miami Trace High School, where he showed enormous promise as a quarterback and never lost a game in thirty starts; his record was only blemished by one tie.

Schlichter's gambling habit began during this period with a visit to Scioto Downs, a harness racing track near Columbus, where he and several friends pooled their resources to bet and win on a race.

He quickly became a regular, and Scioto Downs remained his favorite track over the years.

Schlichter was a four-year starter at Ohio State University (OSU).

He was the last starting quarterback for legendary Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes.

According to Schlichter's father, Hayes was so enthralled with the young quarterback that he was willing to jettison his "three yards and a cloud of dust" offense and throw as many as twenty-five times a game if he signed with the Buckeyes.

He was the first NFL player to be suspended for gambling since Alex Karras and Paul Hornung were suspended in 1963 for betting on NFL games.

Schlichter threw the interception that led to Hayes' assault on Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman in the 1978 Gator Bowl, an act that led to the coach's firing the next day.

Schlichter finished in the top six of Heisman Trophy balloting during his last three years—fourth as a sophomore, sixth as a junior and fifth as a senior.

In his sophomore year, he led the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season.

In his four years as a Buckeye, between 1978 and 1981, Schlichter tallied 7,547 passing yards and fifty touchdown passes, with forty-six interceptions.

He also rushed for 1,303 yards and thirty-five touchdowns.

At the time, he was OSU's all-time leader in total offense.

They had a chance to win at least a share of the national championship in the 1980 Rose Bowl, but lost to the USC Trojans by one point.

In 1981, sportswriter Ritter Collett published a biography of Schlichter entitled Straight Arrow.

During his college career, Schlichter was frequently spotted at Scioto Downs with a prominent Ohio gambler.

Although the Columbus and OSU police departments became suspicious, the athletic department felt it lacked enough evidence to notify the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Schlichter turned his attention from horses to sports betting by his junior year at OSU; by the end of that year he had lost thousands of dollars gambling on college and professional sports.

On several occasions he was seen at Scioto Downs with Hayes' successor as head coach, Earle Bruce, a fact which helped cover up early problems emerging while Schlichter was at OSU.

Selected fourth overall in the 1982 NFL Draft by the Colts, Schlichter appeared in only thirteen games and six starts due to his gambling problems.

Schlichter was picked fourth in the 1982 NFL Draft by the Colts franchise, then based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Expected to be the starter, Schlichter lost the job to Mike Pagel, the Colts' fourth-round pick in that year, when he appeared at practice out of shape and in a distracted state of mind.

However, he was expected to be the Colts' quarterback of the future.

Schlichter's gambling continued unabated, to the point that he blew his entire $350,000 signing bonus by midseason.

Even before the Colts picked him, he already owed bookies several thousand dollars.

His gambling spiraled out of control during the 1982 NFL strike, when he lost $20,000 betting on college football.

By the end of the strike, he had at least $700,000 in gambling debts.

Years later, he said his massive losses stemmed from desperate efforts to make good his previous losses.

After losing $20,000 in the first week of the strike, he doubled up the next week and lost again—starting a cycle that would continue for over a year.

In the winter of 1982 and the spring of 1983, Schlichter lost $489,000 betting on basketball games.

When bookies threatened to harm or expose Schlichter if he did not pay up (the National Football League forbids its players from engaging in any kind of gambling activity, legal or otherwise), he went to the FBI in March 1983 and gave information that helped get the bookies arrested on federal charges.

He also sought help from the NFL, as he feared the bookies would force him to throw games in return for not telling the Colts about his activities.

The league suspended him indefinitely, but Commissioner Pete Rozelle reduced the suspension to thirteen months after Schlichter agreed to seek treatment for his gambling addiction.

Schlichter was reinstated for the 1984 season but later admitted that he'd gambled during his suspension (though not on football).

He found greater success in the AFL, where he was named Most Valuable Player and led the Drive to victory in ArenaBowl IV during the 1990 season but was also forced out due to his addiction.

Schlichter continued to face legal problems after the end of his football career, including serving a ten-year sentence on gambling-related theft charges between 2011 and 2021.