Sport: The Fix That Failed

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College football has had its share of scandals, with public outcries about such matters as rough play, excessive injuries, subsidizing of players, cheating on eligibility standards. But no gamblers' fixing mess has ever marred the sport; most fans would regard that as unthinkable.

Last week, however, less than two years after the airing of widespread college basketball scandals, it was disclosed that a would-be fixer had tried to bribe three star players at the University of Maryland, unbeaten and ranked second in the U.S. A Maryland junior named Louis L. Glickfield, who had tried out for the squad and failed, reportedly offered bribes of $1,000 to Center Tom Cosgrove, $400 to Guard Frank Navarro, and, unaccountably, only $100 to Quarterback Jack Scarbath, the team's key ball-handler. Glickfield did not ask his ex-teammates to throw the game with Louisiana State; he just wanted them to hold the winning margin below 21 points, the gamblers' "point spread" on the game. That way, bets on losing Louisiana would still have to be paid off, and someone could make a killing.

The three players promptly reported the bribe offer to Maryland Coach Jim Tatum. "Why didn't you kill the guy?" Tatum growled at Quarterback Scarbath. Then Tatum called the cops. Against L.S.U., the fired-up trio and their teammates ran up a 34-0 score before Tatum relaxed and sent in a stream of substitutes. Final score, well above the gamblers' spread: 34-6.

This week, after turning himself over to a smart lawyer who hustled him into a District of Columbia court, Louis Glick-field, frustrated both as player and" fixer, was free on $1,000 bail; he was preparing to fight extradition to Maryland, which has a special law covering bribery of athletes. Maximum penalty: a $5,000 fine and three years in prison.