This week we look at people who had too much money. 

Starting with F1 racer James Hunt, and his relationship with Lord Alexander Hesketh, a man who had money, and knew how to have fun with it.

Then there’s J. William Oldenburg, who owned the USFL team, the Los Angeles Express, and got into a spending war with Donald Trump.

Lastly, we look at James Gordon Bennett Jr, the youngest ever Commodore of the New York Yacht Club, who had a cow on his yacht so he could get fresh milk.

We are doing two live Sports Bizarre shows in Melbourne in February at the Corner Hotel. You can buy tickets here:

Tuesday 20th February

Tuesday 27th February

We are kicking off at the Corner Hotel because it’s a two-minute walk from Mick’s house, but don’t worry if you’re not in Victoria, we will be announcing more dates in the near future.

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This week we look back at one of our favourite characters ever.

Albert Griffiths, or ‘Young Griffo’ began life in the slums of Sydney, as leader of a local 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 go on to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, despite never training and almost never fighting sober.

In a career spanning 232 fights, Girffo would only lose nine, despite multiple arrests, stints in jail and various asylums.

We're doing two live Sports Bizarre podcasts in Melbourne this February. Tickets on sale now.

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While Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival was in full swing, news emerged of what could be Australia’s biggest Ponzi scheme.

High on the list of victims were bookmakers who invested millions with an unassuming suburban lawyer named John Adams.

Titus sits down with crime writer Andrew Rule to discuss the emerging story.

Tickets to Titus’ five Melbourne shows are selling fast with three already sold out and the others selling fast. For tickets to Sport: The Unauthorised History click here. 

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Titus sits down with author Dan Liebke to discuss his new book, The 100 Funniest Moments in Australian Cricket.

They discuss Rob Quiney's resurrection of a dead seagull, Shane Watson's LBW appeals, Dennis Lillee asking the Queen for an autograph and Jeff Thomson's speech at the Allan Border Medal.

For tickets to Titus' new live show; Sport: The Unauthorised History click here. 

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In 2023, we found plenty of athletes who were unlucky in love. In this best of, we look at John Daly's interesting marriages, Jese Rodriguez interesting way of gaining revenge on an ex, and James Hunt's creative end to a marriage.

 For tickets to Titus' new Show; Sport: The Unauthorised History click here. 

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Following the war, Keith Miller dazzled England in the Victory Test and returned to Australia a star.

Debuting for Australia, Miller would dazzle crowds around the world, while also clashing with Don Bradman on a regular basis.

Miller’s on-field antics were matched by the intense interest in what he did off-field. He was rumoured to have had an affair with Princess Margaret, and once while hungover, used a bike to switch fielding positions.

For tickets to Titus' new Show; Sport: The Unauthorised History click here. 

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Resources

Aside from lots of contemporary newspaper accounts, there ate quite a few books on Miller.

An older book and out of print that I found useful was Keith Miller; The Golden Nugget by R S Whitington and can be tracked down online.

Miller himself wrote quite extensively, such as in Cricket Crossfire be Keith Miller, again a second hand book these days but available online.

For a more contemporary version and ultimately the most authoritative account, is Miller's Luck: The Life and Loves of Keith Miller, Australia's Greatest All-Rounder by Roland Perry

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When it comes to cricketers, there have been many as exciting on and off the pitch as Keith Ross Miller.

Miller played VFL, flew fighter planes in the war, and was one of, if not the greatest, all-rounder of all time.

Miller combined movie star looks and incredible charm off the field, with a dark side few got to see.

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Resources

Aside from lots of contemporary newspaper accounts, there ate quite a few books on Miller.

An older book and out of print that I found useful was Keith Miller; The Golden Nugget by R S Whitington and can be tracked down online.

Miller himself wrote quite extensively, such as in Cricket Crossfire be Keith Miller, again a second hand book these days but available online.

For a more contemporary version and ultimately the most authoritative account, is Miller's Luck: The Life and Loves of Keith Miller, Australia's Greatest All-Rounder by Roland Perry

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In the second part of our Lucky Baldwin series, Lucky had just escaped death after being shot by a jilted lover.

He followed that up by being shot by another lover almost immediately, which is careless. 

Lucky also managed to create a new town, which the Los Angeles Times described as a “gambling hell and booze pleasure park.”

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The Santa Anita Park is one of the most famous racetracks in America, a regular host of the Breeders' Cup, but its founder is little known.

Elias 'Lucky' Baldwin was a self-made millionaire, who left behind him a trail of wives, mistresses and unhappy business partners.

In business, he was lucky and shrewd, and his biography starts with the line, 'immoral, unmoral, amoral, Lucky Baldwin was all of them.'

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In 1964, one of Australia’s leading javelin throwers, Reg Spiers, was training in England when he failed to make the Australian Olympic team.

Things got worse when his wallet was stolen, leaving him completely broke.

He was stuck in England with no way to get home. Reg, however, was an out-of-the-box thinker. Perhaps there was a way to get home that would cost him nothing, it just had never been done before.

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Reg attracted a lot of attention back in the day, and has given countless interviews since which I drew on. The most definitive account is the book Out of the Box: The crazy true story of the Australian champion athlete who posted himself by Julie McSorley and Marcus McSorley and is worth checking out if you want the whole story.

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