Fantasy sport

# Fantasy sport

## Abstract

A fantasy sport (also known less commonly as rotisserie or roto) is a game, often played using the Internet, where participants assemble imaginary or virtual teams composed of proxies of real players of a professional sport. These teams compete based on the statistical performance of those players in actual games. This performance is converted into points that are compiled and totaled according to a roster selected by each fantasy team's manager. These point systems can be simple enough to be manually calculated by a "league commissioner " who coordinates and manages the overall league, or points can be compiled and calculated using computers tracking actual results of the professional sport. In fantasy sports, as in real sports team owners draft, trade, and cut (drop) players.

## History

### Early simulations

The history of fantasy games can be traced to the 19th century. The tabletop game Sebring Parlor Base Ball, introduced in 1866, allowed participants to simulate games by propelling a coin into slots on a wooden board. Later games featured outcomes determined by dice rolls or spinners. In 1930, Clifford Van Beek designed the board game National Pastime, which contained customized baseball cards of Major League Baseball (MLB) players. After rolling a pair of dice, participants would consult the card of the MLB player " at bat " to determine an outcome, which could range from a single, double, triple, or home run to a strikeout, putout, walk, or error. Players with better statistics in the previous season were more likely to receive favorable outcomes; this allowed National Pastime to become one of the first games to try to simulate the performances of real-life MLB players.

An example of such games was APBA, which was first released in 1951 and also contained cards of MLB players with in-game outcomes correlated to their stats from past seasons. Participants could compose fantasy teams from the cards and play against each other or recreate previous seasons using the statistics on the cards. Individual player cards and dice roll simulations were also emulated in the Strat-O-Matic game, which was first released in 1961. Daniel Okrent, who would later be credited with developing modern fantasy baseball, was an avid Strat-O-Matic player, telling Sports Illustrated in 2011 that "if there hadn't been Strat-O-Matic, I still think I would have come up with rotisserie, but unquestionably it helped."

In 1961, another early form of fantasy baseball was coded for the IBM 1620 computer by John Burgeson, then working for IBM. A user would select a team from a limited roster of retired players to play against a team randomly chosen by the computer. The computer would then use random number generation and player statistics to simulate a game's outcome and print a play-by-play description of it.

While some of these fantasy games produced outcomes based on the performances of real athletes, they were not designed to be played out over the course of a season, nor did they take current statistics into account, relying instead on those from previous years.

### The first leagues

In the 1950s, Oakland, California businessman and future limited partner in the Oakland Raiders Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach developed a fantasy golf game in which participants would select a roster of professional golfers and compare their scores at the end of a given tournament, with the lowest combined total of strokes winning. He also created a baseball game in which players drafted hitters and pitchers, comparing their real-life statistics against each other. These early experiments, however, failed to spread to the general public.

In 1960, sociologist William A. Gamson developed the Baseball Seminar league, in which participants would draft rosters of active MLB players and compare results at the end of the season based on the players' final batting averages, earned run averages, runs batted in, and win totals. Gamson would go on to play the game as a professor at the University of Michigan, where another competitor was Bob Sklar. One of Sklar's students was Daniel Okrent. According to Alan Schwarz's The Numbers Game: Baseball’s Lifelong Fascination with Statistics, Sklar told Okrent about the Baseball Seminar league.

Two years later, in a New York City hotel room during a 1962 Raiders cross-country trip, Winkenbach, along with Raiders public relations employee Bill Tunnel and Oakland Tribune reporter Scotty Stirling, developed the rules that would eventually be the basis of modern fantasy football. The inaugural league was called the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League (GOPPPL), and the first draft took place at Winkenbach's home in Oakland in August 1963. One of the league's original members, Andy Mousalimas, owned a sports bar in Oakland called the King's X, where the first public fantasy football league was founded in 1969. The idea spread by word of mouth when the patrons of other Bay Area bars visited the King's X for trivia contests.

### Rotisserie League Baseball

Modern fantasy baseball was developed and popularized in the 1980s by a group of journalists who created Rotisserie League Baseball in 1980. The league was named after the New York City restaurant La Rotisserie Française, where its founders met for lunch and first played the game. Magazine writer-editor Daniel Okrent is credited with introducing the rotisserie league concept to the group and inventing the scoring system. Players in the Rotisserie League drafted teams of active MLB players and tracked their statistics during the season to compile their scores. Like the Baseball Seminar league, rather than using statistics for seasons whose outcomes were already known to simulate in-game outcomes, team owners would have to make predictions about the statistics that MLB players would accumulate during the upcoming season.

Rotisserie baseball, nicknamed roto, proved to be popular despite the difficulties of compiling statistics by hand, which was an early drawback to participation. Okrent credits the idea's rapid spread to the fact that the initial league was created by sports journalists, telling Vanity Fair in 2008 that "most of us in the league were in the media, and we got a lot of press coverage that first season. The second season, there were rotisserie leagues in every Major League press box." According to Okrent, rotisserie baseball afforded sportswriters the opportunity to write about baseball-related material during the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, saying "the writers who were covering baseball had nothing to write about, so they began writing about the teams they had assembled in their own leagues. And that was what popularized it and spread it around very, very widely."

### Growth and early participants

Before the advent of the Internet, fantasy sports grew through print publications, such as magazines and newspapers. In 1987, Fantasy Football Index, the first national magazine dedicated to fantasy football, was launched by Ian Allan and Bruce Taylor. Fantasy Sports Magazine debuted in 1989 as the first regular publication covering more than one fantasy sport.

In 1990, a pair of nationwide fantasy games, Dugout Derby and Pigskin Playoff, were launched in a variety of newspapers across the United States, including the Arizona Republic, the Hartford Courant, the Los Angeles Times, and the Miami Herald. Players chose their teams by calling a toll-free phone number and entering four-digit codes for each of their player selections. The games served as an early version of today's daily fantasy sports by rewarding each week's highest-scoring participants with prizes.

In 1993, the magazine Fantasy Football Weekly was launched. Also that year, USA Today added a weekly fantasy baseball columnist, John Hunt. Hunt started a league among sports personalities called the League of Alternate Baseball Reality, which first included Peter Gammons, Keith Olbermann and Bill James, among others.

### Internet expansion

The growth of the Internet during the 1990s brought a "broad demographic shift in fantasy sports participation" because it enabled fantasy sports participants to instantaneously download tabulated statistics, rather than having to search for box scores of individual games in newspapers and keep track of cumulative statistics on paper.

In 1995, ESPN launched its first entirely Internet-based fantasy baseball game, with other major sports and entertainment companies following suit in the ensuing years. In October of that year, a fantasy hockey website was released by Molson Breweries as part of the company's "I am Online" marketing strategy centered around its I am Canadian advertising campaign. The site focused on music, entertainment and hockey in general in addition to fantasy competitions. It allowed users to register accounts and participate in fantasy leagues of nine teams. The site included updates of National Hockey League (NHL) statistics and provided content from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

CBS Sports began offering fantasy football leagues in 1997, the same year that the fantasy news website now known as RotoWire was launched. In July 1999, Yahoo began offering its fantasy football product for free, a decision that gave the site an advantage over its competitors. The creators of Fantasy Football Weekly launched Fanball.com later that year. While some sites abandoned a paid model in the wake of Yahoo's decision, some smaller sites, such as RotoWire, began offering paid products as they started losing business to larger competitors. CBS, which had transitioned to a free model for its league commissioner services, switched back to a paid model before the 2002 MLB season.

A trade group for the industry, the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, was formed in 1998. Now known as the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA), the organization estimates that in 2003, there were 15.2 million fantasy sports players in the United States and Canada.

During the first decade of the 2000s, fantasy sports started to become a mainstream hobby. In 2002, the National Football League (NFL) found that while the average male surveyed on its website spent 6.6 hours a week watching the league on television, fantasy players surveyed said they watched 8.4 hours of NFL football per week. "This is the first time we've been able to demonstrate specifically that fantasy play drives TV viewing," said Chris Russo, the NFL's senior vice president at the time. As a result of the survey's findings, the league made fantasy offerings more prominent on its website and produced television ads for fantasy football featuring active players. Prior to these developments, fantasy sports were largely viewed negatively by major sports leagues, with Russo later recalling that "there were concerns about whether it would be right for the fans or could it be construed as gambling." However, leagues began to embrace fantasy sports as their value towards increasing fans' consumption of sports became more evident.

#### Daily fantasy sports

Daily fantasy sports are accelerated versions of the traditional fantasy format in which contests are conducted over shorter periods than a full season, often lasting one week or even a single day. Daily fantasy games are typically subject to an entry fee, a portion of which funds a prize pool that is distributed among the game's winner or winners.

In June 2007, Fantasy Sports Live, one of the first daily fantasy sites, was launched. In November 2008, NBC launched a daily fantasy site called SnapDraft, and FanDuel was founded in 2009 as a spin-off of a Scottish prediction market company. DraftKings was founded in 2012.

Following venture capital investments from various firms, including from professional sports leagues such as MLB and the National Basketball Association (NBA), DraftKings and FanDuel launched an aggressive marketing campaign prior to the 2015 NFL season. At its peak, the two companies collectively ran an ad on national television in the United States once every 90 seconds. In addition to receiving direct investments from sports leagues, the two companies have reached sponsorship deals with several leagues and teams. In November 2014, DraftKings entered into a multi-year sponsorship deal with the NHL. In April 2015, after the NFL began to allow daily fantasy providers to sign multi-year team sponsorship deals, FanDuel reached deals with sixteen teams for placements on team-oriented digital properties, radio broadcasts, and within their stadiums. DraftKings has also received investments from Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft, who own the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots, respectively.

The legality of daily fantasy sports has been questioned, with critics arguing that they more closely resemble proposition wagering on athlete performance than a traditional fantasy sports game. However, following the 2018 United States Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, which allowed states to legalize sports betting, questions surrounding the legality of daily fantasy sports, as well as fantasy sports in general, within the United States have largely been settled.

As of May 2023, while 33 US states have operational legalized sports betting, 45 states have legalized daily fantasy sports. As of May 2023, DraftKings and FanDuel operate daily fantasy contests in 44 states each. Only one state, Montana, has officially banned online fantasy sports.

## Industry overview

### Size of the industry

In May 2015, Australian market research firm IBISWorld reported that fantasy sports comprised a $2 billion industry in the United States, experiencing 10.7% annual growth and employing 4,386 people in 292 businesses.

According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, in 2017, the size of the fantasy sports industry reached $7.22 billion, per research by Ipsos. The study estimated that there were 59.3 million fantasy sports players in the United States and Canada as of that year.

### Industry growth

The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association estimates that the number of fantasy sports players in the US and Canada grew from 500,000 in 1988 to 15.2 million in 2003, declining slightly over the next few years before growing to 29.9 million in 2008 and 62.5 million in 2022. In 2015, Forbes estimated that the number of yearly non-betting fantasy sports users had grown 25% since 2011. This growth encouraged hundreds of millions of dollars in investments into emerging daily fantasy sports leagues, such as FanDuel and DraftKings.

Outside of North America, the fantasy industry has also experienced a recent period of growth. The development of daily fantasy sports has encouraged growth in European markets. ESPN Super Selector launched in 2001 for fantasy cricket and had 500,000 users during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. By 2017, there were 40 million fantasy sports players in India. In 2019, the number had grown to 90 million, and in 2020, an estimated 100 million Indians participated in fantasy sports. The market leader in fantasy sports in India, Dream11, signed a four-year sponsorship deal for the IPL in 2019.

### Trade associations

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association was formed in 1998 to represent the growing industry in the United States and Canada. Now known as the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, the organization aims to support fantasy sports, sports gambling in general, and its associated businesses and participants.

The Fantasy Sports Writers Association was formed in 2004 to represent the growing numbers of journalists covering fantasy sports exclusively. The Fantasy Sports Association was formed in 2006 as a rival trade group. However, the organization folded in 2010.

### Demographics

According to the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA), an estimated 62.5 million people played fantasy sports in the US and Canada in 2022. The FSGA estimated that 19% of American adults played fantasy sports in 2023, compared to 13% in 2014. A 2023 FSGA survey found that 64% of fantasy sports players were male, 48% were between the ages of 18 and 34, and 84% had a college degree or higher. A 2015 analysis found that 89.8% were white and 51.5% were unmarried.

According to the FSGA, the most popular fantasy sport in the US and Canada is gridiron football, which is played by approximately 79% of fantasy participants. The next most popular sports are basketball (32%), baseball (22%), ice hockey (12%), association football (11%), and college football (11%).

Research has shown that fantasy players are also generally stronger consumers alcoholic beverages, fast food, airline travel, video games, sports periodicals, athletic shoes, and cell phones relative to the general population. The FSGA reported in 2019 that fantasy players were also far more likely to use Instagram or Snapchat, visit a sports bar, and get food delivered than the general population.

### Fantasy sports television programming

Due to the popularity of fantasy sports, major sports networks such as ESPN, NFL Network, and Fox Sports have created dedicated weekly fantasy programming to analyze player performance and predict outcomes in relation to particular scoring systems. ESPN's on-demand streaming platform ESPN+ offers a fantasy program called The Fantasy Show hosted by long time staff writer Matthew Berry. The Fantasy Show utilizes puppets and comedy to present statistical information about NFL players. ESPN also aires a show on Sunday mornings during the NFL season called Fantasy Football Now. "Fantasy Football Now" airs live on Sunday mornings during the NFL season, a time when fans are making last-minute roster moves and need the latest news from around the league. Providing the latest info are analysts Matthew Berry, Field Yates and licensed physical therapist Stephania Bell, who gives injury updates.

NFL Network aires NFL Fantasy Live as an hour long program containing a consistent weekly segment list that viewers can count on to help them manage their team. NFL Fantasy Live is hosted by Cole Wright and features Michael Fabiano, Adam Rank, Marcas Grant, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Graham Barfield and statistics analytics expert Cynthia Frelund. Fox Sports Net aires Fantasy Football Hour on a weekly basis during the NFL season hosted by Katy Winge and features industry experts Brad Evans and Nate Lundy.

## Legal issues in the United States

Fantasy sports are generally considered to be a form of gambling, though they are far less strictly regulated than other forms of sports betting. Unlike traditional sports betting, fantasy sports are generally viewed as "games of skill," rather than "games of chance," thus exempting them from gambling bans and regulations in many jurisdictions.

### Federal law related to fantasy gaming

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), was enacted as part of the "American Values Agenda" of 2006 and was added as an amendment to the unrelated SAFE Port Act. The UIGEA generally prohibits funds transfers to businesses engaged in unlawful internet wagering. However the UIGEA does not itself define unlawful internet wagering, and expressly refrains from altering the legality of any underlying conduct other than funds transfers.

While the act does not alter the legality of any particular activity permitted or prohibited under other laws, it does contain some express exemptions to its funds transfer prohibitions. One of these exemptions from the UIGEA prohibitions is for fantasy sports that meet certain criteria. Specifically, fantasy sports that are based on teams of real multiple athletes from multiple real world teams, that have prizes established before the event starts, that use the skill of participants to determine the outcome, are exempted from the definition of a bet or wager that is the basis for requiring banks to identify and block funds transfers. According to Congressman Jim Leach, an author of the UIGEA, exemptions, particularly one for fantasy sports, were included to relieve the burden of enforcement on banks and the UIGEA does not make fantasy sports legal.

Because the UIGEA exempted fantasy sports from its definition of a bet or wager, there is a misconception that fantasy sports were made legal by the UIGEA. However the UIGEA is not a criminal gambling statute, and it specifically does not alter any criminal gambling laws and thus does not make fantasy sports legal. Federal criminal gambling statutes are found in Title 18 of U.S. Code, such as the Federal Wire Act 18 U.S. Code § 1084 (which prohibits interstate sports wagering) and the Illegal Gambling Business Act 18 U.S. Code § 1955 (which prohibits the interstate conduct of wagering activity prohibited under state law). By contrast, the UIGEA is found in Title 31 with other anti-money laundering and financial crimes statutes.

### State laws related to fantasy gaming

Whether state laws can regulate fantasy sports conducted across state lines depends on whether fantasy sports are a form of sports wagering under federal law. This is because the Federal Wire Act prohibits the conduct of sports wagering in interstate or foreign commerce. With regard to intrastate sports wagering, in 2018 the United States Supreme Court in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which had prohibited states from authorizing any wagering, lottery, betting, sweepstakes or other wagering scheme that is based directly or indirectly on games in which professional or amateur athletes participate or on the performance of any athletes in such games.

Where states have not expressly authorized fantasy sports contests, usually general gambling laws prohibit lotteries or wagering if three elements are present: an entry fee (known as "consideration"), a prize (a "reward," in legal terms) and chance. Whether fantasy sports are legal under these laws hinges on the definition of "chance" that the state applies. For some states, if skill dominates the outcome of the event, then the contest is legal, and passes what is called the "dominant factor test." Other states with a stricter definition of chance, called "any chance test," have made fantasy football illegal.

Several states have clarified that paid fantasy sports contests are games of skill and exempt from gambling laws, beginning with Maryland in 2012.

One exception is the state of Nevada, which has an exemption in PASPA to allow for sports betting. The Nevada attorney general issued an opinion that found Daily Fantasy Sports to be a form of sports wagering, similar to the current wagering offered by Nevada Sports Books. The opinions states that Daily Fantasy Sports are not illegal in Nevada; however, a sports pool license is required to conduct the activity in Nevada.

Several Attorneys General have also issued opinions that Daily Fantasy Sports are a form of sports wagering. A Florida state attorney general's opinion in 1991 called into doubt the legality of fantasy football contests, but companies have operated in the state without any legal action. Since then nine other AGs have issued options, statements or formal opinions that equate DFS with gambling.

However, several other Attorneys General have issued opinions that DFS are legal games of skill. In August 2015 in Kansas, due to uncertainty with the state's Racing and Gaming Commission position, the state's attorney general issued an opinion that daily fantasy sports was a skill game and thus permitted under state law. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed legislation a month later authorizing fantasy gaming. The Attorneys General of West Virginia and Rhode Island have also issued opinions that clarified the legality of DFS and paid fantasy sports.

As of January 2022, online fantasy sports are legal in 49 of the 50 US states. The only state with a ban on online fantasy sports that is codified in statute is Montana. As of January 2022, daily fantasy sports are legal in 45 US states, with 23 of those states explicitly passing legislation legalizing the practice.

### Legal cases related to use of player statistics

There have been other legal cases involving fantasy sports and the use of professional athletes' statistics for purposes of scoring.

#### STATS, Inc. vs. NBA

In 1996, STATS, Inc., a major statistical provider to fantasy sports companies, won a court case, along with Motorola, on appeal against the NBA in which the NBA was trying to stop STATS from distributing in game score information via a special wireless device created by Motorola. The victory played a large part in defending other cases where sports leagues have tried to suppress live in-game information from their events being distributed by other outlets. The victory also accelerated the demand for real-time statistics amid the growth of the fantasy sports industry.

#### CDM vs. MLBAM

The development of fantasy sports produced tension between fantasy sports companies and professional leagues and players associations over the rights to player profiles and statistics. The players associations of the major sports leagues believed that fantasy games using player names were subject to licensing due to the right of publicity of the players involved. Since the player names were being used as a group, the players had assigned their publicity rights to the players association who then signed licensing deals. During the 1980s and 1990s many companies signed licensing deals with the player associations, but some companies did not. The issue came to a head with the lawsuit of Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), MLB's Internet company, vs. St. Louis-based CBC Distribution and Marketing Inc., the parent company of CDM Sports. When CBC was denied a new licensing agreement with MLBAM (they had acquired the rights from the baseball players' association) for its fantasy baseball game, CBC filed suit.

CBC argued that intellectual property laws and so-called "right of publicity" laws don't apply to the statistics used in fantasy sports. The FSTA filed an amicus curiae in support of CBC, also arguing that if MLBAM won the lawsuit it would have a dramatic impact on the industry, which was largely ignored by the major sports leagues for years while a number of smaller entrepreneurs grew it into a multibillion-dollar industry, and a ruling could allow the MLBAM to have a monopoly over the industry.

"This will be a defining moment in the fantasy sports industry," said Charlie Wiegert, executive vice president of CBC. "The other leagues are all watching this case. If MLB prevailed, it just would have been a matter of time before they followed up. Their player unions are just waiting for the opportunity."

CBC won the lawsuit as US District Court Judge Mary Ann Medler ruled that statistics are part of the public domain and can be used at no cost by fantasy companies. "The names and playing records of major-league baseball players as used in CBC's fantasy games are not copyrightable," Medler wrote. "Therefore, federal copyright law does not pre-empt the players' claimed right of publicity."

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision in October 2007. "It would be strange law that a person would not have a First Amendment right to use information that is available to everyone," a three-judge panel said in its ruling. The Supreme Court upheld the circuit court's decision by declining to hear the case in June 2008. In 2009, CBS Interactive won a lawsuit against the NFL Players’ Association over whether CBS had a First Amendment right to use players’ names and playing records in its fantasy sports offerings without paying licensing fees.


Lost and Found (novel)

# Lost and Found (novel)

## Abstract

Lost and Found is a 2008 children's novel written by Andrew Clements. It is about two boys, Ray and Jay Grayson, who are identical twins, and have always wondered what it is like to be a single person rather than "one of the Grayson twins".


Noggin (brand)

# Noggin (brand)

## Abstract

Noggin was an American edutainment brand that launched on February 2, 1999. It was co-founded by MTV Networks (owners of Nickelodeon) and Sesame Workshop. It started out as a cable television channel and a website, both centered around the concepts of imagination, creativity, and education. From 2015 to 2024, Noggin was a streaming service.

In Noggin's first three years, it was mainly aimed at pre-teens and teenagers. One of Noggin's goals was to disprove the idea "that educational programming is not entertaining enough to attract pre-teens and young adults." It only aired preschool shows in the morning and devoted the rest of its schedule to tween and teen shows. In April 2002, Noggin extended its preschool block to last for 12 hours, airing from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and the teen block ran from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. The teen block was given a new name, " The N," to distinguish itself from the preschool block. The shows that made up Noggin's original older-skewing lineup aired exclusively during The N from 2002 onward.

Sesame Workshop eventually sold its stake in Noggin to Viacom in August 2002 but continued to co-produce shows for Noggin until 2009. The original Noggin channel closed on September 28, 2009, and the brand was dormant until 2015, when it was announced that Noggin would relaunch as a streaming service. The service launched on March 5, 2015. In 2020, the Noggin streaming service started producing its own exclusive shows. On February 15, 2024, Paramount Global laid off Noggin's staff and announced that the Noggin streaming service would shut down soon. The service shut down on July 2, 2024, with some shows moved to Paramount+.

## Creation

Noggin's creation dates back to 1995, when Sesame Workshop (then known as the Children's Television Workshop) planned to start an educational cable channel called "New Kid City." The Los Angeles Times reported that "launching its own channel is the only way to ensure a home for its highly acclaimed shows, which are often passed over by networks in favor of more commercially successful fare." Meanwhile, Nickelodeon (part of MTV Networks) planned its own educational channel called "Big Orange." When the two companies learned of each other's ideas, they partnered to create a channel together.

The channel was named Noggin (a slang term for a person's head), reflecting its purpose: to encourage kids to think, discover new things, and use their imaginations. When it started, Noggin was mostly aimed at kids aged 6–12. Its main goal was to provide "fun shows that help kids learn and inspire their curiosity – all without feeling like they're in school." Noggin's core values included the statements: "Kids want to learn. Kids are naturally curious. There are no stupid questions."

## Brand elements

### Logo and branding

From 1999 until 2019, Noggin used the same logo: the bottom half of a smiling cartoon face. The logo's upper half featured different icons that represented topics the head was "thinking of" (such as a beaker to reflect science, or flowers to reflect springtime). Hundreds of different "toppers" were designed for the logo. For its first few years, Noggin often captioned its logo with the slogan "What sparks you?" It also aired videos of kids and teens responding to the question, explaining their favorite topics that "spark" their imaginations.

Noggin's logo was featured in a large amount of original shorts and animations that ran between shows on the channel. In its early years, Noggin's creative team hired "sick and twisted" independent animators to create station ID commercials, hoping that they could each bring their own personal design elements to the logo. The goal was to make the logo "look unlike any other network" and inspire kids' creativity. In 2019, the original Noggin face logo was retired for the first time in 20 years; it was replaced with a lowercase noggin wordmark written in purple.

### Television channel

The first service established under Noggin was a cable TV channel. It operated from February 2, 1999, until September 28, 2009. When it started, the channel mainly showed reruns from Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon's libraries. Noggin was originally aimed at pre-teens, since Noggin's creative team felt that this age group was "underserved when it comes to new, quality educational television." The Noggin channel was commercial-free and allowed teachers to tape its programs for use in the classroom.

Noggin's original lineup included classic episodes of The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, Cro, Square One Television, and Ghostwriter from Sesame Workshop's library. It also included series like Wild Side Show, Nick News, and Doug from Nickelodeon's library. From 2000 to 2002, Noggin aired reruns of the science show Bill Nye the Science Guy. Bill Nye also starred in brand-new segments made specially for Noggin, where he played the role of Noggin's "head sparkologist" and tried to find out what topics sparked viewers' imaginations.

Noggin's first original show was Phred on Your Head Show, which featured an animated host named Phred. A second original series, A Walk in Your Shoes, premiered in October 1999. Each episode of A Walk in Your Shoes followed two different people "switching lives" to better understand each other's cultures. In 2000, Noggin introduced three series of shorts that aired during program breaks: Me in a Box, which showed kids making dioramas to represent their personalities; Citizen Phoebe, about a girl who wants to run for president; and Oobi, a preschool series about bare-hand puppets.

By 2001, original content made up 40% of Noggin's schedule. That year, Noggin premiered four new shows: Big Kids, a British-American co-production; On the Team, a documentary about a Little League baseball team; Sponk!, a game show centered around improv acting; and The URL with Phred Show, which showcased viewers' submissions to the Noggin website. On April 1, 2002, the channel was reorganized into two blocks: a daytime block for preschoolers and a nighttime block, The N, for teens. Play with Me Sesame, a new series featuring Sesame Street characters, debuted on the same day.

Sesame Workshop continued to co-produce shows for Noggin through 2009, most notably Out There and The Upside Down Show, two live-action series. Both shows were developed by Sesame Workshop's writers in New York and filmed by a multinational team in Australia. The Noggin brand was placed on a six-year hiatus from 2009 to 2015; on September 28, 2009, its channel space was taken over by a 24-hour channel based on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block.

### The N

The N (standing for N oggin) was an overnight programming block on the Noggin channel, aimed at older kids and teenagers. It premiered on April 1, 2002, and aired until December 31, 2007. Promotions advertised the block as "The N: The New Name for Nighttime on Noggin." It took several months for Noggin to choose the right name for the block; as reported by Kidscreen in 2002, they needed a name to "help distance and distinguish the tween programming from the preschool fare," but the legal department also required the block to maintain a relation to Noggin's main name.

Noggin's preexisting tween-targeted shows—like A Walk in Your Shoes and Sponk! —only aired during The N from 2002 onward. Noggin produced several original series for the block, including the animated comedy O'Grady, the drama South of Nowhere, and the competition show Girls v. Boys. The N was also the U.S. broadcast home of the Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Noggin aimed to promote a variety of life skills through the shows on The N, including self-respect, constructive thinking, and tolerance of diversity.

Like the rest of Noggin, The N's shows were created with educational goals, which was uncommon for teen programming at the time. The block was managed by the same team that made Noggin's preschool shows. The team considered it a challenge to focus on both preschoolers and an older audience, but because both focused on educational shows with valuable life lessons, they felt Noggin and The N had a "unified brand identity." From 2007 to 2009, the block was moved from Noggin to a new channel. The channel carried TEENick programming throughout the day and relegated The N's content to a block at night, similar to The N's structure before it spun off from Noggin. According to Polygon, "Nickelodeon began phasing out The N's programming and replacing it with TEENick, an entertainment block with no educational curriculum and zero involvement from Noggin. The N lost its footing by 2009, and both and its website closed down completely."

### Streaming service

On March 5, 2015, Noggin was relaunched as a mobile streaming service. From 2015 to 2020, it included older shows from Noggin's time as a cable channel. In 2020, Noggin started to make new shows for the service. These included an exercise show called Yoga Friends and a cooking show called School of Yum. Kinderwood, an animated series about five classmates at a magical school, premiered on Noggin in 2020. In 2021, the service introduced a half-hour educational show called Noggin Knows and a series of shorts called The Noggins, which featured new teal-colored mascots called Noggins.

The Noggin streaming service would expand into international markets, starting with the rollout of a Spanish-language version that launched in Latin America in November 2015. This version included some shows that were not available on the English-language service, including the Spanish dub of Rugrats. A Portuguese version was released on November 21, 2015. On September 21, 2020, it was announced that versions of Noggin would launch in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Austria as an add-on to Amazon Prime Video. The UK version of Noggin replaced the More Milkshake! SVOD service, with the name transitioning over as a section on the service.

On February 15, 2024, corporate owner Paramount Global announced that the Noggin streaming service would be shutting down later that year, with the entire Noggin team being laid off. The platform was shut down on July 2, 2024, with billing stopped by May 30. Noggin's slate of original and acquired programming would be moved over to sister streaming service Paramount+ under the Nick Jr. brand.

### Mascots

Throughout its history, Noggin has featured unique cartoon characters who act as the hosts and mascots of the brand. During Noggin's time as a cable channel, these mascots often appeared during program breaks to introduce shows. Noggin has had the following mascots:

- Phred (1999–2002) – A small green creature (voiced by Doug Preis) who was Noggin's first mascot. He talked in a New York accent and liked to make jokes. He interacted with live-action guests by hopping on top of their heads and talking to them.

- Feetface (2002–2003) – This mascot (voiced by Jessica DiCicco), shaped like a circular face with legs, hosted Noggin's preschool block from April 2002 to April 2003.

- Moose and Zee (2003–2009; 2015–2019) – A talking yellow moose (voiced by Paul Christie) and a mute blue bird, who hosted Noggin's preschool block from April 2003 onward. When Noggin became Nick Jr. in 2009, they remained as hosts until 2012. They also hosted the Noggin streaming service from 2015 until 2019.

- The Alpha Teens (2004–2005; The N) – The N's first mascots. A group of high schoolers drawn in a comic book style. They first appeared on The N block in 2004. They introduced the shows on The N's schedule.

- The Noggins (2021–2024) – A group of short, teal-colored creatures with purple eyes, who have appeared as mascots on the Noggin streaming service since 2021. They would remain as the hosts until 2024, when Noggin shuttered its streaming service for good.

## Spin-off media

### Websites

The Noggin channel launched along with an interactive website, Noggin.com, which was active until 2024. The website features games, blogs, printables, and fact sheets. The website was integrated into many of Noggin's earlier shows, like Sponk! and The URL with Phred Show, which featured viewer-submitted questions and artwork from Noggin.com. Throughout 2000, Bill Nye of Bill Nye the Science Guy answered questions asked by Noggin.com users between airings of his show. In 2001, Noggin launched "Chattervision", which allowed viewers to comment on different shows online and see their conversations appear live on TV.

One of the website's first games was the "Noggimation Station," which taught visitors about the animation process and allowed them to design their own animations, some of which were chosen to air on TV. Another website, called MyNoggin.com, was launched in October 2007. It was a subscription-based site that offered educational games and allowed parents to track their child's progress in different subjects.

### Blocks on other channels

Blocks based on Noggin have appeared on other channels. TV Land aired a one-night Noggin special on April 26, 1999. Spanning two hours, the special featured reruns of The Electric Company, along with animated shorts featuring the Noggin logo. Noggin shows were also occasionally seen on the main Nickelodeon channel. On June 6, 1999, Nickelodeon ran the first episode of Noggin's Phred on Your Head Show.

On March 27, 2000, Nickelodeon introduced a half-hour block of Noggin shows that aired every weekday morning until June 2001. The block was originally titled "Noggins Up" and became "Noggin on Nickelodeon" during its second year on the air. It showcased one tween-oriented program every weekday, including A Walk In Your Shoes and On the Team. The block attracted thousands of visitors to the Noggin.com site. Nickelodeon revived the block for a single day on April 7, 2003. Following the block's removal, premiere episodes of Noggin series were often simulcast on Nickelodeon and Noggin.

The Noggin name was used for an otherwise unrelated programming block on Nick Jr. UK from May 2004 until September 2005. It ran for two hours every night and included reruns of older British television series for children. On January 30, 2006, Noggin was launched as a block on TMF in the United Kingdom, this time in the style of the US Noggin. It ran every weekday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Noggin continued for a short time on TMF's successor, VIVA, until March 2010.

From May 2021 to March 2022, the Nick Jr. Channel aired an hour-long block of programming from the Noggin streaming service every Friday. The block, titled "Noggin Hour," featured shows such as Noggin Knows and Kinderwood, as well as the acquired series Hey Duggee and JoJo & Gran Gran. Noggin interstitials played during commercial breaks, and a purple screen bug reading "On Noggin" was shown toward the beginning of each show.

### Live events

Noggin held live events to promote its shows. At the 2001 North American Trade Show in Minnesota, Noggin presented a replica of the set from Oobi. In spring 2002, Noggin launched a live version of its Play with Me Sesame series, featuring mascot characters and music from the show. In May 2002, the Jillian's restaurant chain offered "Noggin Play Days" each Wednesday afternoon, where attendees could watch a live feed of Noggin with themed activities and meals.

In March 2004, Noggin partnered with GGP shopping malls to host a free arts-and-crafts program called Club Noggin. It debuted at five malls in April of the same year. Attendance at the first few events exceeded expectations, leading GGP to bring Club Noggin to over 100 malls across the United States. The monthly events were hosted by trained YMCA leaders, who offered crafts and activities based on Noggin characters. Each meeting was themed around a different Noggin show.

From October 2005 until late 2006, Noggin sponsored a music festival called "Jamarama Live", which toured the United States. The tour had performances from Laurie Berkner, a musician on Jack's Big Music Show. It also had appearances from a mascot costume of Moose A. Moose. Reviewers for Time Magazine compared Jamarama to a family-friendly version of Lollapalooza.

In November 2005, a Noggin float appeared at America's Thanksgiving Parade. In November 2006, Noggin hosted an online charity auction on its website, called the "Noggin Auction." Viewers could bid on props from different Noggin shows. Noggin also auctioned off props from The N's teen shows, with the money going to homeless shelters. In August 2007, Noggin partnered with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and sponsored its annual Trike-A-Thon program.


Rhode Island banking crisis

# Rhode Island banking crisis

## Abstract

The Rhode Island banking crisis took place in the early 1990s, when approximately a third of the US state of Rhode Island 's population lost access to funds in their bank accounts. The events were triggered by the failure of a Providence bank, Heritage Loan & Investment, due to long-term embezzlement by its president. News of its problems led to a bank run in which customers tried to withdraw money from the bank which did not have enough money available. In normal circumstances, depositors would be protected by the bank's insurance, but the state's private insurer had a long history of problems and was unable to fulfill its commitments. When the insurer collapsed, Governor Bruce Sundlun announced the closure of 45 credit unions and banks just hours after his inauguration.

In the first banking emergency in the state since the Great Depression, 300,000 depositors lost access to their money. Though some of the institutions reopened relatively quickly after obtaining federal insurance, many did not qualify and remained closed for an extended period of time. The state government set up an agency to manage the crisis, selling $697 million in bonds to repay people while filing about 300 lawsuits against the closed institutions and other companies that played a role in the crisis.

The shutdown sparked demonstrations and protests. Corruption hearings added to public frustration, when several executives and public officials were called to testify about their last minute withdrawals from banks just before their closure. The manhunt for Joseph Mollicone Jr, the Heritage Loan & Investment president who had fled to Utah, took nearly 18 months before he turned himself in. He was convicted, and given what at that time was the state's most severe sentence for a " white collar " offense.

Though all depositors were eventually repaid, most had to wait months or years for compensation. Most of the big banks remained closed for more than a year, and several never reopened.

## Heritage Loan & Investment failure

Heritage Loan & Investment was a bank in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. In 1990, examiners with the state's Department of Business Regulation (DBR) discovered $13 million of fraudulent loans in the bank's records that had purportedly been made to 128 people and businesses that never asked for or received a loan. The loans had been fabricated by bank president, Joseph Mollicone Jr., who began taking money from the bank in 1986 and had set up more than 90 businesses to funnel the money through. The Providence Journal reported that "he became legendary for dodging questions about missing bank records, once suggesting to a bank examiner: 'Let's have a muffin'."

In October 1990, the bank's insurer, the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corporation (RISDIC), took control of the bank following an examination that revealed its poor state. When Mollicone learned authorities had caught on to his illicit activities, he fled the state, disappearing on November 8, 1990, after getting on a plane at Logan International Airport in Boston. A grand jury investigation opened a few days later, on November 13. As Heritage customers learned what was happening, there was a bank run in which they withdrew $13 million of the bank's $22 million in total deposits. On November 18, Governor Edward D. DiPrete closed the bank on what was supposed to be a temporary basis, while officials tried to determine what was going on and control the damage.

On November 26, Mollicone was charged with embezzlement and considered a fugitive. By the time he left, Mollicone had taken more than 80% of the money people deposited at the bank, according to prosecutor Kevin Bristow. The state attorney general 's office estimated that he stole $15.2 million overall. The bank opened again on December 4 to allow depositors to withdraw the rest of their funds, before closing again.

## Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corporation

### Background

The Heritage Loan & Investment bank was insured by the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corporation (RISDIC), a state-chartered nominally private enterprise which backed 45 of the state's credit unions and banks. It started operating in 1971 and was intended to insure only small institutions, with $134 million insured in 1972. It expanded quickly, though, increasing to $761 million insured in 1980. It continued to grow through the 1980s, enabled by loosened state and federal laws.

Between the mid-1970s and early-1990s, several state-chartered, privately operated insurance entities failed, beginning with Mississippi in 1976, then Nebraska and California in 1983. The 1980s saw a trend of banks and credit unions, often at the urging of state-level insurers, shifting to federal insurers, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The trend became particularly pronounced after Ohio and Maryland, the largest state-chartered funds, collapsed in 1985, causing bank crises in those states. RISDIC, however, did not learn from the mistakes of other states. To the contrary, it even increased the maximum deposit it would insure. When it was founded, the per-account maximum to be insured was $40,000, but that number increased to $500,000 in late 1985, with no limit on some accounts. When RISDIC lost some of its most stable banks, it began insuring more weak institutions. By the late 1980s, RISDIC was riddled with problems. It insured primarily those institutions that were unable to secure federal insurance, guaranteeing large sums of money at weak banks.

Concerns had been raised about RISDIC for years before its collapse. Federal regulators, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and others issued warnings as early as 1985. The state attorney general, Arlene Violet, made several attempts to draw attention to RISDIC's vulnerability without success. When Violet entered office, she began attending bank board of incorporation meetings and was struck by the way the group charged with overseeing the state's banking system seemed to allow favors to politically connected people. After seeing problems with the insurer's financial reports, she tasked members of her white collar crime unit with producing a report about the company. The finished report, completed in December 1985, highlighted financial risks as well as various conflicts of interest involved in its management and regulation. It led to the proposed bill in 1986 that would require RISDIC-insured institutions to obtain federal insurance, effectively closing the insurer. It was supported by the DiPrete administration but failed in the state General Assembly. The report was not made public, but in the days after the bank closure, it was leaked to the Providence Journal, which printed it in its entirety.

A significant problem was lack of oversight. Members of RISDIC's board of trustees were primarily managers of the institutions it insured. There were no formal rules requiring any outside board members, resulting in only three members appointed to represent the public and fifteen with conflicts of interest, representing insured banks. In the late 1980s, government budget cuts moved the responsibility for conducting examinations of the insurer from the Department of Business Regulation (DBR) to RISDIC itself, further reducing outside and independent oversight. In addition to being poorly regulated, it failed to abide by standard industry practices and although it formally adopted the standards of the National Association of Share Insurance Corporation, it did not actually implement them effectively. The board failed to review reports by examiners and outside auditors.

According to Pulkkinen and Rosengren, "That RISDIC did not fail earlier was attributable to its political clout and its ability to mask severe financial difficulties within its underlying membership." She said the only reason the legislation to end RISDIC failed was because of problematic relationships between legislators and the banks.

### Failure

The Heritage Loan and Investment collapse came months after Jefferson Loan and Investment Company, another RISDIC-insured bank, folded because of fraudulent leases. Jefferson used up a great deal of RISDIC's resources, leaving them in particularly bad shape when the even more costly Heritage collapse came about in November 1990. The $13-million bank run in November, after customers learned the condition of Heritage, used up a large part of RISDIC's $25-million reserve. At the same time, concerned depositors at other RISDIC-insured institutions began withdrawing their own funds at an increased rate. As a result of the draining of its assets, RISDIC was left insolvent, unable to meet deposit insurance claims.

Several RISDIC-insured institutions began working to obtain federal insurance amid these events. Some were delayed, while many others reconsidered, opting to explore other options upon realizing the stricter controls federal insurance would place on the institutions. The outgoing DiPrete administration prepared a plan to switch RISDIC-insured institutions to federal insurance, but did not act on it because, according to the Providence Journal, "it would be presumptuous for him to do so in the waning days of his term." The incoming administration of Bruce Sundlun planned to act on it in the days or weeks following his inauguration, but action hastened after a letter was delivered from the RISDIC board of directors. On December 31, 1990, the day before Sundlun's inauguration, the RISDIC board voted unanimously to request conservatorship due to "extraordinary liquidity demands... in recent days."

A retrospective analysis by Walker F. Todd in Economic Commentary found similarities in the failures of the Ohio, Maryland, and Rhode Island systems. Among them were the insurers' influence in state legislatures, failure to act when notified of problems, political authorities downplaying the seriousness of the funds' insolvencies, and, most importantly, "their incapacity to exercise sufficient supervisory authority to limit risks or to impose effective risk-based deposit insurance premiums to make unwise risk-taking more costly for the insured institutions creating the largest risks." Effectively, without enough funds and with too much risk, any single major loss would erode confidence and lead to disaster. On the other hand, whereas weaknesses in the insured institutions themselves were a factor in all three states' funds, Ohio and Maryland institutions were weakened primarily by fraud while Rhode Island was more affected by losses in real estate loans and investments, which occurred across New England between 1989 and 1992.

## Bank closures and aftermath

By state law, banks and credit unions cannot legally operate without insurance. Hours after his January 1, 1991, inauguration, Sundlun held a press conference. Due to a "banking emergency," he ordered the indefinite closure of the 45 RISDIC-insured financial institutions, about three quarters of which were credit unions. Police were posted at all closed banks "to maintain public order," according to officials cited in the Providence Journal. RISDIC-insured institutions were ordered not to accept deposits, grant withdrawals, pay dividends, pay creditors, renew loans, liquidate assets, or incur new debts. They were, however, to pay their own employees as applicable, and to submit plans for continued operation to Maurice C. Paradis, the new business regulation director in the Sundlun administration. Bank customers were, however, expected to repay loans.

It was the first banking emergency in Rhode Island since the bank holidays of the Great Depression in 1933. Over 300,000 people, about a third of the state's population, lost access to their money, totaling about $1.7 billion. Depositors were notified that although they could not make deposits or withdrawals, they would still need to repay loans to those institutions and their money would continue to accrue interests. The state created a central phone hotline through the Department of Business Regulation, which had difficulty keeping up with the high call volume.

By the following day, January 2, all but two of the institutions had applied for federal insurance, and those that were approved reopened relatively quickly: seven reopened the following Monday. However, the FDIC and NCUA declined to provide insurance to some of the institutions that did not meet its standards, highlighting eleven that had been explicitly declined. The FDIC chairman stated that it would not burden itself by providing extra help for the crisis or by repaying depositors if their accounts are salvageable. The seven that quickly reopened accounted for only about ten percent of the total deposits, however, with most of the larger institutions still closed. But the events worried some in the federal government, who sent millions of dollars in cash to help protect against the consequences of bank runs on the larger national and regional banks that had not closed.

According to a Sundlun spokesperson, although the state neither owned nor backed RISDIC, "it was decided that the state had a moral obligation to protect depositors". Sundlun's administration, including later state Superior Court justice Michael A. Silverstein, set up the Depositors Economic Protection Corporation (DEPCO), which sold bonds in order to repay those whose money had been lost. State sales tax was increased from 6% to 7% to help pay for the hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds. The state's troubles were exacerbated by a weak economy and a significant budget deficit at the time of the closure — $162 million on a $1.5 billion budget — legally obligating lawmakers to close the budget gap at the same time as it looked for funds to compensate depositors.

Though the state persisted in taking measures to ensure people recouped their losses, progress was slow. The Governor announced a plan to allow depositors to withdraw up to half of the funds in their accounts up to a certain amount, but repayments to clients of still-closed banks did not begin until six months after the initial closure. Eight months in, 200,000 customers at 13 institutions still could not access their deposits worth about $1.2 billion. After a year, only 36 of the 45 institutions had reopened, and most of the biggest remained closed, including Rhode Island Central, the state's second largest credit union. By that time, depositors with small accounts of $2,500 or less had been repaid in full, but others with money at the nine still-closed institutions had only received about 10% of their funds. Two and a half years after the closure, a small number of depositors still did not have access to their money.

## Public reaction

Local newspapers regularly printed lists of banks that had been opened or remained closed. Some depositors had houses foreclosed or other property repossessed; some businesses failed, while others had to lay off workers. State representatives worked to make arrangements with federal agencies to ensure those who rely on direct-deposited government checks would receive them directly. The number of bankruptcies in the state increased by 62% between 1990 and 1991. The Rhode Island Community Food Bank had to distribute 30% more food than it did in 1990, totaling four million pounds. Some businesses tried to adapt with an eye towards the crisis' resolution. Grocery chains Almacs and Stop & Shop arranged to continue taking checks from closed banks, to be cashed later.

One of the cities hardest hit was Woonsocket, which already had an unemployment rate over 11% and where more than half of the residents were customers of one of the larger closed credit unions. Businesses had lower revenue and more than 30 closed by the end of February. Group therapy sessions began in the city for elderly residents who relied on the closed credit union.

People began protesting shortly after the announcement. Dedicated activist organizations formed, such as the Warwick -based Citizens for Depositors' Rights. One event organized by the group convened hundreds of protesters in the Statehouse rotunda a few weeks into the closure. Some protests regarded specific developments, such as when the governor's office decided to release a list of all depositors with at least $100,000 locked up in one of the closed banks. The rationale was that it was in the public interest, to foster debate around a new bailout plan which would reimburse up to that number, with funds above $100,000 recouped only after liquidation of banks' assets. People on the list expressed surprise and anger at the unusual privacy breach. Multiple publications described atypical characteristics of the protesters at the various events. A Newsweek article noted there were more elderly participants than one would expect to see at most protests, while UPI wrote that "the demonstrators ranged from people in fisherman's hats to three-piece suits and full-length fur coats." Speaking of the unrest, Sheldon Whitehouse, who handled the crisis for the Sundlun administration as Director of Policy, said "My car was keyed. My tires were slashed. People came through the State House literally smearing excrement on the walls."

### Hearings

The state Legislature formed a nine-person panel to look into the collapse of RISDIC and, in particular, how certain insiders managed to withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars just before the announcement of the crisis, exacerbating the problem. The hearings began in July 1991, and were televised. According to The New York Times, the hearings "transfixed the state" and, although the last-minute withdrawals were not themselves the cause of the closures, it gave "Rhode Islanders a focus for their frustration." Among those questioned about their suspiciously timed withdrawals were the Mayor of North Providence, a state senator, credit union executives, RISDIC's former president, the former president's family, and a State Representative who also helped to kill a bill which would have forced credit unions to be federally insured.

Though affected citizens held regular protests and demonstrations from the beginning of the crisis, several noteworthy events occurred in the weeks following the hearings. In August 1991, about 250 angry depositors met outside the Rhode Island Central Credit Union on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, demonstrating and obstructing traffic for about two hours. The demonstration turned into a march, moving to occupy an Interstate 95 on-ramp. Seven people were arrested for disorderly conduct, including husband and wife Donald and Raymonde Wolstenholme, recent retirees whose savings were frozen at a credit union in Woonsocket. The Wolstenholmes were profiled by local and national media following their arrest as a symbol of unrest and the crisis' continued effect of regular citizens. Two days later, 200 staged a march from the Statehouse to DEPCO offices. In one event in September 1991, more than 500 chanting protesters gathered at the Statehouse and dumped teabags in front of the Governor's office, symbolizing being on the verge of a revolt by referencing the Boston Tea Party. Another protest occurred the following month, staged in response to an announcement revealing the next phase of the administration's repayment strategy, which focused on a small number of institutions and included financial actions that did not directly repay depositors. Demonstrators hanged an effigy of Sundlun from a lamp post outside the capitol.

According to The New York Times, the banking crisis was the major catalyst in an "ethics movement" or even "citizen revolt" against corruption in Rhode Island. Sundlun, reflecting on the events of 1991, said it was the year when "the dishonesty, greed and corruption that rotted our system was exposed for all to see." Several non-profits and NGOs formed to advocate for citizens rights, demand accountability, or otherwise fight corruption.

## Resolution

In total, 25 of the 36 institutions obtained federal insurance and retained their status as independent banks or credit unions. Two nondepository institutions became inactive. Of the other depository institutions, customers at six were repaid by the end of 1991, six were acquired by other businesses (one by Coventry Credit Union, one by First Bank and Trust, and four by Northeast Savings), and six remained closed with at least some customers still unpaid.

For people waiting to regain access to their funds, progress was slow. At the end of the first year of the crisis, most of the big banks remained closed. Policy measures took incremental steps to pay back small amounts first, including accounts with $2,500 or less, while larger accounts were capped at 10%. Some depositors waited for multiple years to recover their money, although eventually, according to Sundlun, all of it was returned with interest. Though he received criticism at the time from affected depositors and other segments of the public, some of whom called for his impeachment, Sundlun was elected to a second term and continued to stand by his decisions years later. Likewise, Whitehouse said it "without a doubt" could not have gone better.

In total, DEPCO sold $697 million in bonds during its handling of the crisis. It filed about 300 lawsuits in total, targeting the failed institutions as well as other entities which played a role in creating the crisis. A major legal victory came in September 1997, against the financial company Ernst & Young, which served as auditor for RISDIC. The firm had last audited the insurer in February 1990, examining records for 1988 and 1989 without finding significant problems. DEPCO alleged Ernst & Young failed in its role, missing risks that ultimately led to the banking crisis. The firm denied wrongdoing, saying there was no way to predict some of the circumstances, like a downturn in the real estate market, but agreed to pay $103 million, marking what the Wall Street Journal at the time called "one of the largest ever by an accounting firm to a government agency." The funds were used to continue to pay down DEPCO's large debt. Another large settlement came from Fleet Bank, which paid $15.5 million when it was accused of setting up loans that helped two institutions deceive regulators.

Following the crisis, all Rhode Island banks are now insured by federal entities. DEPCO's debts were settled by August 30, 2000, and it ceased operations in January 2003, in what the Credit Union Journal called "the final chapter in the worst scandal in credit union history." The sales tax increase which was intended to be temporary was never repealed.

## Possible connections to organized crime and corruption

Among several other concerns Arlene Violet raised about Heritage Loan & Investment were those about its links to prominent figures in the Patriarca crime family. Police Captain Brian Andrews told The New York Times that the year before the crisis, Mollicone had reported that vandals had entered the bank illegally, but that he would "take care of it myself," citing his connection to Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio, a major figure in the Patriarca network. Manocchio had been seen entering the bank on multiple occasions. Mollicone's father was also the banker of Raymond Patriarca himself, head of organized crime in Rhode Island, who had a headquarters in the same neighborhood as Heritage, although there was not evidence linking Patriarca to Mollicone Jr. directly. In an interview with The New York Times, Lee Blais, former director of investigations for the state Attorney General, said that in 1985 he told then-Governor Edward DiPrete (who, years later, would plead guilty to 18 counts of racketeering, extortion, and bribery unrelated to the bank crisis) about connections between Heritage and organized crime, and gave to him a report detailing problems with RISDIC, but nothing was done.

There had been questions about RISDIC's stability for some time, but nothing was done. According to Jim O'Neil, then the state's attorney general, cronyism, corruption, and connections between RISDIC and politicians were major concerns in the time before RISDIC's collapse: "The paramount problem... was the inside game and inside people getting loans. They were scratching each others' backs." Audits had not been carried out at Heritage on the schedule required by RISDIC; the insurer did not notify the Attorney General of problems it found at Heritage when it did conduct an audit; Mollicone himself had been vice chairman of RISDIC; Mollicone as well as others at RISDIC were well-connected to politicians; Heritage's board comprised Mollicone's friends and family; board members did not attend regular meetings. When talking about the financial crisis, Attorney General Arlene Violet frequently referenced what she called "the network," which she described as "just like organized crime except for one thing: they make what they do legal."

Throughout the Heritage investigations, law enforcement tried to connect Mollicone and the bank to organized crime. One anonymous official told The New York Times that the bank may have been used to launder money for members of organized crime, obscuring the true identities of the people who owned the money. Among the people's names Mollicone used for the fake loans were members of his family, golfing partners, and Buddy Cianci.

## Mollicone trial and repayment

### Search for Mollicone

Joseph Mollicone, Jr.'s name became synonymous with the banking crisis after he set off the chain of events with his theft of between $12 million and $15.2 million from Heritage Loan & Investment. The "state's most wanted fugitive" according to WJAR-TV, law enforcement looked for him for nearly a year and a half without success. There were rumors his alleged Mafia connections led him to Italy, but it was later revealed he had been hiding in Salt Lake City, Utah. After his arrest, Mollicone said there was no reason to choose Utah other than the fact he had briefly traveled there in the past. He took the name of an acquaintance who died just before he fled, John Fazzioli, and according to the Providence Journal "lived under the persona of a Boston jewelry manufacturer who had come to Utah to ski and relax."

In 1992, Mollicone's wife and four children in Rhode Island had their home foreclosed and had to file for bankruptcy. At that point, in April 1992, after nearly 18 months in hiding, he turned himself in. He had met and lived with a girlfriend in Utah who did not know his real identity. In what the state prosecutor found to be a salient demonstration of character, he also left her in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy when he returned to Rhode Island.

### Trial

Rhode Island attorney general Jeff Pine took office in January 1993, just a few months before the trial, inheriting the case from his predecessor. He appointed Kevin Bristow as new lead prosecutor and the trial began in March 1993, after a 60-day continuance. Mollicone admitted to and apologized for his crimes, and his lawyer characterized him as "a sucker." The Superior Court Judge, Dominic Cresto, responded by saying that Mollicone had "considerable talents and persuasive manipulative abilities through the use of charm and guile," and said he had "a conscious, systematic scheme of plundering bank assets entrusted to him."

Witnesses for the prosecution included the former vice president of Heritage Loan & Investment, someone with knowledge of Mollicone's purchase of a Ferrari, Mollicone's girlfriend in Salt Lake City, and another friend from Utah. Although they did not know his true identity, his Utah-based connections testified about his life and lifestyle while on the run. The prosecution also had surveillance footage from the bank.

On April 23, 1993, he was convicted on 26 counts, including embezzlement, bank fraud, and conspiring to create false bank documents. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $420,000 in fines and $12 million in restitution. The latter figure was the amount the judge determined had been proven stolen, though it was less than the amount the prosecution alleged. At the time, it was the state's longest sentence for a "white collar" offense.

### Release and repayment

Mollicone was released on parole in 2003, after serving 10 years of his sentence. Upon release, he told a reporter that, with regard to the money he stole, "people who are supposed to know, know it's gone."

Mollicone's parole was satisifed in 2023, but he will remain on probation until 2025. Upon release he was ordered to begin repaying the fines and restitution. Though first drawn from his wages, he then retired, making payments out of his social security income. Another condition of his release was a requirement that he talk about business ethics with students.

In 2009 a judge granted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) permission to take legal action against Mollicone and to seize any assets he has in order to pay $33 million in taxes and associated penalties and interest from the time he was still working at Heritage Loan & Investment. The IRS has not confirmed whether they have taken those measures.

As of December 2017, the 74-year-old Mollicone was still living in Rhode Island and was working two jobs. He was paying $300 each month towards the debt, totaling $33,947.50 since his release, a rate at which it would take thousands of years to pay back.


List of football clubs in Scotland

# List of football clubs in Scotland

## Abstract

This is a list of football clubs in Scotland.

## Clubs in membership of the Scottish Professional Football League

### Scottish Premiership

- Aberdeen

- Celtic

- Dundee

- Heart of Midlothian

- Hibernian

- Kilmarnock

- Livingston

- Motherwell

- Rangers

- Ross County

- St Johnstone

- St Mirren

### Scottish Championship

- Arbroath

- Airdrieonians

- Ayr United

- Dunfermline Athletic

- Greenock Morton

- Inverness Caledonian Thistle

- Partick Thistle

- Queen's Park

- Raith Rovers

### Scottish League One

- Alloa Athletic

- Annan Athletic

- Cove Rangers

- Edinburgh City

- Falkirk

- Hamilton Academical

- Kelty Hearts

- Montrose

- Queen of the South

- Stirling Albion

### Scottish League Two

- Bonnyrigg Rose

- Clyde

- Dumbarton

- East Fife

- Elgin City

- Forfar Athletic

- Peterhead

- Stenhousemuir

- Stranraer

- The Spartans

## Clubs in membership of the Highland Football League

- Banks O' Dee

- Brechin City

- Brora Rangers

- Buckie Thistle

- Clachnacuddin

- Deveronvale

- Formartine United

- Forres Mechanics

- Fraserburgh

- Huntly

- Inverurie Loco Works

- Keith

- Lossiemouth

- Nairn County

- Rothes

- Strathspey Thistle

- Turriff United

- Wick Academy

## Clubs in membership of the Lowland Football League

- Albion Rovers

- Berwick Rangers (located in England)

- Bo'ness United

- Broomhill

- Caledonian Braves

- Celtic B

- Civil Service Strollers

- Cowdenbeath

- Cumbernauld Colts

- East Kilbride

- East Stirlingshire

- Edinburgh University

- Gala Fairydean Rovers

- Gretna 2008

- Heart of Midlothian B

- Linlithgow Rose

- Tranent

- University of Stirling

## Clubs in membership of the East of Scotland Football League

### Premier Division

- Broxburn Athletic

- Crossgates Primrose

- Dunbar United

- Dundonald Bluebell

- Glenrothes

- Haddington Athletic

- Hill of Beath Hawthorn

- Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts

- Jeanfield Swifts

- Kinnoull

- Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale

- Luncarty

- Musselburgh Athletic

- Penicuik Athletic

- Sauchie Juniors

- Tynecastle

### First Division

- Arniston Rangers

- Blackburn United

- Camelon Juniors

- Dunipace

- Heriot-Watt University

- Kirkcaldy & Dysart

- Leith Athletic

- Lochore Welfare

- Newtongrange Star

- Oakley United

- Preston Athletic

- Rosyth

- St Andrews United

- Vale of Leithen

- Whitburn

- Whitehill Welfare

### Second Division

- Armadale Thistle

- Bo'ness Athletic

- Burntisland Shipyard

- Coldstream

- Dalkeith Thistle

- Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare

- Edinburgh College

- Edinburgh South

- Edinburgh United

- Kennoway Star Hearts

- Newburgh

- Ormiston Primrose

- Peebles Rovers

- Stirling University reserves

- Thornton Hibs

- Tweedmouth Rangers (located in England)

### Third Division

- Bathgate Thistle

- Edinburgh Community

- Fauldhouse United

- Harthill Royal

- Hawick Royal Albert

- Linton Hotspur

- Livingston United

- Lochgelly Albert

- Pumpherston

- Stoneyburn

- West Calder United

## Clubs in membership of the South of Scotland Football League

- Abbey Vale

- Creetown

- Dalbeattie Star

- Lochar Thistle

- Lochmaben

- Mid-Annandale

- Newton Stewart

- Nithsdale Wanderers

- St Cuthbert Wanderers

- Stranraer Reserves

- Upper Annandale

- Wigtown & Bladnoch

## Clubs in membership of the West of Scotland Football League

### Premier Division

- Arthurlie

- Auchinleck Talbot

- Beith Juniors

- Benburb

- Clydebank

- Cumnock Juniors

- Darvel

- Gartcairn

- Glenafton Athletic

- Hurlford United

- Irvine Meadow XI

- Kirkintilloch Rob Roy

- Largs Thistle

- Pollok

- St Cadoc's

- Troon

#### First Division

- Ashfield

- Blantyre Victoria

- Cambuslang Rangers

- Drumchapel United

- Johnstone Burgh

- Kilbirnie Ladeside

- Kilwinning Rangers

- Maybole Juniors

- Neilston

- Petershill

- Renfrew

- Rutherglen Glencairn

- Shotts Bon Accord

- St Roch's

- Thorniewood United

- Whitletts Victoria

#### Second Division

- Ardrossan Winton Rovers

- Bonnyton Thistle

- Caledonian Locomotives

- Craigmark Burntonians

- Cumbernauld United

- Forth Wanderers

- Glasgow Perthshire

- Glasgow University

- Kilsyth Rangers

- Larkhall Thistle

- Maryhill

- Muirkirk Juniors

- St Anthony's

- Vale of Clyde

- Wishaw

- Yoker Athletic

#### Third Division

- Ardeer Thistle

- Bellshill Athletic

- Dalry Thistle

- Finnarte

- Girvan

- Glasgow United

- Greenock Juniors

- Irvine Victoria

- Kello Rovers

- Kilsyth Athletic

- Lanark United

- Lesmahagow Juniors

- Port Glasgow

- Threave Rovers

- Vale of Leven

- West Park United

#### Fourth Division

- BSC Glasgow

- Campbeltown Pupils

- Carluke Rovers

- Easterhouse

- East Kilbride Thistle

- Eglinton

- Giffnock

- Glenvale

- Knightswood

- Lugar Boswell Thistle

- Newmains United

- Rossvale

- Royal Albert

- Saltcoats Victoria

- St. Peter's

- Thorn Athletic

## Clubs in membership of the North Caledonian Football League

- Alness United

- Bonar Bridge

- Clachnacuddin Reserves

- Fort William

- Golspie Sutherland

- Halkirk United

- Invergordon

- Inverness Athletic

- Loch Ness

- Orkney

- St Duthus

- Thurso

## Clubs in membership of the Scottish Junior Football Association

### East Region

#### Midlands League

- Arbroath Victoria

- Blairgowrie

- Brechin Victoria

- Broughty Athletic

- Carnoustie Panmure

- Coupar Angus

- Downfield

- Dundee North End

- Dundee Violet

- Dundee St. James

- East Craigie

- Forfar United

- Forfar West End

- Letham

- Kirriemuir Thistle

- Lochee Harp

- Lochee United

- Montrose Roselea

- Scone Thistle

- Tayport

### North Region

#### Premier League

- Bridge of Don Thistle

- Buchanhaven Hearts

- Colony Park

- Culter

- Dyce

- Cove

- East End

- Ellon United

- Fraserburgh United

- Hermes

- Maud

- Nairn St Ninian

- Newmachar United

- Rothie Rovers

- Stonehaven

- Stoneywood Parkvale

- Sunnybank

#### North Championship

- Banks O' Dee Juniors

- Banchory St Ternan

- Burghead Thistle

- Cruden Bay

- Deveronside

- Dufftown

- Forres Thistle

- Glentanar

- Hall Russell United

- Islavale

- Longside

- Lossiemouth United

- New Elgin

- Whitehills

## Miscellaneous clubs at amateur level

- Colville Park (Central Scottish Amateur Football League)

- Drumchapel Amateur (Caledonian Amateur Football League)

- Dukla Pumpherston (charity and exhibition matches)

- East Kilbride YM (Caledonian Amateur Football League)

- Eyemouth United (Border Amateur Football League)

- Glasgow Harp (Caledonian Amateur Football League)

- Harestanes (Central Scottish Amateur Football League)

- Links United (Caledonian Amateur Football League)

- Oban Saints (Scottish Amateur Football League)

- Rothesay Brandane (Caledonian Amateur Football League)

- Steins Thistle (Central Scottish Amateur Football League)

- Tain Thistle (Ross-shire Welfare Football League)

- United Glasgow

## Defunct clubs

### Former Scottish Football League members

- Abercorn

- Airdrieonians (1894–2002)

- Armadale

- Ayr

- Ayr Parkhouse

- Bathgate

- Bo'ness

- Broxburn United

- Cambuslang

- Clackmannan

- Clydebank (1914–1932)

- Clydebank (1965–2002; became Airdrie United)

- Cowlairs

- Dumbarton Harp

- Dundee Wanderers

- Dykehead

- Edinburgh City (1931–1949)

- Galston

- Gretna

- Helensburgh

- Johnstone

- King's Park

- Linthouse

- Lochgelly United

- Meadowbank Thistle (became Livingston)

- Mid-Annandale

- Northern

- Port Glasgow Athletic

- Renton

- Solway Star

- St Bernard's

- Third Lanark

- Thistle

### Selected other senior clubs (including North Caledonian League)

- 23rd Renfrew RV

- Alexandra Athletic

- Blythswood

- Caledonian

- Callander

- Clydesdale

- Dennistoun

- Dumbreck

- Dumfries YMCA

- Eastern

- Edinburgh Athletic (became Leith Athletic)

- Glasgow Hibernian

- Granville

- Inverness City

- Inverness Citadel

- Inverness Thistle

- Mossend Swifts

- Muir of Ord Rovers

- Partick

- Rovers

- Selkirk

- Southern

- Stranraer Athletic

- Tarff Rovers

- Tollcross United

- Western

- Whithorn

### Selected other junior clubs

- Baillieston Juniors

- Ballingry Rovers

- Bankfoot Athletic

- Bishopmill United

- Blantyre Celtic

- Bridgeton Waverley

- Cambuslang Hibernian

- Clydebank Juniors (1899–1964)

- Cronberry Eglinton

- Duntocher Hibernian

- Fochabers

- Glenbuck Cherrypickers

- Lewis United

- Lossiemouth United

- Maryhill Hibernians

- Parkhead

- Port Glasgow Athletic Juniors

- Portgordon Victoria

- RAF Lossiemouth

- Shawfield

- Steelend Victoria

- Stonehouse Violet

- Strathclyde

## University clubs

Most universities in Scotland have football sides, as do some colleges, some compete in the BUSA Football League.

- Aberdeen University

- Edinburgh University

- Glasgow University

- Heriot-Watt University

- St Andrews University

- University of Stirling