In the summer of 1983, I took my young family on a vacation to Disneyland. While my wife and two kids enjoyed the attractions at the Magic Kingdom, I took time away to keep a scheduled appointment with Mort Olshan, founder and publisher of The Gold Sheet.
In contrast to the sports handicapping industry in those days that was littered with charlatans offering unrealistic claims of winning percentages, Olshan was a staple in the sports handicapping industry since 1957. He published his popular betting information that was delivered in a format that fit easily into a vest pocket.
I was so appreciative he made time to meet with me in his Los Angeles office and had a lengthy conversation with him where he did most of the talking and I did nearly all the listening. I had founded Qoxhi Picks just two years earlier and focused my point spread selections mostly tied to the motivational factors I had been graphing since 1965.
“The better teams don’t always win,” Olshan counseled, “But that is the side you want to bet on.”
I avoided my temptation to disagree overtly with the man who earned his reputation with integrity and early on took the lead in the tout business before computers and the internet. His information was geared to inform readers so they could make better choices on their point spread plays. It was sound from a statistical perspective but lacked the motivational factors that I lead with.
The closest I got to challenging Olshan was when I said, “I think motivation plays at least as much of a role in the outcome of the games as talent.”