Michael Vick Joins the 'Bad Boys' Club - A Short List of Sports Celebs Who Went to Jail

Michael Vick will soon become the latest in a long list of sports celebrities who ended up in the Hall of Shame.

Here are a few other sports figures who preceded him to the Big House.

Back in 1970, Denny McLain was a 31-game winner with the Detroit Tigers. He was a two-time Cy Young Award recipient, and a three-time All-Star. McClain was convicted in 1985 of mail fraud, conspiracy, embezzlement, and money-laundering relating to the pension fund of a Michigan meat-packing company. During his trial, the prosecutor claimed McLain had ties to the mob. He served 29 months out of a 25-year sentence. His conviction was ultimately overturned on the grounds he did not receive a fair trial.

Eugene 'Mercury' Morris, a former running back for the Miami Dolphins, was on the team during their 'perfect' season in 1972, when the Dolphins won every regular-season game and then went on to win the Super Bowl. He was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1982 and given a mandatory 15-year term. Morris won a new trial, claiming entrapment, and was released in 1986 after serving three years. He is now a popular motivational speaker.

Dwight Gooden was National League Rookie of the Year in 1984 and the Cy Young winner in 1985 when he led the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. Unfortunately, Gooden has a long history of alcohol and cocaine abuse. He served a one-year term starting in April, 2006 stemming from probation violations.

'Hollywood' Henderson was an All-Pro linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. He actually admitted using cocaine on the sidelines during his games with the Cowboys. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 1983 after pleading no-contest to threatening and assaulting two teenage girls.

Cecil Collins was selected in 1999 as a running back by the Miami Dolphins. After appearing in nine games under coach Jimmy Johnson, he broke into a neighbor's apartment and burglarized it. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His projected parole date is 2014, but he may face additional charges in Louisiana after his release by Florida authorities.

Darryl Strawberry has been in and out of courtrooms and faced more judges than a court reporter. Most of his appearances have been related to substance abuse, failure to pay child support, or domestic violence allegations.

Maurice Clarett, former Ohio State running back, was recently sentenced to seven and a half years after pleading guilty to robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. He was arrested after a high-speed chase by police, who finally used mace to subdue him when a stun gun failed to do the job.

Art Schlichter's gambling problems are legend. The former Ohio State quarterback began his NFL career with the Baltimore Colts in 1982 and promptly gambled away his entire signing bonus. His gambling soon spiraled completely out of control. By the end of the 1982 NFL strike, he owed nearly $700,000 in gambling debts. The next year he lost almost $400,000 betting on basketball games. After a series of legal problems with the league related to his gambling, he was finally banned for life. Between 1995-2004, he spent a total of about 10 years in 44 different jails or prisons - for gambling, fraud, and forgery. He was so consumed by his gambling habit that he once had his lawyer smuggle in a cell phone so he could continue to place bets. For that, he received four months in solitary confinement. His latest release from jail was in 2006. He now lives with his mother and has formed a non-profit organization called Gambling Prevention Awareness.

Alonzo Spellman, a former All-Star lineman for the Detroit Lions, struggled with bipolar disorder. When he took his medications, he was usually okay. When he did not, there was often trouble. After several bizarre incidents, his problems finally came to a climax while he was on a commercial flight from Cincinnati to Philadelphia on July 23, 2002. According to passengers, Spellman began suggesting that the flight would crash, and then threatened members of the flight crew. Spellman was released later, but then went to his brother's house and destroyed some property. He was taken to a psychiatric hospital. Later, he was charged with terrorizing passengers on the plane. Although doctors testified he had a mental illness, Spellman was declared legally sane and served eighteen months in Federal prison. After his release, he was ordered to stay on his meds and was barred from flying on commercial airlines without special approval.

The President of the Bad Boys Club could be Rae Carruth. In a highly-publicized case, the former Carolina Panther was convicted of conspiring to murder his pregnant girlfriend in order to escape child-support payments. Although Cherica Adams was shot four times in a drive-by shooting apparently planned by Carruth, she lived just long enough to write several notes that ultimately helped convict him. The baby survived. The court sentenced Carruth to a term of 19-23 years. The North Carolina Supreme Court later threw out the notes, but his conviction was upheld based on the remaining evidence and testimony. Cherica Adams' family was later awarded six million dollars in a wrongful death suit against Carruth. North Carolina has absolutely no good-time policy or early-release programs for violent offenders convicted after 1994. He will not be eligible for release until 2017.

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