Jim Bakken, former kicker for the St....

Jim Bakken, former kicker for the St. Louis Cardinal football team, has been given 3 years’ probation on his guilty plea to charges of failing to pay enough tax on income from an investment club in 1980.

Bakken, now vice president of marketing for Cass Bank & Trust Co. in St. Louis, played for the Cardinals, who since have moved to Phoenix, from 1962-1978.

Authorities say the pyramid investment club was an illegal get-rich-quick scheme that flourished in Missouri in the early 1980s. The IRS reported in 1984 that about 465 taxpayers made money in the scheme and that more than $2.6 million in taxes, penalties and interest were underpaid.