Black Sox Scandal
Encyclopedia
1919 World Series
The 1919 World Series matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Although most World Series have been of the best-of-seven format, the 1919 World Series was a best-of-nine series...
. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
were banned for life from baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
for intentionally losing
Match fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
to win the World Series. The conspiracy was the brainchild of White Sox first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
Arnold "Chick" Gandil
Chick Gandil
Charles Arnold "Chick" Gandil was a professional baseball player. He played for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox of the American League. He is best known as the ringleader of the players involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal...
, who had longstanding ties to petty underworld figures. He persuaded Joseph "Sport" Sullivan
Joseph "Sport" Sullivan
Joseph J. "Sport" Sullivan was an American bookmaker and gambler from Boston, Massachusetts who helped to initiate the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.-Biography:...
, a friend and professional gambler, that the fix could be pulled off. New York gangster Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein , nicknamed "The Brain", was a New York businessman and gambler who became a famous kingpin of the Jewish mafia. Rothstein was also widely reputed to have been behind baseball's Black Sox Scandal, in which the 1919 World Series was fixed...
supplied the money through his lieutenant Abe Attell
Abe Attell
Abraham Washington "Abe" Attell , known in the boxing world as Abe "The Little Hebrew" Attell, was a boxer who became known for his record-setting six-year reign as World Featherweight Champion...
, a former featherweight boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
champion.
Gandil enlisted several of his teammates, motivated by a dislike of club owner Charles Comiskey
Charles Comiskey
Charles Albert "The Old Roman" Comiskey was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and later owned the Chicago White Sox...
whom they perceived as a tightwad, to implement the fix; Comiskey had developed a reputation for underpaying his players for years (under the MLB reserve clause
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
, players either had to take the salary they were offered, or couldn't play Major League Baseball, as they were property of the original team, and no other team was allowed to sign them). All of them were members of a faction on the team that resented the more strait-laced players on the squad, such as second baseman Eddie Collins
Eddie Collins
Edward Trowbridge Collins, Sr. , nicknamed "Cocky", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman, manager and executive...
, a graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
, catcher Ray Schalk
Ray Schalk
Raymond William Schalk was a professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox for the majority of his career. Known for his fine handling of pitchers and outstanding defensive ability, Schalk was considered the...
, and pitcher Red Faber
Red Faber
Urban Clarence "Red" Faber was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through , playing his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964....
. By most contemporary accounts, the two factions almost never spoke to each other on or off the field, and the only thing they had in common was a resentment of Comiskey.
Starting pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
s Eddie Cicotte
Eddie Cicotte
Edward Victor Cicotte , nicknamed "Knuckles", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his time with the Chicago White Sox...
and Claude "Lefty" Williams
Lefty Williams
Claude Preston "Lefty" Williams was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 World Series fix, known as the Black Sox scandal.-Career:...
, outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Oscar "Happy" Felsch
Happy Felsch
Oscar Emil "Happy" Felsch was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 to 1920. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal....
, and shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Charles "Swede" Risberg
Swede Risberg
Charles August "Swede" Risberg was an Major League Baseball shortstop. He played for the Chicago White Sox from 1917 to 1920. He is best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.-Background:...
were all principally involved with Gandil. Third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
Buck Weaver
Buck Weaver
George Daniel "Buck" Weaver was an American shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox...
was also asked to participate, but refused. Weaver was later banned with the others for knowing of the fix but not reporting it. Although he hardly played in the series, utility infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...
Fred McMullin
Fred McMullin
Frederick Drury McMullin was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. He is best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.-Career:...
got word of the fix and threatened to report the others unless he was in on the payoff. As a small coincidence, McMullin was a former teammate of "Sleepy" Bill Burns, who had a minor role in the fix. Both played for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. Star outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
was also mentioned as a participant, though his involvement is disputed.
Stories of the Black Sox scandal have usually included Comiskey as a villain, focusing in particular on his intentions regarding a clause in Cicotte's contract that would have paid Cicotte an additional $10,000 bonus for winning 30 games. According to Eliot Asinof
Eliot Asinof
Eliot Asinof was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction best known for his writing about baseball. His most famous book was Eight Men Out, a nonfiction reconstruction of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.-Biography:...
's account of the events, Eight Men Out
Eight Men Out
Eight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
, Cicotte was "rested" for the season's final two weeks after reaching his 29th win, presumably to deny him the bonus. However, the record is perhaps more complex. Cicotte won his 29th game on September 19, had an ineffective start on September 24, and was pulled after a few innings in a tuneup on the season's final day, September 28 (the World Series beginning 3 days later). However, this story is probably true in reference to the 1917 season, when Cicotte won 28 games before being benched.
Series
Even before the Series started on October 2, there were rumors among gamblers that the series was fixed, and a sudden influx of money being bet on Cincinnati caused the odds against themParimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
to fall rapidly. These rumors also reached the press box where a number of correspondents, including Hugh Fullerton
Hugh Fullerton
thumb|Hugh Fullerton III was an influential American sportswriter of the first half of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is best remembered for his role in uncovering the 1919 "Black Sox" Scandal...
of the Chicago Herald and Examiner and ex-player and manager Christy Mathewson
Christy Mathewson
Christopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...
, resolved to compare notes on any plays and players that they felt were questionable. Despite the rampant rumors, gamblers continued to wager heavily against the White Sox. On the second pitch of the Series, Eddie Cicotte struck
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
Cincinnati leadoff hitter Morrie Rath
Morrie Rath
Morris Charles "Morrie" Rath was an American baseball player who played second base for the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds in the 1910s. His name was often reported as Maurice Rath....
in the back, delivering a pre-arranged signal confirming the players' willingness to go through with the fix.
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
- including the Series' only home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
- threw out five baserunners, and handled 30 chances in the outfield with no errors. However, he batted far worse in the five games that the White Sox lost, with a batting average of .286 in those games (although this was still an above-average batting average; the National and American Leagues hit a combined .263 in the 1919 season). Three of his six RBIs
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
came in the losses, including the aforementioned home run, and a double in Game 8 when the Reds had a large lead and the series was all but over. Still, in that game a long foul ball was caught at the fence with runners on second and third, depriving Jackson of a chance to drive in the runners. Statistics also show that in the other games that the White Sox lost, only five of Jackson's at-bats came with a man in scoring position, and he advanced the runners twice.
Jackson, generally considered a strong defensive player, was unable to prevent a critical two-run triple to left during the series.
One play in particular has been subjected to much scrutiny. In the fifth inning of Game 4, with a Cincinnati player on second, Jackson fielded a single hit to left field and threw home. Chick Gandil, another leader of the fix, later admitted to yelling at Cicotte to intercept the throw. The run scored and the White Sox lost the game 2-0. Cicotte, whose guilt is undisputed, made two errors in that fifth inning alone.
Another argument, presented in the book Eight Men Out, is that because Jackson was illiterate, he had little awareness of the seriousness of the plot, and thus he consented to it only when Swede Risberg threatened him and his family.
Years later, all of the implicated players said that Jackson was never present at any of the meetings they had with the gamblers. Lefty Williams, Jackson's roommate, later said that they only brought up Jackson in hopes of giving them more credibility with the gamblers.
Williams, one of the "Eight Men Out," lost three games, a Series record. Dickie Kerr
Dickie Kerr
Richard Henry "Dickey" Kerr was a starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox from -. As a rookie, he won 13 games and both his starts in the 1919 World Series, which would lead to the permanent suspensions of eight of his teammates in the Black Sox Scandal...
, who was not part of the fix, won both of his starts. Cicotte bore down and won Game 7 of the best-of-9 Series; he was angry that the gamblers were now reneging on their promises, as they claimed that all the money was in the hands of bookies. Sullivan then paid infamous gangster Harry F to threaten to hurt Williams and his family if he didn't lose the last game.
Fallout
The rumors dogged the White Sox throughout the 1920 season, as they battled the Cleveland IndiansCleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
for the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennant
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
that year, and stories of corruption touched players on other clubs as well. At last, in September 1920, a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
was convened to investigate.
Two players, Eddie Cicotte
Eddie Cicotte
Edward Victor Cicotte , nicknamed "Knuckles", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his time with the Chicago White Sox...
and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
, confessed their participation in the scheme to the Chicago grand jury on September 28, 1920. On the eve of their final season series, the White Sox were in a virtual tie for first place with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. The Sox would need to win all 3 of their remaining games and then hope for Cleveland to stumble, as the Indians had more games in hand. Despite the season being on the line, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey
Charles Comiskey
Charles Albert "The Old Roman" Comiskey was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and later owned the Chicago White Sox...
suspended the seven White Sox still in the majors (Chick Gandil
Chick Gandil
Charles Arnold "Chick" Gandil was a professional baseball player. He played for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox of the American League. He is best known as the ringleader of the players involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal...
had conspicuously left the team and was playing semi-pro ball). He said that he had no choice but to suspend them, even though this action likely cost the White Sox any chance of winning that year's American League pennant. The White Sox lost 2 of 3 in their final series against the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
and finished in second place, two games behind Cleveland.
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
Courthouse, including the signed confessions of Cicotte and Jackson, who subsequently recanted their confessions. The players were acquitted. (Some years later, the missing confessions reappeared in the possession of Comiskey's lawyer.)
Player John F. "Shano" Collins
Shano Collins
John Francis "Shano" Collins was an American right fielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox....
is named as the wronged party in the indictments of the key figures in the Black Sox scandal. The indictment claims that by throwing the world series the alleged conspirators defrauded him of $1,784.
However, baseball was not so forgiving. The damage to the sport's reputation led the owners to appoint federal judge
Federal judge
Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
as the first Commissioner of Baseball
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
. On August 3, 1921, the day after the players were acquitted, Landis issued his own verdict:
With this statement, all eight implicated White Sox were banned from Major League Baseball for life, as were two other players believed to be involved. With seven of their best players permanently sidelined, the White Sox crashed into seventh place in 1921 and would not be a factor in a pennant race again until 1936, five years after Comiskey's death. They would not win another American League championship until 1959 (a then-record 40-year gap) nor another World Series until , prompting some to comment about a Curse of the Black Sox
Curse of the Black Sox
The "Curse of the Black Sox" was a superstition or "scapegoat" cited as one reason for the failure of the Chicago White Sox to win the World Series from 1917 until 2005...
.
After being banned, Risberg and several other members of the Black Sox tried to organize a three-state barnstorming tour. However, they were forced to cancel those plans after Landis let it be known that anyone who played with or against them would also be banned from baseball for life. They then announced plans to play a regular exhibition game every Sunday in Chicago, but the Chicago City Council
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms...
threatened to cancel the license of any ballpark that hosted them.
The 10 players not implicated in the gambling scandal, as well as manager Kid Gleason
Kid Gleason
William J. "Kid" Gleason was an American professional athlete and Major League Baseball player and manager. Gleason is best known as the manager of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, the team made infamous by the Black Sox scandal, in which Gleason's players conspired to intentionally lose the World...
, were each given bonus checks in the amount of $1500 by Charles A. Comiskey in the fall of 1920 — the difference between the winners' and losers' share for participation in the 1919 World Series.
Banned players
- Eddie CicotteEddie CicotteEdward Victor Cicotte , nicknamed "Knuckles", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his time with the Chicago White Sox...
, pitcher, died on May 5, 1969, had the longest life; living to the age of 84. Admitted involvement in the fix. - Oscar "Happy" FelschHappy FelschOscar Emil "Happy" Felsch was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 to 1920. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal....
, center fielder, died on August 17, 1964, at 72. - Arnold "Chick" GandilChick GandilCharles Arnold "Chick" Gandil was a professional baseball player. He played for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox of the American League. He is best known as the ringleader of the players involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal...
, first baseman. The leader of the players who were in on the fix. He did not play in the majors in 1920, playing semi-pro ball instead. In a 1956 Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
article, he expressed remorse for the scheme, but claimed that the players had actually abandoned it when it became apparent they were going to be watched closely. According to Gandil, the players' numerous errors were a result of fear that they were being watched. He died on December 13, 1970, at 82. - "Shoeless" Joe JacksonShoeless Joe JacksonJoseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
, the star outfielder, one of the best hitters in the game, confessed in sworn grand jury testimony to having accepted $5,000 cash from the gamblers. He later recanted his confession and protested his innocence to no effect until his death on December 5, 1951, at 64; he was the first of the eight banned White Sox players to die. Years later, the other players all said that Jackson had never been involved in any of the meetings with the gamblers, and other evidence has since surfaced that casts doubt on his role. - Fred McMullinFred McMullinFrederick Drury McMullin was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. He is best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.-Career:...
, utility infielder. McMullin would not have been included in the fix had he not overheard the other players' conversations. He threatened to tell all if not included. His impact as team scout may have had more impact on the fix, since he saw minimal playing time in the series. He died on November 21, 1952, at 61. - Charles "Swede" RisbergSwede RisbergCharles August "Swede" Risberg was an Major League Baseball shortstop. He played for the Chicago White Sox from 1917 to 1920. He is best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.-Background:...
, shortstop. Risberg was Gandil's assistant. The last living player among the Black Sox, he lived on until October 13, 1975, his 81st birthday. - George "Buck" WeaverBuck WeaverGeorge Daniel "Buck" Weaver was an American shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox...
, third baseman. Weaver attended the initial meetings, and while he did not go in on the fix, he knew about it. Landis banished him on this basis, stating "Men associating with crooks and gamblers could expect no leniency." On January 13, 1922, Weaver unsuccessfully applied for reinstatement. Like Jackson, Weaver continued to profess his innocence to successive baseball commissioners to no effect. He died on January 31, 1956, at 65. - Claude "Lefty" WilliamsLefty WilliamsClaude Preston "Lefty" Williams was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 World Series fix, known as the Black Sox scandal.-Career:...
, pitcher. Went 0–3 with a 6.63 ERA for the series. Only one other pitcher in the entire history of baseball - George FrazierGeorge Frazier (baseball player)George Allen Frazier , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1978–1987, primarily as a set-up reliever....
of the 19811981 World SeriesThe 1981 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking their third meeting in the Series in five years as well as a record eleventh Series meeting overall and last Series meeting to date...
New York YankeesNew York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
- has ever lost three games in one World Series. Williams died on November 4, 19591959 in baseball-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox ; Larry Sherry, MVP*All-Star Game , July 7 at Forbes Field: National League, 5-4*All-Star Game , August 3 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American League, 5-3...
, at 66.
Also banned was Joe Gedeon
Joe Gedeon
Elmer Joseph Gedeon was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Browns....
, second baseman for the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. Gedeon placed bets since he learned of the fix from Risberg, a friend of his. He informed Comiskey of the fix after the Series in an effort to gain a reward. He was banned for life by Landis along with the eight White Sox.
Black Sox
Although many believe the Black Sox name to be related to the dark and corrupt nature of the conspiracy, the term "Black Sox" may already have existed before the fix. There is a story that the name "Black Sox" derived from parsimonious owner Charles ComiskeyCharles Comiskey
Charles Albert "The Old Roman" Comiskey was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and later owned the Chicago White Sox...
's refusal to pay for the players' uniforms to be laundered, instead insisting that the players themselves pay for the cleaning. As the story goes, the players refused and subsequent games saw the White Sox play in progressively filthier uniforms as dust, sweat and grime collected on the white, woolen uniforms until they took on a much darker shade. Comiskey then had the uniforms washed and deducted the laundry bill from the players' salaries.
On the other hand, Eliot Asinof in his book Eight Men Out makes no such connection, mentioning the filthy uniforms early on but referring to the term "Black Sox" only in connection with the scandal.
Popular culture
Eliot AsinofEliot Asinof
Eliot Asinof was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction best known for his writing about baseball. His most famous book was Eight Men Out, a nonfiction reconstruction of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.-Biography:...
's book Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series is the best-known history of the scandal. Director John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
' 1988 film based on Asinof's book
Eight Men Out
Eight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
is a dramatization of the scandal, focusing largely on Buck Weaver as the one banned player who did not take any money. It stars John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
as Weaver, David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
as Eddie Cicotte, D. B. Sweeney
D. B. Sweeney
Daniel Bernard "D. B." Sweeney is an American actor.-Early life:Sweeney was born on Long Island, New York and raised in Shoreham by an educator father and a municipal government employee mother. He attended Shoreham-Wading River High School and both Tulane and New York University...
as Joe Jackson, Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
as Oscar Felsch, and Sayles himself as then-sportswriter Ring Lardner
Ring Lardner
Ringgold Wilmer Lardner was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical takes on the sports world, marriage, and the theatre.-Personal life:...
— to whom Sayles bears a striking resemblance. In the film, Williams and Cicotte became disillusioned by the fix and wanted to back away from it, with Cicotte winning a critical game but Williams fixing the final game after his wife's life was threatened if he failed to cooperate.
The 1952 novel The Natural
The Natural
The Natural is a 1952 novel about baseball written by Bernard Malamud. The book follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked when he is shot by a woman who seeks to kill arrogant athletes to "better the world"...
and its 1984 filmed dramatization of the same name
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
were inspired significantly by the events of the scandal. Author Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud was an author of novels and short stories. Along with Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, he was one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford...
said that he based doomed protagonist Roy Hobbs on Joe Jackson.
W. P. Kinsella
W. P. Kinsella
William Patrick Kinsella, OC, OBC is a Canadian novelist and short story writer who is well-known for his novel Shoeless Joe , which was adapted into the movie Field of Dreams in 1989...
's novel Shoeless Joe is the story of an Iowa farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield after hearing a mysterious voice. Later, Shoeless Joe Jackson and other members of the Black Sox come to play on his field. The novel was adapted into the 1989 hit film Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
. Joe Jackson plays a central role in inspiring protagonist Ray Kinsella to reconcile with his past.
Also, in F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's novel The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
, a minor character named Meyer Wolfsheim was said to have helped in the Black Sox scandal, though this is purely fictional. In explanatory notes accompanying the novel's 75th anniversary edition, editor Matthew Bruccoli
Matthew Bruccoli
Matthew Joseph Bruccoli was an American professor of English at the University of South Carolina. He was the preeminent expert on F. Scott Fitzgerald...
describes the character as being directly based on Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein , nicknamed "The Brain", was a New York businessman and gambler who became a famous kingpin of the Jewish mafia. Rothstein was also widely reputed to have been behind baseball's Black Sox Scandal, in which the 1919 World Series was fixed...
.
In Dan Gutman
Dan Gutman
Dan Gutman is an American author from New Jersey. A prolific writer, Gutman has written 80 books, both fictional and non-fictional, under publishers including Penguin Books, Macmillan, Scholastic Press, and HarperCollins...
's novel Shoeless Joe & Me
Shoeless Joe & Me
Shoeless Joe & Me is a novel written by Dan Gutman published in 2001, and is the fourth book in the Baseball Card Adventures series.-Plot:...
, the protagonist, Joe, goes back in time to try to prevent Shoeless Joe from being banned for life.
Also, in the film The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
, the fictional gangster Hyman Roth
Hyman Roth
Hyman Roth is a fictional character, and the primary antagonist in The Godfather Part II, played by the actor and acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role...
alludes to the scandal when he says, "I've loved baseball ever since Arnold Rothstein fixed the World Series in 1919."
Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans...
wrote a song titled Kenesaw Mountain Landis where Landis is a vigilante who "was seventeen feet tall, he had a hundred and fifty wives" who shoots off Shoeless Joe's middle finger during the World Series game. The real Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
was the first Major League Baseball commissioner.
Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication....
was a syndicated TV series about a collection of cursed objects and the efforts of the new owners of the antique store from which they were sold to recover them. In the second-season episode "The Mephisto Ring", the cursed object being sought is a 1919 World Series ring originally commissioned for the White Sox on the assumption that they would win the Series; instead of being destroyed, the ring eventually fell into the hands of the original shop owner, Lewis Vendredi, who had a curse placed on it as part of his deal with the Devil. The ring grants good luck to whomever places a wager while wearing it, provided the wearer uses it to murder someone first. The ring is identified in the episode as the first cursed object Vendredi sold.
The HBO series Boardwalk Empire highlights Arnold Rothstein's involvement in the scandal.
A strip in the Wondermark
Wondermark
Wondermark is a webcomic created by David Malki which was syndicated to Flak Magazine and appeared in The Onion's print edition through 2008. It features 19th-century illustrations that have been recontextualized to create humorous juxtapositions. It takes the horizontal four-panel shape of a...
webcomic speculates that the currency earned by the banned players could be forever tainted by its involvement in the scandal, referencing a running joke in the series.
In addition, Steve Kluger's novel "My Most Excellent Year" has one of the protagonist, T.C Keller, fighting for Buck Weaver to be found innocent of the what he was accused of because he still played an excellent games regardless of what his team was doing.
Sources
- Chicago Historical Society: Black Sox
- Famous American Trials: The Black Sox Trial
- Asinof, Eliot. Eight Men Out. New York: Henry Holt. 1963. ISBN 0-8050-6537-7.
- Carney, Eugene. Burying the Black Sox. Potomac Books Inc. 2007. ISBN 978-15979-7108-9
- Ginsburg, Daniel E. The Fix Is In: A History of Baseball Gambling and Game Fixing Scandals. McFarland and Co., 1995. 317 pages. ISBN 0-7864-1920-2.
- Pietrusza, David Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series, New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1250-3
External links
- Chicagohs.org Chicago Historical Society on the Black Sox
- Eight Men Out - IMDb page on the 1988 movie, written and directed by John SaylesJohn SaylesJohn Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
based on Asinof's book - baseball-reference.com Box scores and info on each game
- 1919Blacksox.com A website about the scandal