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Black Sox Scandal

Uploaded by MichaelA31 on Mar 19, 2006

Chicago Black Sox Scandal

The 1919 World Series is home to the most notorious scandal in baseball history. Eight players from the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the series against the Cincinnati Reds. Details of the scandal and the extent to which each man was involved have always been unclear. It was, however, front-page news across the country and, despite being acquitted of criminal charges, the players were banned from professional baseball for life.
If anything can be said in their favor the players on Charles Comiskey's 1919 Chicago White Sox team had plenty to complain about. Together they formed the best team in baseball, yet they were paid a paltry sum compared to what many players on other teams received. Comiskey's contributions to baseball are unquestionable, but he was very selfish when it came to salaries and also liked to rule his team with an iron fist. The White Sox owner paid two of his greatest stars, outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and third baseman Buck Weaver, only $6000 a year, despite the fact that players on other teams with half their talent were getting $10,000 or more. For Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte, there was another source of irritation: in the fall of 1917, when Cicotte approached a 30-win season that would win him a promised $10,000 bonus, Comiskey benched the star pitcher rather than be forced to come up with the extra cash. The players had few options in dealing with their owner. Because of baseball's reserve clause, any player who refused to accept a contract was prohibited from playing baseball on any other professional team. Its no wonder ball players become bitter with owners. To make matters worse, the White Sox players did not get along with each other. The team was divided into two factions; one led by second baseman Eddie Collins and the other by first baseman Chick Gandil. Collins's faction was educated, sophisticated, and able to negotiate salaries as high as $15,000. Gandil's less polished group, who only earned an average of $6,000, bitterly resented the difference.
In 1918, with the country disrupted by World War I, interest in baseball dropped to an all-time low. The 1919 World Series was the first national championship after the war, and baseball and the nation were eager to get back to “regular” life. Postwar enthusiasm for baseball soared. National interest in the Series was so high...

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Uploaded by:   MichaelA31

Date:   03/19/2006

Category:   Athletes

Length:   10 pages (2,272 words)

Views:   11725

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