Scandal on The Diamond: Fixing the world series

On Oct. 9, 1919 — 105 years ago Wednesday — the heavily favored Chicago White Sox lost Game Eight of a best-of-nine World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.

The game — as well as the entire series itself — surprised baseball fans who had expected the White Sox to win their second World Series in three seasons.

The 1920 season would be well underway when it became clear just why the White Sox had performed so poorly: Several key players had agreed to throw games. The affair would become known as the Black Sox Scandal.

Arranging to Fix The World Series

“Organized baseball” was a bit of a mess in the early 20th century. Players had no ability to bargain for their services. They took what was offered to them or they left the sport. There were no free agents, no bargaining sessions. The owners called the shots. One of the most notorious was Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey.

As a result, the game was rife with gambling scandals. Players would sometimes take money from gamblers or organizations to throw games in exchange for large payouts.

On Sept. 18, 1919, Chick Gandil — first baseman of the Chicago White Sox, who had won the World Series in 1917 and were favored to beat the Cincinnati Reds in the upcoming 1919 series — met with a gambler offering $80,000 to White Sox players if they agreed to throw the series. Gandil took the offer back to some of his teammates.Three days before the start of the series, pitcher Eddie Cicotte — who had held out on promising to aid the effort — finally agreed, providing he got $10,000 before the first game began. He found his money under his pillow the night before the opening game. ... For which he was the starting pitcher. With just his second pitch, Cicotte hit the Reds’ lead-off hitter in the back. This was the signal prearranged with the gamblers that the fix was on.

The Players Involved in The Fix

Shenanigans in The Best-Of-Nine World Series

GAME 1

Oct. 1, 1919

at Cincinnati

White Sox 1

Reds 9

After hitting a batter with his second pitch, Cicotte gave up several hits, including a two-out triple to the Reds’ pitcher.

GAME 2

Oct. 2

at Cincinnati

White Sox 2

Reds 4

Not wanting to be as obvious as Cicotte, Williams pitched well until the fourth inning, when he walked three Reds and gave up three runs.

GAME 3

Oct. 3

at Chicago

Reds 0

White Sox 3

The pitcher for this game was not in on the fix. Plus, Sox players were growing concerned over not getting paid promptly.

GAME 4

Oct. 4

at Chicago

Reds 2

White Sox 0

On the mound again, Cicotte played well until the fourth inning, when he made two fielding errors and then gave up a double.

GAME 5

Oct. 6

at Chicago

Reds 5

White Sox 0

After players finally got their first payments, Felsch made repeated questionable fielding plays in later innings.

GAME 6

Oct. 7

at Cincinnati

White Sox 5

Reds 4

Dickie Kerr, the pitcher for game 4, pitched as the Sox came back from behind in extra innings to win their second game of the series.

GAME 7

Oct. 8

at Cincinnati

White Sox 4

Reds 1

With Cicotte pitching once again, Sox players worried about not getting paid, played for the win.

GAME 8

Oct. 9

at Chicago

Reds 10

White Sox 5

After Williams was reportedly threatened by gamblers the night before, he threw poorly and gave up three runs in the first inning.

Baseball Throws The 'Eight Men Out'

Many observers were upset with what appeared to be an obviously thrown World Series. A disgusted Hugh Fullerton of the Chicago Herald and Examiner wrote that no World Series should ever be played again.

Comiskey, too, voiced alarm. But it wasn’t until nearly the close of the next season in September 1920 that a grand jury was convened to investigate the 1919 World Series.

Cicotte was the first to admit he had taken $10,000 to throw games. “I needed the money,” he said. “I had the wife and the kids.” Jackson then confessed, saying he had received only $5,000 of the $20,000 he had been promised. Felsch and Williams also confessed.

Eight members of the 1919 team were indicted, tried and acquitted — largely through jury nullification. Jackson later recanted his testimony, but to no avail. The day after the trial ended in August 1921, Major League Baseball’s new commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, issued lifetime bans to all eight players.

Commissioner Landis