Robert Fiorelli
Mrs. Neilson
FYS 101-143
8 November 2013
The Black Sox Scandal and its Impact on Society Today
Baseball as our american pastime has not only served as a viable source of entertainment, but has impacted our society into what it is today. Through the games clean, wholesome attitude, as well as its ability to draw a large community of people together, it has gotten us through historical tragedies and has also shed light on what is reality. One of the most prime examples of baseball being used as a template for the development of society and the game itself is the 1919 world series. In the beginning of the twentieth century, this particular world series turned into the darkest event in baseball history. Gamblers set up deals with the White Sox players to lose the world series on purpose, after being largely targeted as the clear favorites to win. Although this scandal was horrible for the game at the time, it set a standard for baseball and society that is still in effect today, which is why it is important to learn about what happened.
It is nearing the end of the 1919 season, and the fans are in a frenzy about how good their White Sox have been playing. The owner of the White Sox, Charles Comiskey, stands tall over everyone, as his team is playing at such an untouchable level. Comiskey is an idol around the Chicago area, since he is running such a successful team. The only person he is not an idol to is his players. Comiskey had a notorious reputation amongst his team. Due to his corrupt leadership, arrogant attitude, and his inability to follow through on incentives, his players generally disliked him. An example of Comiskey’s poor leadership was how he handled Eddie Cicotte’s excellent season. Cicotte was the White Sox’s best pitcher in the 1919 season. In the beginning of the season, Eddie was promised a 10,000 dollar bonus if he were to win thirty games. He ended up winning twenty nine, to only a controversial ending to his season. The last two weeks of the season, Cicotte was pulled from the rotation, meaning he was not allowed to pitch. Cicotte claims, to popular belief, that Comiskey pulled him so he would not attain his goal of thirty games, resulting in the corrupt owner not having to pay him. This illustrates the insincerity owner Charles Comiskey had towards his players. First baseman Chick Gandil was one of the few players that could not put up with Comiskey’s actions without any kind of response. Instead of letting Comiskey walk all over his players, Gandil organized a fix that could be pulled off in the upcoming world series with his ties to underworld figures. He convinced New York gangster Arnold Rothstein to supply money for other players to join in the fix as well. Chick and Rothstein were able to gather eight players to throw the world series on purpose. Starting pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Claude Williams, outfielder Oscar Felsch, and shortstop Charles Risberg were all principally involved with Gandil. Third baseman George "Buck" Weaver attended a meeting where the fix was discussed, but his participation in the fix is a scandal itself. The same could be said for outfielder Joseph “Shoeless Joe” Jackson. Even before the series started, speculation about the fix circled through the baseball world. Reporters and writers noticed the abnormal amount of money being placed on the inferior opponent of the White Sox, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, to win the world series. After the 1920 season, a grand jury was held to investigate the scandal. All eight players were banned from the game of baseball, even though they were proven not guilty.
The country was in a state of shock after seeing all these players turned away from the game of baseball. To understand the let down of the players involved, legend has it that a young boy, after the trial where Shoeless Joe admits in his involvement in the scandal, grips Joe’s arm and pleads “Say it aint so Joe, say it aint so.” This clearly was a huge setback for the game of baseball, as it was already going through the years of the “Dead Ball Era.” A scandal of this proportion was the last thing our american pastime needed. Luckily, baseball was revived by the Ruth era and the resurgence of the New York Yankees. Many baseball historians believe that if such a player like Ruth had not existed, the game would have been ruined by the scandal.
In today’s game, many players believe that being the best will only get them attention. That is why the steroids scandal is a much different scandal than the Black Sox scandal. The BALCO steroids scandal consisted of many players using performance enhancing drugs to make them better baseball players. This is much more of a let down to the fans. When you are proven as a cheater, you show that you are playing for nothing but money and recognition. That is the worst thing a fan could conceive about one of their favorite baseball players. Using steroids show that you are all about the numbers, and nothing else. The Black Sox scandal was a way for players to gain money they thought they deserved. This is much different than cheating your way through baseball only for people to believe you are good.
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