The 1919 Black Sox Scandal
In 1919, eight of the Chicago White Sox allegedly threw the World Series. Charles Comiskey was the ruthless owner of the White Sox and was the main motive of the sox to throw the series. Chick Gandil was the first player to get involved and then he spread it to the other players on the team. The act by these players would be called the Black Sox Scandal. The Scandal nearly ruined America’s pastime. The baseball commissioner, Judge Landis, banned all eight of the players for life. Based on how Joe Jackson played in the world series and how he was proven innocent in a court of law, he should be reinstated into baseball and be put in the hall of fame.
The owner of the Chicago White Sox was Charles Comiskey. Charles Comiskey was known for treating his players badly. For example, Charles Comiskey benched their pitching ace, Eddie Cicotte, because he was one win away from 30 win season and Comskey didn’t want to give him his bonus. (Linder 1) In 1919, there was no free agency in baseball, so once you were on a team you were stuck there until you were traded or you quit.
The White Sox were getting fed up with how Charles Comiskey was treating them. The White Sox were the best team in baseball, yet they were the lowest paid team also. (Linder 1) Joe Jackson, the best player on the team, was making $6,000 a year. (1) So if this team had a weakness it would be their desire for more money. Sport Sullivan, a gambler, proposed a fix to Chick Gandil in which the White Sox would lose the World Series and the would pay them to do so. (1) Obviously this idea sounded very appealing to Chick Gandil. So Chick Gandil agreed to do it if he would be paid $80,000.
Next Chick Gandil went to his teammates one by one about the proposal. First he went to Eddie Cicotte, who at first rejected the idea but later agreed to it if he were paid $10,000 before the series started. (Asinof 1) Gandil then went after infielders such as “Swede” Risberg and Fred McMullin. (Linder 1) Gandil then went after another pitcher in “Lefty” Williams. (2) Chick Gandil then asked Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, and Oscar Felsch to meet with the other five the next night, they then agreed. (2) Oscar Felsch and Buck Weaver agreed to the proposal and became apart of the fix but Joe Jackson would not have any part of it even after he was offered $10,000. (Facts 1)
Chick Gandil reported to ...
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...e story. They had all tried to get him to join the fix but he would have nothing of it. When the trial was over all sox were left standing innocent. (Black 1) But the only true innocent man was Joe Jackson. The other seven were all guilty but the jury must have thought there wasn’t enough evidence or they were baseball fans. Even though they were found innocent, it did nothing for their case in baseball because they were still banned from baseball by Judge Landis, the baseball commissioner. (Lowitt 2) Judge Landis made his case by saying that because Joe Jackson knew about the fix and did not report it to any one, he was just as guilty as the rest of them. (2)
Judge Landis said, “no player who sits in on a conference with a bunch of gamblers in which ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball." (Say) But if you were in Joe’s position, would you turn in your friends and teammates? Most people probably wouldn’t. Joe Jackson played his heart out in the 1919 World Series and was even found innocent in a court of law, therefore should be reinstated into baseball and placed in the hall of fame.
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Professional athletes serve as role models for younger players. However, some of them are terrible examples to follow based on the way conduct themselves and constantly lie. Sports writer from The New York Times, Michael Schmidt reports, “The 19-page indictment charged Clemens, 48, with three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of Congress during his testimony in a nationally televised hearing in February 2008 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform” (Schmidt). Roger Clemens was charged with six total felonies. This might be the most severe attacks of someone's integrity. Five of his six charges were directly related to lying under oath of congress. This is not the type of person that the Hall of Fame should want representing them. More importantly, it is even worse when a player testifies in front of judges and says he never taken steroids. Ever. When looking back at symply baseball statistics, Rafael Palmeiro can be found in many record books for hitting more than 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. However, six months after he swore he never took any type of substance, he was found guilty and suspended (Harris). Rafael Palmeiro is one of the greatest hitters to every play the game. There is no denying his impressive stats. These stellar numbers are later tainter after it is discovered he has
... Series and banned from baseball forever. Rays father felt his son had the potential to also be in the major leagues, but it was too late as he passed away before he could even play a game of catch with his son. Ray is confused and lost internally because of the loss of his father on such bad terms; this becomes a bigger tragedy than he ever thought. It may have even been a tragedy as big as the death of Joe Jackson who died guilty of throwing the World Series. He was never eased of his pain until after his death which was too late. Tragedies are not uncommon phenomena in life, Ray Kinsella and Shoeless Joe Jackson have the misfortune of living a struggle fulfilled life that only consists of tragic events around every corner of their lives.
However, if the current rules remain in place and baseball continues without a salary cap, the only hope a small market team may have is to fend for themselves on the big market with financially superior teams. This becomes an exceedingly harder task when one team can afford the salary of two top players while those contracts are equal to the entire payroll of another team’s entire roster. Therefore, the question remains should baseball implement a salary cap, and if they do, how would it come into play. When asking the question regarding the salary cap, four supporting ideas arise for either the implementation of a salary cap or keeping it nonexistent.
The teams owner had forced the players to take a salary cut because of the declining attendance. On average they were paid between three thousand and six thousand dollars. The players involved were first baseman Chick Gandil, Eddie Cicotte, Lefty Williams, “Shoeless Joe Jackson,” Fred McMullen, Swede Risberg, Happy Felsch, and Buck Weaver. (“Bankston, Carl. L”) Joseph Sullivan was a gambler from Boston and Arnold Rothstein was from New York City. Chick Gandil approached Sullivan and offered to t...
Throughout the history of America’s pastime, baseball has continually battled scandals and controversies. From the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal to the current steroid debate, baseball has lived in a century of turmoil. While many of these scandals affected multiple players and brought shame to teams, none have affected a single player more than the 1980’s Pete Rose betting scandal. Aside from the public humiliation he brought his family and the Cincinnati Reds, nothing has done more to hurt Pete Rose than his lifetime ban from baseball making him ineligible for hall of fame. While many are for and against putting Pete Rose in the hall of fame, the four ethical theories, Kantianism, Utilitarianism, Egoism, and Ethical Realism, each have their own unique answer to the question. Through Kantianism Pete Rose should be inducted into the hall of fame, while Egoism, Utilitarianism and Ethical Realism all support the lifetime ban.
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The World Series of 1919 was found out to be thrown by the Chicago White Sox, creating many problems within the American League. This World Series was different than many others. The 1919 World Series was played in a best-of-nine series, rather than being played in best-of-seven like all other World Series games before it. The other team involved, the Cincinnati Reds, had no idea of the scandal. The Baseball Hall of Fame states in their article “Guide to the Black Sox Scandal (American League),” Gambling was not new to baseball. There is evidence that White Sox players, in 1917, paid pitchers from the Detroit club, who beat Boston during the pennant stretch run $200 each.” This shows that the White Sox not only cheated in the 1919 World Series, but also in the 1917 season. There were 8 players involved in gambling with the 1919 World Series, including many of the league’s best players. The eight players involved included Eddie Cicotte, Oscar “Happy” Felsch, Arnold “Chick” Gandil, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles “Swede” Risberg, George “Buck” Weaver, and Claude “Lefty” Williams. These 8 players, threw the game for a cash reward from 5 separate gamblers who were involved in the scandal. Abe Attell, Bill Burns, Arnold Rothstein, Billy Maharg, and Joseph “Sport” Sullivan, were all indicted along with the players for gambling with the 1919 World Series, and was considered as a “crime against baseball
There was good reason the Sox were susceptible to the lure of quick money. They were
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