1919 Black Sox Scandal

The Scandal That Tarnished Baseball “No player who throws a ballgame, no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ballgame, no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of gamblers where the ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball.” This famous quote stated by the first ever commissioner of baseball, Judge Keneshaw Mountain Landis, described his ruling against the eight Chicago White Sox players that were accused of putting a “fix” on the 1919 World Series (Andrews, Evan). This ruling was the first of the “iron fist” decisions made by the newly named commissioner who was determined in cleaning up baseball ("Baseball: The Black Sox Scandal").The White Sox throughout the 1919 season were …show more content…
Although the Cincinnati Reds had a better record of 96-44 throughout the regular season, the White Sox were close behind with a record of 88-52 and were also favored heavily in the world series matchup. As the 1919 World Series approached, many peculiar things happened hinting to the 8 involved players’ coaches, fellow teammates, and the general public to show that there may be a fix of some sort on the biggest series of America’s national pastime. It is evident that eight Chicago White Sox players fixed the 1919 World Series by playing uncharacteristically poorly, meeting with many big time gamblers weeks before the World Series, and confessing to the crime in court. Throughout the entire regular season, the White Sox were a strong team that succeeded with exemplary pitching and defense. Their record of 88-52 shows how the team had a high caliber status. This was a main reason why the White Sox were favored to win the big series five : one prior to the rumor of the Black Sox Scandal ("Baseball: The Black Sox Scandal"). The suspicious acts started immediately game one when Eddie Cicotte hit the first Red’s batter a