It was crooked from the start. On October 1, 1919, in the bottom of the first inning of the first game, White Sox ace pitcher, Eddie Cicotte, struck leadoff batter Morrie Rath. This signaled a consortium of gamblers that "the fix was in," as Chicago players had agreed to throw the World Series in exchange for various sums of money. Eddie Cicotte, Claude “Lefty” Williams, Joe “Shoeless”Jackson, Oscar “Happy” Felsh, Arnold “Chick” Gandil, Charles “Swede” Risberg, Oscar “Buck” Weaver, and Fred McMullin were all in on the fix. The question on everybody’s minds: “Why?” The White Sox, formally known as “White Stockings” was divided into two "cliques," one led by second baseman Eddie Collins and the other, led by first baseman, Chick Gandil. Each group had practically nothing to say to the other. The players constantly
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The investigation soon extended to the 1919 World Series and baseball gambling in general. The White Sox were enjoying a great season when the grand jury began calling players, owners, managers, writers, and gamblers to testify about what had happened the previous year. At the urging of Comiskey, who was trying to cover up his own knowledge of the conspiracy, Jackson and Cicotte were the first to admit everything they knew about the fix (History Files). The eight White Sox players, as well as gamblers during the Series, were indicted and expected to face trial.
The trial of the accused White Sox players, who had been suspended for the remainder of the 1920 season, began in June of 1921. The grand jury records, however, including the confessions of Jackson, Cicotte, and Williams, were reported missing. After a month of hearing testimony, it took the jury only two hours and forty-seven minutes (History Files) to acquit all defendants. Lack of evidence and the missing confessions resulted in the not-guilty
The investigation soon extended to the 1919 World Series and baseball gambling in general. The White Sox were enjoying a great season when the grand jury began calling players, owners, managers, writers, and gamblers to testify about what had happened the previous year. At the urging of Comiskey, who was trying to cover up his own knowledge of the conspiracy, Jackson and Cicotte were the first to admit everything they knew about the fix (History Files). The eight White Sox players, as well as gamblers during the Series, were indicted and expected to face trial.
The trial of the accused White Sox players, who had been suspended for the remainder of the 1920 season, began in June of 1921. The grand jury records, however, including the confessions of Jackson, Cicotte, and Williams, were reported missing. After a month of hearing testimony, it took the jury only two hours and forty-seven minutes (History Files) to acquit all defendants. Lack of evidence and the missing confessions resulted in the not-guilty