1920s Sports Essay

When the 1920’s were coming around the bend, many phenomenons started thriving to life, such as organized crime, the fashion industry, and construction of automobiles. Sports was one of these events to occur in the midst of this time period. During the 1920s there was a change taking place, regarding sports. Baseball, one of the oldest of sports, has always been a long time favorite for Americans, despite the dangers of the sport and the 1919 World Series scandal.

The roaring 20’s were a grand time for the United States. Banks were failing, the Stock Market was crashing and the economy was falling apart. However, sports were flourishing through these times. Football, track, tennis, boxing, and baseball were some of the most known and commonly

is one of baseball's most famous and renowned players. Babe Ruth first picked up a bat when he was just 8 years old. He later started playing for the Baltimore Orioles when he was 19. While Babe Ruth played baseball, he faced many dangers. In the book “Baseball: An Illustrated History” the author states “At least 4 minor league players were killed by pitches between 1910 and 1920,” by stating this the author is explaining that, baseball is a dangerous sport, even when all safety precautions that they had at the time were taken. On August, 16 1920, Ray Chapman was killed when a fastball struck him on the side of the head. In 1920 all pitches that altered the ball were banned, even the most well known pitch “spitball.” The last spitball was pitched by Burleigh Grimes of the New York Yankees in 1934. During the 20s, even the best players took all safety precautions that were available at the time, however players were still killed. (Source

In the 1919 world series the Chicago White Sox were going against the Cincinnati Reds. Little did baseball fans know, this whole game was about to be the biggest scandal in baseball history. Chick Gandil was the mastermind behind this whole scandal. Chick Gandil played first base for the White Sox. In the article “The Black Sox Baseball Scandal, 95 Years Ago,” the author states, “...gamblers had paid several White Sox players to intentionally lose games. Eight so-called “Black Sox”—including the great “Shoeless” Joe Jackson—were later put on trial for conspiracy and banned from baseball for life.” By stating this the author is saying that Chick Gandil was not the only White Sox player to be a part of this scandal. The eight players that were accessories to this scandal were Eddie Cicotte, Claude Williams, Charles Risberg, Oscar Felsch, Buck Weaver, Fred McMullin, Joe Jackson, and Chick Gandil. There were three main conspirators with this scandal; Bill Burns, Bill Maharg, Abe Attell. Many believe that New York mob leader Arnold Rothstein was a major contribution to the scandal but was never proven. During the investigation of this scandal, evidence shows that Gandil and his accomplices had opened many accords with different associations. The eight White Sox players were allegedly paid $20,000 in five increments (one after each loss),