It's 1919. The Word Series is under way. Two big name teams, the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds are about to face off to see who will be on top of the world after the exhilarating nine game series. Everyone in the crowd is shrieking, balls are flying, and players are conversing. But, somethings not right. Chicago is blowing it. What is going on? After all, the Sox are supposed to be dominating the Reds. There could only be one answer. Foul play has to be involved in the Black Sox Scandal.
During the 1919 World Series, betting played a very huge role. The White Sox players were very easy targets for betters due to their owner, Charles Comiskey, being so cheap and the teams overall unhappiness (Hal ❡4-5). Betting started off simple. First, Chick Gandil, the White Sox first baseman, contacted Joseph “Sport” Sullivan. Gandil told Sullivan that he and a few other men on the team would throw the series for $100,000. But, Gandil had to get Williams and Cicotte in on the bet. After a very long and difficult period of time, Williams and Cicotte were in. Then, they had to get the very talented “Shoeless” Joe Jackson involved.
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Then, Jackson followed. He called out fellow teammates: Gandil and Williams. Gandil did not confess, even after Jackson called him out. Arnold Rothstein was also called up to testify, but he didn't confess to betting either (Ward 142-143). After just two hours and forty-seven minutes, the trial ended with the players proven not guilty, even after the confession of Cicotte and Jackson (Mitchell ❡2). But, it didn't end there. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis decided that he didn't believe the players as much as the judge did. He banned all of the players from the team, preventing them from organized baseball for life (❡9). Though the players were not charged for anything and made it out of the trial with no jail time, they lost the right to play the game of