Summary Of Shadow Of The Black Sox

A year after the defeat of the White Sox in a World Series battle against the Reds, eight players of the Chicago team enlightened the American public of their prior involvement in illegal graft (Carnes & Garraty, 1999). According to the American National Biography, Chick Gandil—first baseman for the Sox—brought together a collation of teammates in the year 1919 with aspirations to collect bonus cash for aiding a major betting scandal (1999). The Black Sox—Cicotte, Felsch, Gandil, Jackson, McMullin, Risberg, Weaver, and Williams—intentionally abetted in Chicago’s loss of the 1919 World Series despite their present fame while seeking to earn a larger fortune (LeBoutillier, 2012). The year 1919 marked the beginning of the postwar season. Anderson—author

Unbeknownst to the public, Sox owner Charles A. Comiskey was underpaying players (Carnes & Garraty, 1999). “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, right fielder, earned $6,000 in 1919, while second baseman Eddie Collins collected $14,500 (Goetsch, 2011, p. 92). Factions grew out of such differences as those earning more crowded towards Eddie and those making less favored Gandil (as did Jackson and Cicotte). Chick Gandil reached out to gamblers before the World Series began asking for $100,000 to be distributed among select players in exchange for a Cincinnati Reds victory (Anderson, 2001). Arnold Rothstein, an infamous gambler, was eager to put up the money and bet against the Sox. Diana Goetsch (2011), prose writer for the American Scholar, claims that this upset was motivated in part by differences in earnings among teammates. Goetsch added that gambling odds were at “even money” just days before the first pitch of game one (2011). According to Goetsch (2011), weeks earlier the White Sox were up 5-1 odds against the

The lack of use of their talent gave them the power to set their own earnings. With the support of Rothstein—who would go on to place $270,000 on the Reds—the eight men were setting their sights on defeat (Goetsch, 2011). Sports reporters issued warnings of the organized manipulation prior to game one as rumors spread. After the series concluded, some would write articles detailing an honest upset while others closely eyed wary pitches and suspicious plays concluding, “that seven of them [games] were ‘highly suspect’” (Anderson, 2001, p. 107). One such accusation suggested that outfielders (including “Shoeless” Joe) had positioned themselves out of range in order to avoid aggressive defensive play throughout the series (Carnes & Garraty, 1999). “Shoeless” Joe would later admit to accepting $5,000 for his involvement in the scandal (Goetsch,