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Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
1919 Black Sox: What to know about the World Series scandal, ‘Shoeless' Joe Jackson and more
The 1919 Chicago White Sox — considered by some baseball historians as one of the greatest teams ever to take the field — were heavy favorites to beat the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. But in the best-of-nine series (Major League Baseball decided to expand from the best-of-seven format because of postwar demand), the Reds dominated. There had been rumors and reports that the fix was in, and indeed the Sox's performance was suspect. A year later, eight Sox players were charged with conspiring with gamblers to throw the World Series. In 1921, all were acquitted by a jury that deliberated for just 2 hours, 47 minutes. A day after their acquittal, however, MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled the players allegedly involved — Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams — would be banned for life from organized baseball. A century later, the team is still tagged the Black Sox. Here's what to know about the scandal. During the regular season, Sox pitching ace Cicotte won 29 games and slugging outfielder Jackson batted .351. So going into World Series, the Sox were heavily favored by the bookies. They were offering 13-20 odds on the Sox, which meant a bettor had to put up $20 for a chance to win $13. Conversely, a $7 wager on the Reds would yield $10, which attracted the professional gamblers who don't like leaving money matters to chance. Game 1 demonstrated they were getting value for their alleged bribe money. It was played in Cincinnati, and the Sox lost 9-1. As the Tribune reported: 'They missed hit-and-run plays twice in the first two innings, the very kind that they have been turning against the other American League clubs all summer, and the very kind of plays that have made the Sox such a strong offensive team.' 'I don't know what's the matter, but I do know that something is wrong with my gang,' Sox manager Kid Gleason said after Game 1. 'The bunch I had fighting in August for the pennant would have trimmed this Cincinnati bunch without a struggle. The bunch I have now couldn't beat a high school team.' Here's how the Tribune covered the whole series. The Black Sox Scandal remains a popular topic for historians and entertainers, spawning books and movies such as 'Eight Men Out' and 'Field of Dreams.' But as the legend grew, so did the myths — such as that of owner Charles Comiskey being a miser, forcing his players to seek compensation through gamblers. When the Sox lost the series, Comiskey acknowledged rumors that some of his players hadn't been trying and offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove the accusation. He revealed he had hired detectives to investigate the alleged scandal. 'I am now very happy to state that we have discovered nothing to indicate any member of my team double crossed me or the public last fall,' Comiskey told the Tribune on Dec. 14, 1919. Two weeks later, Comiskey walked back his assertion that there hadn't been any monkey business. Then guilt pangs brought Cicotte to Comiskey's office. 'Yeah, we were crooked,' the pitcher sobbed. 'Don't tell me,' Comiskey said. 'Tell it to the grand jury.' According to Cicotte, the scheme wasn't hatched by gamblers who seduced naive players, as it's often said. His teammate Gandil was the architect. He recruited the other players and marketed the scheme to the underworld. When the players were tried in 1921, Jackson repudiated his confession, and he and Weaver noted they had batted .375 and .324 in the Series, respectively. So the charge of throwing the series made no sense. The jury acquitted them and the other defendants. But all eight players were banned from professional baseball by Landis, a Chicago federal judge who was newly installed as baseball's first commissioner with a mandate to clean house. Commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated Jackson and the other seven banned Sox players — as well as MLB career hits leader Pete Rose — on May 13, making both Jackson and Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame. Rose's permanent ban, also related to a gambling scandal, was lifted eight months after his death and came a day before the Reds were to honor him on Pete Rose Night. Manfred announced he was changing baseball's policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire after death. Several others also had their status changed by the ruling, including former Philadelphia Phillies President William D. Cox and former New York Giants outfielder Benny Kauff. Under the Hall of Fame's current rules, the earliest Rose or Jackson could be inducted would be 2028. The Sox issued a statement that with the reinstated players' ability to be considered for the Hall of Fame, the team 'trust(s) that the process currently in place will thoughtfully evaluate each player's contributions to the game.' To Jackson's family, the punishment never fit the crime. 'The things that people get away with now, this is like nothing,' Debra Ebert, Jackson's great-niece, said in 2019. 'If someone would just listen to us …' Mike Nola, a historian and board member at the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum in the ballplayer's hometown of Greenville, S.C., said in 2019 there were no immediate plans for a new advocacy campaign. But Nola said at the time that the board had recently heard that MLB or the commissioner's office might not be the best direction for the long-shot remedy. He said that because all of the Black Sox players are dead, MLB might believe it doesn't have jurisdiction over 'lifetime bans' and that petitions or advocacy might be better directed toward the Hall of Fame. 'It's not like if they reinstate Joe he'll come out of a cornfield and play ball,' Nola said. 'It just doesn't work that way.' For almost 30 years in 2015, Patricia Anderson had lived in a scenic, rural Missouri town about 100 miles southwest of St. Louis. But in her living room, she was surrounded by images of her youth on the South Side of Chicago, where she was raised by her uncle — former White Sox third baseman Buck Weaver. 'Living with Buck, it was a wonderful way to grow up,' Anderson said. 'He was my idol.' In 2015, Anderson and her family launched their latest attempt to clear the name of Weaver. 'Pete Rose was a great player and we understand why baseball is considering his reinstatement,' said Sharon Anderson, Patricia's daughter. 'But our family can't give up on Buck.' Chicago is home to many places associated with the Black Sox scandal to check out:
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Odd Timing for MLB's Reinstatement of Pete Rose and the Black Sox
Of all the ironies. Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson were removed from the ineligible list for the Baseball Hall of Fame on a day the ancient World Series of 1919 rivals played each other. Shoeless Joe Jackson was a member of the 1919 White Sox that was on the short end of the series with the Cincinnati Reds. Advertisement It came to light nearly a year later when a former pitcher, Sleepy Bill Burns, went to infamous gambler Arnold Rothstein of New York. Jackson took the bribe money to throw the series, but hit .375 in the 1919 series with three doubles and a home run in eight games. Eliot Asinof wrote a book on the subject titled 'Eight Men Out.' It was turned into a movie of the same name in 1988. This is the home of Joseph Jefferson Jackson that has been turned into a museum in downtown Greenville, S.C. Jac kson is better known as \"Shoeless Joe\" one of baseball's greatest players. suspended from baseball for life by Kennesaw Mountain Landis in 1920© ALEX HICKS JR./STAFF / USA TODAY NETWORK Coincidentally, that was the year that Pete Rose was investigated for betting on baseball as a manager of the Reds. It ended in his suspension for life from baseball on August 23, 1989, by Bart Giamatti. Rose maintained his innocence for years but finally admitted it when his biography came out. His claim that he only bet on his own team is moot; gambling was not allowed then. Advertisement Rob Manfred made the announcement. In part because Reds games are sponsored and broadcast by FanDuel, an online gambling site. Could the hypocrisy of that have spurred that decision? How can you continue a policy of a strict prohibition of gambling is now commonplace and a revenue stream? If baseball really wanted to come clean, it would remove Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, whose hometown is less than 40 miles from Great American Ball Park in Millville, Ohio. Landis maintained the color line from his appointment as the first baseball commissioner because, let's face it, baseball owners had gambling interests for years. Landis claimed the best players on earth were in the Major Leagues but denied entry to Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Satchel Paige, and Oscar Charleston from participating in the Major Leagues, though several owners tried to obtain their services. Baseball made a correction by including statistics from the Negroe Leagues with the MLB historical stats. Advertisement Wednesday, the Reds will honor the playing career of the man who broke Ty Cobb's record for hits in a career with 4,256. Current Red's manager Terry Francona was a teammate of Rose's and played for him in 1987, as did the father of current White Sox manager Will Venable, Max. 'We loved Pete,' Francona said. 'When we were young players, he cared about us. He made us feel like we belonged. I don't know what his family wants out of this, but I hope they get it.' Pete Rose Jr. played and managed in the White Sox minor league system. In 2011, he managed Bristol in the Appalachian League. Related: Pete Rose to be Honored By Reds
Axios
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Axios
MLB makes Pete Rose, 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson now Hall of Fame eligible
Major League Baseball has removed Pete Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other deceased players from the league's permanently ineligible list, making them eligible for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Why it matters: Rose and Jackson were legendary players during their time, but had been shunned for their role in gambling on the sport — something the league now embraces. Driving the news: MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. announced Tuesday a new policy that permanent ineligibility ends upon "the passing of the disciplined individual." The policy change came after an application filed by the family of Pete Rose, the league said in a statement. "Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve," Manfred wrote to the Rose family attorney. Zoom in: The change means that not only Rose but members of the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" scandal, who allegedly threw the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, were now eligible for the Hall of Fame if elected. Rose was placed on the ineligible list due to a 1989 settlement of potential litigation with the Commissioner's Office during then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti's time. Jackson and the other White Sox were placed on the ineligible list by Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first baseball commissioner, even though the men were later acquitted of conspiracy to defraud. Jackson was a lifetime .356 hitter and hit .408 in 1911. State of play: The ban had been the stuff of baseball lore since it kept two of the game's greatest players out of the Hall of Fame, covered in magical movies like "Field of Dreams" and "Eight Men Out." The move has been the subject of sports talk radio debates since the Hall of Fame also included racists and segregationists like Landis. President Trump said earlier this year he planned to pardon Rose posthumously, but didn't give details. "Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn't have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING," Trump wrote on social media Feb. 28. Context: Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence. For years, Rose denied that he gambled on baseball and then finally admitted it later in life in an attempt to get reinstated in baseball. Rose, MLB's all-time hit leader, died last year at 83 years old. Baseball writers have voted players involved in the steroid era like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa into the Hall of Fame and can still opt not to support Rose or Jackson. Between the lines: MLB in recent years has been moving to revise its history, mainly focusing on correcting wrongs. The league announced last year it would add statistics from the Negro Leagues to the Major League historical record. That meant that Negro League legend Josh Gibson is now the all-time Major League batting champion and pitcher Satchel Paige is third all-time for a single season ERA. The move to finally incorporate stats from Negro League players — barred from MLB during segregation — means greats like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb no longer hold some top spots, revamped records show.
New York Times
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
How ‘Moneyball' and ‘Sugar' Altered the Baseball Movie
From 'Eight Men Out' to 'Field of Dreams,' baseball movies are usually enraptured by the past. Steeped in traditions, these films celebrate homespun heroes whose anything-is-possible journeys toward a championship elevate our spirits. But two baseball movies from the last 20 years had something else on their minds that would alter how the sport was looked at onscreen. Bennett Miller's 'Moneyball' (2011), based on a true story, and Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's 'Sugar' (2008), aren't about tenacious winners or mythic achievements. Instead, they're fascinated by failure and community. That notable shift defies a subgenre built on uplift. A baseball movie will often spin a yarn about a band of misfits coming together for an unlikely title run ('Angels in the Outfield'). They can also center once-talented players given one more chance at greatness ('The Natural'), or recall life-changing summers ('The Sandlot'). They tout the majesty, poetry, superstitions and purity of the sport, appealing to truisms lodged in our cultural understanding of fairness: three strikes, you're out and, as Yogi Berra said, 'It ain't over till it's over.' Following the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), 'Moneyball' aims to critique an unfair system not by yearning for the past, but by deconstructing the present. Beane is an executive whose small market ball club can no longer compete monetarily with big spenders like the New York Yankees, so he hires the nerdy Yale economics graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) and turns to the teachings of Bill James, a writer who preached sabermetrics as a statistically informed way to maximize talent. Beane and Brand's unorthodox approach puts them in opposition to the team's irritable old school manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the craggy scouts who rely on their ingrained biases to evaluate players. Pitt plays the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane. Credit... Melinda Sue Gordon/Columbia Pictures While Beane deconstructs the business of baseball, assembling a stacked roster of discarded players, 'Moneyball' the movie also disassembles the subgenre by not really being about baseball. Partway through the film, Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin's patient screenplay introduces Beane's young daughter, who hopes the team wins enough for her dad to keep his job. Pitt is wonderful in these scenes, softening Beane's rigid executive exterior for a kinder, sweeter approach that slowly builds the importance of this father-daughter relationship to the point of Beane turning down a higher paid position with the Boston Red Sox (coincidentally, the A's are leaving California in 2028 for a lucrative offer to play in Las Vegas). Seeing Beane's embrace of fatherhood recalls an imperative moment in Ken Burns's 'Baseball.' In that documentary mini-series, Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor, describes baseball as a 'community activity,' in which 'you find your own good in the good of the whole.' As much as Beane prizes winning in 'Moneyball,' his journey becomes about cherishing family. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
