BLACK SOX SCANDAL Scandal on the South Side
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BLACK SOX SCANDAL Vol. 7, No. 1, June 2015 Research Committee Newsletter Leading off ... What’s in this issue ◆ BioProject book on 1919 White Sox published ..... PAGE 1 ◆ SABR 45 meeting June 26 in Chicago ...... PAGE 2 ◆ Tris Speaker’s 1919 World Series syndicated columns ...... PAGE 3 ◆ An economic analysis of 1919 World Series bribes.. PAGE 7 ◆ Interviewing Honest Eddie Murphy’s grandson ..... PAGE 12 ◆ Book review: Turning the Black Sox White .... PAGE 14 ◆ The witness who never testified: Val O’Farrell .. PAGE 16 ◆ Pittsburgh’s connection to the Black Sox Scandal ..... PAGE 18 There’s more to the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox than the Black Sox Scandal. SABR’s new book, Scandal on the South Side, includes biographies of everyone involved with the team, plus a recap of the season, the World Series, and the after- Chairman’s Corner math. Available now at SABR.org/ebooks. (Photo: National Baseball Hall of Fame Library) By Jacob Pomrenke [email protected] Scandal on the South Side A few months ago, I was asked what I thought was the Get your free e-book copy of new SABR publication best way to “catch up” on the story of the Black Sox Scandal, Just in time for SABR’s 45th annual bers can download the e-book edition in light of all the new informa- convention in Chicago this month, for free in PDF, EPUB, or Kindle for- tion we’ve learned since Eight Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 mats. SABR members also get a 50% Men Out was published. Chicago White Sox, fea- discount to purchase the My response then was slight- turing contributions from paperback edition at ly different than it is today. 32 members of this com- Createspace.com/ There have been many impor- mittee, is the newest pub- 5524989. Use the dis- tant and informative books writ- lication in the SABR count code ZGBGZW5U ten about the 1919 World Series Digital Library. when you order. in the 50+ years since Eliot Scandal on the South The retail price is Asinof wrote Eight Men Out — Side is the first compre- $19.95 for the paperback by the likes of Victor Luhrs, hensive book focused on or $9.99 for the e-book. Donald Gropman, David Fleitz, the star-studded, dissen- Contributing authors Susan Dellinger, Daniel Nathan, sion-riddled team that won and editors include: Gene Carney, Bill Lamb, and the 1919 American Bruce Allardice, Russell others, all of which I recommend. League pennant and then Arent, Steve Cardullo, Now, thanks to the great work threw the World Series — Brian Cooper, James E. with full-life biographies Elfers, David Fleitz, of 32 members of this SABR Free download available committee, I’m proud to say we of every player and offi- at SABR.org/ebooks David Fletcher, Daniel can add Scandal on the South cial involved with that Ginsburg, Irv Goldfarb, Side to that distinguished list. I fateful team. John Heeg, Rick Huhn, hope readers find that what sets The new book can be ordered online Bill Lamb, Len Levin, Dan Lindner, ➤ Continued on Page 21 at SABR.org/ebooks. All SABR mem- ➤ Continued on Page 2 2 ➤ E-BOOK Continued from Page 1 SABR 45 COMMITTEE MEETING Our annual Black Sox Scandal commit- Adrian Marcewicz, Brian McKenna, Steven G. McPherson, tee meeting at the SABR 45 convention in Paul Mittermeyer, Jack Morris, Peter Morris, Rod Nelson, James R. Nitz, Bill Nowlin, Jacob Pomrenke, Kelly Boyer Chicago is scheduled for 6:30-7:30 p.m., Sagert, Jim Sandoval, Richard Smiley, Lyle Spatz, Steve Friday, June 26, 2015 in the Salon 3 room Steinberg, Brian Stevens, Andy Sturgill, and Gregory H. on the third floor of the Palmer House Wolf. Hilton (17 East Monroe Street in Chicago.) About the book You must register for the convention in The Black Sox Scandal is a cold case, not a closed case. order to attend, but all are welcome. Visit When Eliot Asinof wrote his classic history about the fix- SABR.org/convention. Day rates ($99) are ing of the 1919 World Series, Eight Men Out, he told a dra- also available for purchase on-site. matic story of undereducated and underpaid Chicago White Sox ballplayers, disgruntled by their low pay and poor treat- ment by team management, who fell prey to the wiles of Our guest speaker is scheduled to be double-crossing big-city gamblers offering them bribes to Peter Alter, archivist at the Chicago History lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Museum. He will talk about the museum’s Shoeless Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, Eddie Cicotte, and extensive collection of Black Sox Scandal- the other Black Sox players were all banned from organized related documents and artifacts. baseball for life. … But the real story is a lot more complex. We now have access to crucial information that changes what we thought we knew about “baseball’s darkest hour” A very limited number of Scandal on the — including rare film footage from that fateful fall classic, South Side paperback editions will be avail- legal documents from the criminal and civil court proceed- able for purchase for $20 (cash or check ings, and accurate salary information for major-league play- only) after the committee meeting. See ers and teams. All of these new pieces to the Black Sox puz- zle provide definitive answers to some old mysteries and Jacob Pomrenke for details. raise other questions in their place. This book will integrate all of that new information about the scandal for the first This book isn’t a rewriting of Eight Men Out, but it is the time. complete story of everyone associated with the 1919 However, the Black Sox Scandal isn’t the only story Chicago White Sox, told in full for the first time. Scandal on worth telling about the 1919 Chicago White Sox. The team the South Side brings readers up to date on what we collec- roster included three future Hall of Famers, a 20-year-old tively know about the Black Sox Scandal and the infamous spitballer who would go on to win 300 games in the minor team at the center of it all. leagues, and even a batboy who later became a celebrity with the “Murderers’ Row” New York Yankees in the 1920s. All of their stories are included in Scandal on the South Black Sox Scandal Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox, which has full-life biog- raphies on each of the 31 players who made an appearance Research Committee for the White Sox in 1919, plus a comprehensive recap of Chicago’s pennant-winning season, the tainted World Series, Committee chairman: and the sordid aftermath. We’ll also clear up some of the misconceptions about the Jacob Pomrenke, [email protected] 1919 White Sox team that have been passed down through E-mail list manager: history: such as Charles Comiskey’s reputation as a greedy Rod Nelson, [email protected] miser who forced his players to play in dirty, unlaundered Newsletter editors: Mark Dugo, uniforms, the $10,000 bonus allegedly promised to star pitcher Eddie Cicotte if he won 30 games, and the compli- Rick Huhn, Steve Klein cated Black Sox legal proceedings, their “disappearing” con- Post questions, discussion at our fessions, and the reasons behind their acquittal in a Chicago Yahoo group: http://bit.ly/1919SoxYahoo courtroom. SABR Black Sox Scandal Research Committee Newsletter, Vol. 7, No. 1, June 2015 3 Speaker: ‘Something phony about it all’ Hall of Famer’s newspaper columns during 1919 World Series didn’t pull punches about Sox’s suspicious play By Bruce Allardice [email protected] Accounts of the 1919 World Series often cite the expert observations of Christy Mathewson, the Hall of Fame pitcher who covered the series for the New York Times. Mathewson clearly was an expert and his observations rightly carry great weight. However, there was another expert who covered the Series — whose observations have been largely ignored by Black Sox historians. And that’s Tris Speaker, the Hall of Fame outfielder and manager. In many respects, Speaker was uniquely qualified to analyze the White Sox during the World Series. Speaker was a lifelong American Leaguer, whereas Mathewson was most familiar with the National League and the team he used to manage, the Cincinnati Reds. While a star for the Boston Red Sox, Speaker had been a teammate of several of the White Sox, notably Eddie Cicotte, and had played against Cleveland Indians manager Tris Speaker wrote syndicated the White Sox for more than a decade. Speaker had managed newspaper columns during the 1919 World Series that were critical of the Chicago White Sox’s suspicious play. the Sox’s big 1919 rival, the Cleveland Indians, during a (Kraffert Collection, Western Reserve Historical Society) heated pennant race. If anyone in baseball (outside Chicago) could be consid- If the White Sox played smart ball today I am going ered an expert on the White Sox, it would be Tris Speaker. to recruit the Indians for next season from some place over in Europe, where they never saw our national The Boston Post and Cleveland Plain Dealer hired 4 Speaker as a guest correspondent to cover the Series. As vet- game played. eran Cleveland sportswriter Henry Edwards (who also cov- ered the Series) later explained, Edwards typed up Speaker’s Speaker became quite specific in his critique, pointing written notes and oral observations, putting the whole in out that the Sox didn’t even attempt to execute fundamental column form.1 Many years later, Edwards claimed that he plays: and Speaker became suspicious of the Sox’s play and did what Hugh Fullerton and Christy Mathewson more famously There are a lot of things that are generally taught in did: track every play that looked suspicious.2 the minors.