Welcome back. As far as the 1919 World Series goes we have the players and then we have the gamblers. We have already met the players for the White Sox, now let’s meet the gamblers. There would have been no fix without the gamblers.

There are four major figures on the gambling side. We’ll take them in order of appearance.

First we have Joseph “Sport” Sullivan, a Boston gambler. He becomes part of this story because of his connection with White Sox first baseman Chick Gandil. Gandil and Sullivan have known each other since 1912. Sullivan takes Gandil out to eat, play, and drink. Gandil gives Sullivan the occasional tip about a game. What players are hurt, what manager is starting who… that sort of thing. When Gandil first thinks of the World Series scheme, he contacts Sullivan. They meet and Gandil says he wants $80,000 to throw the Series. Sullivan actually feels bad about fixing the World Series, not because of money, but because he doesn’t want to tarnish baseball. He decides to go ahead with it anyway.

“Sleepy” Bill Burns was an ex-ballplayer. He knew all the guys and they all liked him. When he ran into Eddie Cicotte, White Sox pitcher, and asked about a possible fix, Cicotte took him to Chick Gandil. The players, eager to strike another deal, told Burns that they would throw the Series for $100,000. Ironically, both Burns and Sullivan went to the same place after leaving Gandil…

Arnold Rothstein, or The Big Bankroll, was a big time New York gambler and organized crime kingpin. If anyone had the money to back the fixing of the World Series it was Rothstein. First approached by Burns, Rothstein declines the deal. “Sport” Sullivan meets with him later about funding the fix and Rothstein agrees. He knows that with multiple people in on the scandal, it will be harder to identify him as a conspirator.

When “Sleepy” Bill Burns first meets with Rothstein, he actually meets Rothstein’s bodyguard Abe Attell. Abe Attell once held the World Featherweight Championship in boxing. After Rothstein turns Burns down, Attell sees his opportunity. He meets with Burns and tells him that Rothstein has agreed to back him. This is not true, but Attell thinks he can get away with it anyway.

Some interesting facts Arnold Rothstein. F. Scott Fitzgerald models his character Meyer Wolfshein from The Great Gatsby after Rothstein. Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls is also modeled after Rothstein.

Before owning the Chicago White Sox, Charles Comiskey was a ballplayer and a manager. He owned the Chicago White Sox from 1900 until he died in 1931. As a first baseman, he is credited with being the first to play defense behind the base.  He is enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1910 Comiskey built Comiskey Park for his White Sox. He began to seek out the best players for his club, and he found them. In 1915 he purchased Joe Jackson, Happy Felsch, and Eddie Collins. He turned the White Sox into a powerhouse, winning the World Series in 1917 and having the best record in the American League in 1919.

Despite these powerful ball clubs, Comiskey was very cheap with his players. His cheapness is highlighted, by some, to be a major factor in the 1919 World Series scandal. I’m going to have Rhonda dig around for a Chicago White Sox payroll and you will see what I’m talking about. It is also rumored that the term “Black Sox” came into being because Comiskey charged the players to clean their uniforms. They decided not to clean them and would take the field with dirty uniforms. There is also a rumor that he benched Eddie Cicotte so that he could not win 30 games and get a $10,000 bonus.

These low salaries for some players led to a very unhappy locker room. The White Sox were split into two teams, one underpaid while the other, able to negotiate higher salaries, were well paid. Players like Eddie Collins and Ray Schalk had yearly salaries more than double what their teammates made.

Below is Charles Comiskey’s baseball card.

Hi everyone, welcome back!  This month’s topic has a lot of people involved, especially compared to last month’s topic.  Also, you may not be familiar with all the names.  Last month you probably knew some of the names like Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington.  Well, even if you didn’t, you do now!  Don’t worry though, I will make sure that we let you know who everyone is.  First let’s go over the players involved.  Is that okay?  Great.

Fred McMullen played infield for the White Sox, but off the bench.  They called him a utility infielder.  In 1919 he batted .294 with 19 RBIs.  He went to bat twice during the World Series, singling once and grounding out the second time.  The other players had to let him in on the fix because he overheard two of them talking about it in the locker room.

Swede Risberg played shortstop for the White Sox.  He was a tough player with a big temper.  He even fought Ty Cobb and punched an umpire in the minor leagues.  In 1919 he .256 with 38 RBIs.  In the World Series he played every game, getting only 2 hits but making 4 errors.

Oscar Felsch, or “Happy”, played centerfield for the White Sox.  He was one of the best defensive players in the game.  In 1919 he batted .275 with 86 RBIs.  He says he didn’t want to be a part of the fix, but he knew they would throw the Series without him and he would miss out on the money.  He made a number of defensive mistakes during the Series.

Claude “Lefty” Williams was a star pitcher for the White Sox.  He pitched 27 complete games in 1919, winning a total of 23 games.  He lost a record 3 games in the Series, giving up 12 earned runs.

George “Buck” Weaver played third base for the Sox and is the only player Ty Cobb would not bunt against.  In 1919 he hit .296 with 75 RBIs.  In the Series he batted .324 and made no errors.  He disputes having any role in the fix, but he attended 2 meetings about the scheme.  He was paid no money for the fix, but was banned for knowing about it and not saying anything.  He fought for reinstatement for the rest of his life.  His family still fights for it.

Charles “Chick” Gandil was the leader of the players behind the scandal.  In 1919 he batted .290 with 60 RBIs.  He played first base for the White Sox.

Eddie Cicotte starred for the White Sox pitching staff in 1919.  He pitched 30 complete games winning a total of 29 games.  He was key to the whole fix and signalled its start by hitting the first batter he faced in the Series.

Joe Jackson, called “Shoeless”, is the most famous of the 8 White Sox players thrown out of baseball.  In 1919 he batted .351 with 96 RBIs.  He definitely knew about the fix, but it is disputed if he had anything to do with it.  He made no errors and hit .375 with a homerun during the Series.  He did admit to getting money for the fix, but not playing for the fix.  As with Buck Weaver, people continue to try and get Joe Jackson reinstated to baseball.

Okay, that was a lot of info.  Rhonda has been bugging me to give you a bit more.  She thinks I should have a little baseball glossary at the end of this post.  She is probably correct, so here it goes.

RBI stands for Runs Batted In.  It is when a batter is able to get a player on base to score.
Complete Game means that the pitcher pitched the entire game.
An Error is when a fielder makes a mistake with the ball on defense.
A Home Run is when the batter hits the ball out of the ballpark.  He then gets to round the bases and score.

If I left anything out, let me know… I’m sure Rhonda will.