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.