Black Sox Scandal

Lore & Background

In response to the scandal, the National Baseball Commission was replaced by the office of the Commissioner, and Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed as the first commissioner of baseball in 1921, given absolute control over the sport to restore its integrity. Despite acquittals in a public trial in 1921, Landis permanently banned all eight implicated players from professional baseball. The Baseball Hall of Fame eventually defined the punishment as banishment from consideration for the Hall. Despite requests for reinstatement in the decades that followed (particularly in the case of Shoeless Joe Jackson), the ban remained in force for more than a century and continues to this day; no reinstatement has occurred.

Reader's Guide

In 1919, Charles Comiskey, the owner of the Chicago White Sox and a prominent Major League Baseball (MLB) player from 1882 to 1894, was widely resented by his players for his miserliness. Comiskey long had a reputation for underpaying players, even though the White Sox were one of the top teams in the league and had already won the 1917 World Series. This was a marked turnabout from Comiskey's days as a player, when he took part in the Players' League labor rebellion in 1890.

Because of baseball's reserve clause, any player who refused to accept a contract was prohibited from playing baseball on any other professional team under the auspices of 'Organized Baseball.' Players could change teams only with permission from their current team, and without a union, the players had no bargaining power. Comiskey was probably no worse than most owners of the time; in fact, the White Sox had the largest team payroll in 1919. In the era of the reserve clause, gamblers could find players on many teams looking for extra cash—and did.

The White Sox clubhouse was divided into two factions. One group resented the more straitlaced players (later called the 'Clean Sox'), a group that included second baseman Eddie Collins, catcher Ray Schalk, and pitchers Red Faber and Dickie Kerr. By contemporary accounts, the two factions rarely spoke to each other on or off the field, and the only thing they had in common was a resentment of Comiskey.

Did You Know?

• On September 18, 1919, White Sox player Chick Gandil met with Joe 'Sport' Sullivan, a Boston bookmaker, at the Hotel Buckminster near Fenway Park to discuss plans to throw the World Series for $80,000.
• Buck Weaver was the only player to attend the fix meetings who did not receive money, but he was banned for knowing about the fix and not reporting it.
• Utility infielder Fred McMullin heard about the fix and threatened to report the others unless he was included in the payoff.
• Star outfielder 'Shoeless Joe' Jackson was mentioned as a participant but did not attend the meetings, and his involvement remains disputed.
• The fix got an unexpected boost when pitcher Red Faber could not pitch due to getting sick with the flu; catcher Ray Schalk later said the fix would not have happened if Faber had been available.