1919 Black Sox Scandal

1919 “Black Sox” Scandal

Baseball was brought over from England in the form of croquet. The first recorded baseball game was played in 1846. By the 1860’s the sport was being described as America’s “national pastime”. The 1919 Black Sox scandal is known as the biggest scandal in baseball history.

The owner of the Chicago White Sox, formally known as the White Stockings was Charles Comiskey. Comiskey was owner of the White Sox for 31 years and oversaw the building of Comiskey Park and winning five American League championships. Many people believe that Comiskey was very stingy and largely to blame for the Black Sox scandal. The White Sox were a very unhappy team because they were paid so poorly. Comiskey made promises to his players that he never intended to keep, he even charged his players for washing their uniforms. Comiskey is said to be the first person to train his ball players to adjust their field positions based on the batters hitting habits.

When World War I happened interest in baseball dropped to an all time low. Owners were forced to cut the salaries of their players the next year because of attendance. The 1919 World Series was the first national championship after the war. Postwar enthusiasm for baseball took everyone by surprise. When attendance in Chicago went up, Comiskey refused to raise salaries back to where they had been. Comiskey had some of the best ball players on his team, but he paid them far less what players on other teams were making. In 1919 free agencies did not exist so players had to take what they were offered or not play at all. Baseball officials decided to make it a best of nine series instead of seven.

Gamblers were often present at ballparks, and several players had a reputation for working with the gamblers. Gamblers were offering several times what ball players were making and the offers were too good to refuse. Gandil approached a small time gambler named Joseph Sullivan about fixing the series. Gandil was a...