Wednesday, August 3, 2011

This day in 1921, eight Chicago White Sox are banned for life.





1921Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirms the ban of the eight Chicago Black Sox, the day after they were acquitted by a Chicago court.


Banned players


Eddie Cicotte, pitcher, died on May 5, 1969, had the longest life; living to the age of 84. Admitted involvement in the fix.


Oscar "Happy" Felsch, center fielder, died on August 17, 1964, at 72.


Arnold "Chick" Gandil, first baseman. The leader of the players who were in on the fix. He did not play in the majors in 1920, playing semi-pro ball instead. In 1956, he expressed remorse for the fix, but claimed that he and his colleagues abandoned it and kept the money after rumors spread that the fix was in. He died on December 13, 1970, at 82.


"Shoeless" Joe Jackson, the star outfielder, one of the best hitters in the game, confessed in sworn grand jury testimony to having accepted $5,000 cash from the gamblers. He later recanted his confession and protested his innocence to no effect until his death on December 5, 1951, at 64; he was the first of the eight banned White Sox players to die. Years later, the other players all said that Jackson had never been involved in any of the meetings with the gamblers, and other evidence has since surfaced that casts doubt on his role.


Fred McMullin, utility infielder. McMullin would not have been included in the fix had he not overheard the other players' conversations. He threatened to tell all if not included His impact as team scout may have had more impact on the fix, since he saw minimal playing time in the series. He died on November 21, 1952, at 61.


Charles "Swede" Risberg, shortstop. Risberg was Gandil's assistant. The last living player among the Black Sox, he lived on until October 13, 1975, his 81st birthday.


George "Buck" Weaver, third baseman. Weaver attended the initial meetings, and while he did not go in on the fix, he knew about it. Landis banished him on this basis, stating "Men associating with crooks and gamblers could expect no leniency." On January 13, 1922, Weaver unsuccessfully applied for reinstatement. Like Jackson, Weaver continued to profess his innocence to successive baseball commissioners to no effect. He died on January 31, 1956, at 65.


Claude "Lefty" Williams, pitcher. Went 0–3 with a 6.63 ERA for the series. Only one other pitcher in the entire history of baseball - George Frazier of the 1981 New York Yankees - has ever lost three games in one World Series. Williams died on November 4, 1959, at 66.

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