The Black Sox Scandal was a game-fixing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for payment from a gambling syndicate, possibly led by organized crime figure Arnold Rothstein. There is strong evidence both for and against Rothstein's involvement; however, there is no conclusive indication that the syndicate's actions were directed by or involved organized crime.
In response to the scandal, the National Baseball Commission was dissolved and Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed to be the first commissioner of baseball, 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. In 2025, Commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated the Black Sox and several other now-deceased players.
Background Tension in the clubhouse and Charles Comiskey
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.
The conspiracy
On September 18, 1919, White Sox player Chick Gandil met with Joe "Sport" Sullivan, a Boston bookmaker, at the Hotel Buckminster near Fenway Park. The two men discussed plans to throw their upcoming series with the Cincinnati Reds for $80,000 ($1,575,000 in September 2025). Two days later, a meeting of White Sox players—including those committed to going ahead with the fix and those just ready to listen to the proposal—took place in Gandil's room at the Ansonia Hotel in New York City. Buck Weaver, the team's third baseman, was the only player to attend the meetings who did not receive money; nevertheless, he was later banned along with the other seven Black Sox for knowing about the fix but not reporting it.
Although he hardly played in the series, utility infielder Fred McMullin heard about the fix and threatened to report the others unless he was in on the payoff. As a small coincidence, McMullin was a former teammate of retired player William "Sleepy Bill" Burns, who had a minor role in the fix. Both had played for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), and Burns had previously pitched for the White Sox in 1909 and 1910. Star outfielder "Shoeless Joe" Jackson was mentioned as a participant but did not attend the meetings, and his involvement remains disputed.
The scheme got an unexpected boost when the straitlaced Faber could not pitch due to getting sick with the flu. Years later, Schalk said the fix would not have happened if Faber had been available. According to Schalk, since Faber was the ace of the staff, he would almost certainly have gotten starts that went instead to two of the alleged conspirators, pitchers Eddie "Knuckles" Cicotte and Lefty Williams.
Conduct of the World Series
On October 1, the day of Game One, there were rumors amongst gamblers that the World Series was fixed, and a sudden influx of money being bet on Cincinnati caused the odds against them to fall rapidly. These rumors also reached the press box where several correspondents, including Hugh Fullerton of the Chicago Herald and Examiner and ex-player and manager Christy Mathewson, resolved to compare notes on any plays and players that they felt were questionable. However, most fans and observers were taking the series at face value. On October 2, the Philadelphia Bulletin published a poem which would quickly prove to be ironic:
Still, it really doesn't matter, After all, who wins the flag. Good clean sport is what we're after, And we aim to make our brag To each near or distant nation Whereon shines the sporting sun That of all our games gymnastic Base ball is the cleanest one!
After throwing a strike with his first pitch of the Series, Cicotte's second pitch struck Cincinnati leadoff hitter Morrie Rath in the back, delivering a pre-arranged signal confirming the players' willingness to go through with the fix. In the fourth inning, Cicotte made a bad throw to Swede Risberg at second base. Sportswriters found the unsuccessful double play to be suspicious.
Williams lost three games, a Series record. Kerr, a rookie who was not part of the fix, won both of his starts. However, the gamblers were now reneging on their promised progress payments (to be paid after each game lost), claiming that all the money was let out on bets and was in the hands of the bookmakers. After Game Five, angry about the non-payment of promised money, the players involved in the fix attempted to doublecross the gamblers and won Games Six and Seven of the best-of-nine Series. Before Game Eight, threats of violence were made on the gamblers' behalf against players and family members. Williams started Game Eight but gave up four straight one-out hits for three runs before manager Kid Gleason relieved him. The White Sox lost Game Eight (and the series) on October 9, 1919. Besides Weaver, the players involved in the scandal received $5,000 each () or more, with Gandil taking $35,000 ().
Fallout Grand jury (1920) Rumors of the fix dogged the White Sox throughout the 1920 season as they battled the Cleveland Indians for the American League pennant, and stories of corruption touched players on other clubs as well. At last, in September 1920, a grand jury was convened to investigate; Cicotte confessed to his participation in the fix to the grand jury on September 28.
On the eve of their final season series, the White Sox were in a virtual tie for first place with the Indians. The Sox would need to win all three of their remaining games and then hope for Cleveland to stumble, as the Indians had more games left to play than the Sox. Despite the season being on the line, Comiskey suspended the seven White Sox still in the majors (Gandil had not returned to the team in 1920 and was playing semi-pro ball). He later said he had no choice but to suspend them, even though this action likely cost the Sox any chance of winning a second pennant. The Sox lost two of the three games in the final series against the St. Louis Browns and finished in second place, two games behind the Indians, who went on to win the 1920 World Series.
The grand jury issued its decision on October 22, 1920, and eight players and five gamblers were implicated. The indictments included nine counts of conspiracy to defraud. The ten players not implicated in the scandal, as well as manager Kid Gleason, were each given $1,500 bonus checks () by Comiskey in October 1920, the amount equaling the difference between the winners' and losers' share for participation in the 1919 Series.
Trial (1921)
The trial commenced in Chicago on June 27, 1921, but was delayed by Judge Hugo Friend because two defendants, Ben Franklin and Carl Zork, claimed to be ill. Right fielder Shano Collins was named as the wronged party in the indictments, accusing his corrupt teammates of having cost him $1,784 as a result of the scandal. Before the trial, key evidence went missing from the Cook County courthouse, including the signed confessions of Cicotte and Jackson, who subsequently recanted their confessions. Some years later, the missing confessions reappeared in the possession of Comiskey's lawyer.
On July 1, the prosecution announced that Burns, who was under indictment for his part in the scandal, had turned state's evidence and would testify. During jury selection on July 11, several members of the current White Sox team, including Gleason, visited the courthouse, chatting and shaking hands with the indicted ex-players; at one point they even tickled Weaver, who was known to be quite ticklish. Jury selection took several days, but on July 15 twelve jurors were finally empaneled in the case.
Trial testimony began on July 18, when prosecutor Charles Gorman outlined the evidence he planned to present against the defendants. Here's a contemporaneous description from The New York Times: The spectators added to the bleacher appearance of the courtroom, for most of them sweltered in shirtsleeves, and collars were few. Scores of small boys jammed their way into the seats, and as Mr. Gorman told of the alleged sell-out, they repeatedly looked at each other in awe, remarking under their breaths: 'What do you think of that?' or 'Well, I'll be darned.' Comiskey was then called to the stand, and became so agitated with questions being posed by the defense that he rose from the witness chair and shook his fist at the defendants' counsel, Ben Short.
The most explosive testimony began the following day, July 19, when Burns admitted that members of the White Sox had intentionally fixed the 1919 Series; Burns mentioned the involvement of organized crime figure Arnold Rothstein, among others, and testified that Cicotte had threatened to throw the ball clear out of the park if needed to lose a game. After additional testimony and evidence, on July 28 the defense rested and the case went to the jury. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning verdicts of not guilty on all charges for all of the accused players.
Judge Landis appointed Commissioner, bans all eight players (1921)
Long before the scandal broke, many of baseball's owners had nursed longstanding grievances with the way the game was then governed by the National Baseball Commission. The Black Sox scandal and the damage it caused to the game's reputation gave owners the resolve to make significant changes to the governance of the sport. Their original plan was to appoint the widely respected federal judge and noted baseball fan Kenesaw Mountain Landis to head a reformed three-member commission comprising men unconnected to baseball. However, Landis made it clear to the owners that he would accept only an appointment as the game's sole commissioner, and even then only on the condition that he be granted essentially unchecked power over the sport. Desperate to clean up the game's image, the owners agreed to his terms and vested him with virtually unlimited authority over everyone in the major and minor leagues. It was controversial at the time for MLB to move toward a single commissioner with sole governance on behalf of the owners.