Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-03-13
TRIAL Of 8 SOX
BASE BALL STARS
BEGINS MONDAY
Men Are Charged With
Throwing" Games Dur
ing the 1919 World Series
and With Accepting Brides

Chicago, March l2.-Chicago
White Sox baseball players charged
with throwing the 1919 world Sc
ries to the Cincinnati Reds and
with accepting brides ranging as
high as $4,000 to make Elisplays
deliberately, will go on trial here
Monday in a case which sets both
legal and baseball precedents.
The case is the first of its kind
in modern major league history to
reach the courts. Besides deciding
whether the 1919 world series was
played on the square. it is expected
TO settle various legal points in
connection with baseball.
The plea of the defendants is ex-
pected to be not guilty despite con-
fessions to receiving brides which
were made by three of the players
in testifying before the grand jury.
The White Sox players indicted
in connection with the alleged con-
spiracy We're Edward V. Cicotte,
pitcher, who lost two games and
won one in the series Claude Will
liams, pitcher who lost three
games; Joe Jackson, outfielder;
Oscar Felsch, outfielder; Charles
A. Risberg, shortstDp; Buck Weav-
err, third baseman; Chick Gandil,
first baseman, and Fred McMullin,
utility infielder.
All Five Furnished Bond.
All have furnished bond and are
expected to be present when the
trial begins, except Gandil 1t is
doubtful whether he will appear.
Rachel Brown and Joseph j..
Sullivan of Boston: Hal Chase.
former major leagne star, and Abe
Attell, formerly world. champion
featherweight pugilist,. were in
dicted as the men who arranged
the deal to throw the series Brown
and Sullivan have promised to be
present at the trial. Attell sand
Chase are not expected.
The defense has, announced that
It will press every legal technical
ity and take advantage of every
process of law in it's attempt to
exonerate the players. For this
reason the case is expected to es-
tablish precedent in several in
stances. Besides settling the fair
ness of the world series of 1919, it
will decide whether accepting a
bride to throw a baseball game
is a felony under Illinois law and
whether the control of a baseball
club over its players extends after
the players contracts have termi-
mated at the end of the regular
playing whether the play
ers actually are responsible to their
owners in a post season series.
Contention OF Defense.
Another question will Abe wheth,
er throwing a baseball game is
merely a breach of civil contract
or Is felony punishable under II
nois criminal laws. In connection
with this point, a judge on the Pa
cafic coast in the trial of minor
league players there ruled that
game throwing was only breach
of civil contract,
The chief contention of the de-
Tense in pleading the innocence of
the players will be that they never
actually, took part in conspiracy.
The defense has announced that
it will contend that none of them
actually threw a. game and that
the Cincinnati, Reds won the 1919
series on the square.
Cicotte, Williams and Jackson.
who confessed to the jury that
they received hrihes, are expected
to maintain that although they
took the money they played their
best. The other men are expected
to contend that they never entered
into the conspiracy, neither accept
ing money nor deliberately making
errors.
The state, ON the other hand,