The Washington times., 1933-12-28
SIX PLAYERS
PLACED ON
BLACKLIST

SS0S UPP0" UUtS It A'|0 "o'I"'S
ton Times.
By GARRY SCHUMACHER
Thirty pieces of silver, the price
Of treachery and betrayal, clinked
hollowly; an insidiouS, persuasive
voice tempted with whispers-and
greed threw away a baseball herl-
tage!
It is the most sordid chapter
fn the annals of baseball, the
story Of how the White Sox be.
came Black, how the cupidity and
covetousness of a few conniving,
grasping wretches challenged the
integrity of the game, betrayed
the trust and loyalty Of a million
fans, wrecked their own lives and
ruined forever the reputation OF
the greatest team of all time.
The White Sox of 1919 were
that and would rate it now, the
No. / team of baseball history,
had not a few paltry dollars,
hidden under a pillow in a Gin
einnati hotel room, persuaded six
of their members to value honor
less. Mechanically flawless, know
ing and clever beyond comparl-
son, powerful at the plate, skillful
in the field, strong on the mound,
fast on the baSes-they were the
nearest thing to the invincible
ball team anyone has ever seen.
Guilt Long Hidden
So good were they, so excep-
tional their skill, that they could
throw a world series, deliberately
lose it, and not reveal their
dishonesty. A quarter Of a mil
lion people saw them do it, it
happened under the eyes OF all
the baseball experts in the coun'
try, yet it wasn't until a year
later that the scandal "broke'" ;"
that the ugly, sordid details were
brought into the light. -.
It was inevitable that their guilt
would be revealed. Like most con-
spiracies, too many people were
involved, too many persons were
sin the know" It was a secret
that couldn't be kept. The whis-
pers spread. It's not to the credit
of the baseball people that they
ignored them as long as 1t was
possible. But finally the talk be.
came so persistent, that Official
action had to be taken. The en-
suing investigation revealed the
facts-facts that rocked the base
ball structure to it's very tounda-
tions.
AS a result seven Of the sox
were blacklisted, barred from or
ganized baseball. One OF them,
"Buck" Weaver, it is admitted
generally now, had no part IN the
conspiracy, but his judges con-
tended that he knew about it and
was an accessory because ne
didn't Immediately disclose II TO
his superiors. The others were
Eddie Cicotte, Claude Williams
"Chick' Gandil, "Swede" Risberg,
"TIap" Felsch and Joe Jackson.
Six Players in Plot
incidentally, as nothing else,
the fact that it was necessary to
enlist six players in the plot, test
Rfies to the strength and the power
of the White Sox team. T h e
gambling clique, headed, 1t has
always been alleged, by the late
Arnold Rothstein. that was the
moving spirit behind the conspir-
acy. knew that one Of two players
couldn't swing the deal; more than
half the team was needed.
The unholy bargain was con
summated at Redland Field on
The Afternoon Of october l, in
fne first game OF the title series
with the Cincinnati Reds, GOOD
Natinoal League pennant winner
but actually not in the same
class with the Sox. The Reds
won, 9 to up to that time the
soundest world series licking on
record.
Yet so skillful, clever, mechani-
cally perfect was this perform
ance of the conspirators that
none who saw it could guess that
It was a "boat race" the modern
day guessers to the contrary
Eddie Cicotte, of course. was the
man around whom the plot re-
Volved. He was hit hard. BuC
the natural thought was that he
had experienced an off-day.
Signs Not Observed
There were signs, of course,
tips, but nobody could read them.
Only in the light Of later dis
closures can their significance be
grasped.
inning strategy of kid" Glea-
son, the White Sox manager.
After John "Shano~ Collins
had opened the game with a
single, the Kid" ordered Eddie
Collins to sacrifice. There can
be only one explanation for that.
He had seen Cicotte warm up,
had the word from Ray Schalk.
Cicotte had warmed up RIGHT.
He had the. stuff. One, two
runs would be enough to win
for him. Hence the sacrifice,
the play for one run. So he
could have pitched a better
game had he so desired.
There was more revealing
evidence in the fourth, when
the Reds piled up five runs.
Four successive batters hit the
first pitched ball for base hits,
and Cicotte himself cut off a
throw to the plate that might
have retired the side without