Sports
The 1919 Black Sox scandal that nearly killed baseball
11 min
How gamblers conspired with players to throw the World Series, the trial and lifetime bans that followed, and how the sport clawed back its credibility.
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Show notes
Eddie Cicotte signaled the fix by hitting the leadoff batter in the back with a pitch.
Shoeless Joe Jackson accepted a five thousand dollar bribe despite hitting a record twelve hits.
Gamblers failed to pay the promised seventy to one hundred thousand dollars to the players.
Signed confessions from the grand jury investigation mysteriously vanished and were later found with a lawyer.
The jury acquitted all defendants in less than three hours before celebrating at dinner with them.
Commissioner Landis permanently banned eight players despite their legal acquittal to restore public trust.
In this episode
- 1Intro1 min
- 2The Pillow and the Signal3 min
- 3The Big Bankroll and the Eight3 min
- 4The Vanishing Evidence3 min
- 5The Iron Rule of Judge Landis2 min
- 6Outro1 min
Sources
- Black Sox Scandal of 1919 | Summary, Trial, Year, Players, World Series, & Facts | Britannica
- The Black Sox Scandal – Society for American Baseball Research
- How Did the 1919 Chicago White Sox Throw the World Series? | WTTW Chicago
- The Chicago ‘Black Sox’ Scandal that Rocked American Baseball | HistoryExtra
- Black Sox Scandal - Wikipedia
- Black Sox Scandal - BR Bullpen - Baseball-Reference.com
- Saving Baseball after the 1919 Black Sox Scandal - The Homestead Blog
- Trial starts for Chicago White Sox players accused of throwing 1919 World Series | July 5, 1921 | HISTORY
- Chicago Stories | The Black Sox Scandal | Season 4 | PBS
- What was the Black Sox Scandal? | Britannica
- Black Sox Scandal
- Eight Myths Out: The Black Sox Scandal – Society for American Baseball Research
- 100 years since 'Black Sox' World Series, new details challenge long-held story | PBS News
- 1956—My Story by Arnold Gandil
- An Account of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal and 1921 Trial
- Arnold Rothstein’s Saratoga Club & The 1919 World Series Scandal - New York Almanack
- New Light on an Old Scandal – Society for American Baseball Research
- The Black Sox Scandal | Chicago Stories | WTTW Chicago
- Which Manager Knew First That the 1919 World Series Was Fixed? – Society for American Baseball Research
- "Deep Dive" into Black Sox Scandal: Concluding Thoughts to My Black Sox Essays - Baseball History Comes Alive
- SABR Century: 1921 Black Sox Trial – Society for American Baseball Research
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