October 9th, 1919

The "Black Soxs" Lose the World Series

Few can name any players from the 1919 Cincinnati team that won the World Series, but many of heard of some of the losers.  "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, George "Buck" Weaver, and Claude "Lefty" Williams were just three of the eight men that either participated in or had knowledge of the "fix" to lose baseball's championship series.

Here are some questions and answers from this tidbit of history.

1. What was their reason for losing on purpose?  A ring of gamblers PAID them to lose.
2. Why did they take the money?  Well, there were a few reasons.  First, many players were unhappy with the fact that, although they were one of the best teams of the era, they were one of most underpaid.  Second, Charles Comiskey, the rich owner of the Chicago team, was constantly making and breaking promises to pay the players better.  Third, Comiskey had created a faction within the team by paying one group nearly $15,000/year and another group (the group that participated in the scandal) around $5,000 per year.  (As a side note, it is believed the higher paid players were more educated than the others and were able to negotiate better contracts.)
3. What was the amount of their reward for losing on purpose?  A few thousand dollars and a life-time suspension from major league baseball!

Yes, today is the day when the biggest scandal in sports history came to a head and the names of eight players forever were etched onto the "Wall of Shame."  But, what can we learn from this?  That money is the root of evil?  Well, maybe. 

Or that if you do wrong, you may be punished?  Yes, that's a good one too.  

Still, we can better learn from the actions of Charles Comiskey, the shrewd owner of one of the best teams in history.  We can learn that it if you break your promises and don't take care of those under your control, you may end up with a frown on your face. 

NOTE:  If you're really interested in knowing more about the 1919 World Series and the details surrounding the scandal, visit this link: 

http://www.chicagohs.org/history/blacksox.html

It's very interesting!

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