Reminiscing the Black Sox Scandal
In 1919, the scandal that almost cost baseball its integrity took place.
This happened when some of the best Chicago White Sox players sat down with baseball gamblers to fix the World Series, losing it to the Cincinnati Reds.
The controversial scandal led to the banning of the eight men.
Everyone who was involved in the scandal would have been rich if the word about it did not go out.
However, it was difficult to keep it a secret.
According to research, words came out because the gamblers needed to raise a large amount of money to assure the participation of the players.
When rumor was out, it was difficult to keep everything under control.
Who were involved? Names of the players who were involved in the scandal surfaced.
Although not confirmed, speculations pointed Arnold Gandil as the mastermind.
Some said he contacted a gambler and initiated the possibility of the fix.
Other names included in the Black Sox scandal were Eddie Cicotte, Claude Williams, George Weaver, Charles Risberg, Fred McMullin, and Joe Jackson.
It was not difficult to lure the other players because of the lucrative offer.
It would make them all rich in an instant.
However, the clarity and extent of their participation is still hazy.
There were questions about the involvement of Joe Jackson, who was one of the most popular players during that time.
Decades after the scandal, the Black Sox said that Jackson was never present in any of their meetings to discuss the fix.
It was also a sad ending for the career of Buck Weaver, who did not have direct participation to the scandal.
The others asked him to take part but he never agreed to it.
His only fault was knowing about the scam and not telling the league about it.
What happened next? After the banning, baseball became tough to the guys.
The banning was not only from the league but also from the sport in general.
The other players attempted to redeem their careers.
However, there were threats that those who will have anything to do with them concerning the sport can forget about baseball for the rest of their life.
It was also rough for the Chicago White Sox fans.
From a strong team, their team became one of the weaklings.
They even experienced one of the longest World Series droughts, 1917-2005.
This gave birth to the Curse of the Black Sox.
It was also a difficult time for baseball and baseball fans.
The scandal has broken the trust they have for the game.
It took a while before the sport gain the confidence of its fans back.
The Black Sox scandal is probably one of the lowest points in the history of baseball.
What started to be an appealing endeavor for those who want to get rich easily has caused them their careers as well as the faith of the fans on the sport.