White Sox Play World Series
On October 1, 1919, the World Series began between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds won the Series five games to three.
Rumors persisted after the Series that it had been rigged, but no investigation took place until a 1920 game between the Cubs and the Phillies was also rumored to be rigged. Under a grand jury, White Sox players testified they had colluded with local gambling syndicates (possibly including Arnold Rothstein, though his involvement is unproven) to set up the fix.
C. Arnold "Chick" Gandil, Eddie Cicotte, Claude "Lefty" Williams, Charles "Swede" Risberg, Oscar "Happy" Felsch, Buck Weaver, Fred McMullin, and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, now known as the "Black Sox" were indicted on nine counts of conspiracy in October 1920. They were lambasted in the press but were found not guilty in August 1921 after all the records mysteriously disappeared during the trial.
Despite their acquittal, the players did not ultimately get away with it. Major League Baseball owners appointed Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first Commissioner of Baseball. He saw to it that all eight players were banned from professional baseball for life.
