FEATURED ESSAYS 1. Shoeless Joe And The Black Sox Sc... 2. Shoeless Joe- Baseball Is Rays 3. Shoeless Joe Jackson 4. Russian Bank Scandal 5. Shoeless Joe 6. Triumph Over Difficulties 7. Grant Scandals 8. Eight Men Out 9. A Time To Step Down 10. Medea Vs. Hedda Gabbler 11. Field Of Dreams 12. The Symbol Of Black In "The Cruci... 13. The Symbol Of Black In "The Cruci... 14. All The Presidents Men

Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox Scandal


     After winning the 1906 World Series, the Chicago White Sox were not
able to maintain their position of number one.  They remained in the middle
of the American League until 1915 when a new manager, Clarence Rowland and
a new star, Joe Jackson, joined the team.  Joe Jackson was a star from
South Carolina who was known as "Shoeless" Joe because of his poverty-
stricken childhood.  Joe Jackson was dubbed "The finest natural hitter in
the history of the game."  In 1917 the White Sox won one hundred games in
the regular season and went on to defeat the New York Giants in the World
Series four games to two.  Two years later the Sox were in the World Series
thanks to their two twenty game winners, Eddie Cicotte and Clause Williams.
The White Sox lost the best-of-nine series five games to three.  A reporter
for the Cincinnati Tribune thought something was wrong when he found out
that someone had placed a two million dollar bet on the underdog Reds.  One
year later, in September 1920, Jackson, Cicotte and Wilson signed
confessions to receiving five thousand dollars to throw the World Series. 
Before the trial for Jackson, Cicotte and Wilson, there was a turnover in
the Illinois State Attorney's Office and all the confessions mysteriously
disappeared.  The three baseball players then said they didn't sign the
confessions so the case was dropped.  The new commissioner for Major League
Baseball was Kenesaw Mountain Landis and he believed three players were
guilty.  He also believed they weren't the only ones on the team that threw
the series.  Kenesaw Mountain Landis kicked seven players from the White
Sox team of 1919 out of Major League Baseball for life. Eddie Cicotte,
Chick Gandil, Clause Williams, Happy Felsch, Swede Risberg, Fred McMullin
and Joe Jackson were suspended for accepting a bribe to throw a series.
Eight players were actually suspended for life but only seven took bribes. 
Buck Weaver, the eighth player who was suspended did not take money to
throw the series.  He was suspended because he knew what was going on but
did not say anything.  Even though Joe Jackson was accused of throwing the
World Series he had the highest batting average in the series which was .
375.  He had no errors, twelve hits and the series only homerun. Do those
statistics sound like "Shoeless" Joe Jackson threw the series. This turned
out to be the greatest fix in the history of baseball.