202. c.1910’s Happy Felsch Original Type 1 News Service Photo by Charles Conlon (PSA/DNA) MINIMUM BID: $100
won, 9-1, and inside observers began to question if the White Sox were playing their best. By the end of Game Two, in which Lefty Williams recorded a career-high six walks and lost 4-2, suspicions were growing. In the clubhouse, catcher Ray Schalk reportedly confronted Williams and accused him of deliberately crossing up his signals. Off the field, the gamblers were also crossing up the White Sox as Abe Attell refused to pay off the players as promised. When the Sox surprisingly won Game Three, 3-0 behind rookie left-hander Dickey Kerr, Burns and Maharg lost all of the money they had put down on bets and left Chicago empty-handed. Meanwhile, another group of Iowa-based gamblers led by David Zelcer raised money to keep the fix going. With a new influx of cash, the White Sox fixers continued to flounder, with Cicotte losing Game Four 2-0, thanks to two defensive misplays of his own, and Williams falling 5-0 in Game Five. Because it was an experimental best-of-nine format, the Reds still needed to win one more game to clinch the championship. The White Sox rallied to win Game Six (5-4 in 10 innings) and Game Seven (4-1). Back home at Comiskey Park for Game Eight, Williams didn’t last past the first inning in a 10-5 shellacking. THE COURTROOM After the World Series, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey announced a large reward for any information related to the fix rumors. He also hired a local detective firm to spy on his own players at their offseason homes. But he quietly squashed any
thought of breaking up his team, instead offering new contracts for 1920, along with substantial raises, to the World Series conspirators. American League president Ban Johnson, who had been feuding with Comiskey, led a private investigation in an effort to take down his rival. Johnson persuaded a Chicago judge to empanel a grand jury to look into baseball’s gambling problems. The grand jury brought to light new accusations of game-fixing all over baseball, including the likelihood that the White Sox had intentionally lost up to a dozen games during the 1920 pennant race, too. With the pressure mounting, Eddie Cicotte, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Lefty Williams all went to the grand jury to confess their involvement. The eight White Sox players and several gamblers were charged with conspiracy to defraud their teammates and fans who had bet on them. In the summer of 1921, the players and gamblers gathered for a criminal trial in Chicago. The trial was marked by grandstanding
203. c.1910’s Buck Weaver Original Type 1 News Service Photo by Charles Conlon (PSA/DNA) MINIMUM BID: $200
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