The Black Sox Scandal is a cold case, not a closed case.
When Eliot Asinof wrote his classic history about the fixing of the 1919 World Series, Eight Men Out, he told a dramatic story of undereducated and underpaid Chicago White Sox ballplayers, disgruntled by their low pay and poor treatment by team management, who fell prey to the wiles of double-crossing big-city gamblers offering them bribes to lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Shoeless Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, Eddie Cicotte, and the other Black Sox players were all banned from organized baseball for life. But the real story is a lot more complex.
We now have access to crucial information that changes what we thought we knew about “baseball’s darkest hour” — including rare film footage from that fateful fall classic, legal documents from the criminal and civil court proceedings, and accurate salary information for major-league players and teams. All of these new pieces to the Black Sox puzzle provide definitive answers to some old mysteries and raise other questions in their place.
However, the Black Sox Scandal isn’t the only story worth telling about the 1919 Chicago White Sox. The team roster included three future Hall of Famers, a 20-year-old spitballer who would go on to win 300 games in the minor leagues, and even a batboy who later became a celebrity with the “Murderers’ Row” New York Yankees in the 1920s.
All of their stories are included in Scandal on the South Side, which has full-life biographies on each of the 31 players who made an appearance for the White Sox in 1919, plus a comprehensive recap of Chicago’s pennant-winning season, the tainted World Series, and the sordid aftermath.
This book isn’t a rewriting of Eight Men Out, but it is the complete story of everyone associated with the 1919 Chicago White Sox. The Society for American Baseball Research invites you to learn more about the Black Sox Scandal and the infamous team at the center of it all.
With contributions from Adrian Marcewicz, Andy Sturgill, Brian Cooper, Brian McKenna, Brian Stevens, Bruce Allardice, Dan Lindner, Daniel Ginsburg, David Fleitz, David Fletcher, Gregory H. Wolf, Irv Goldfarb, Jack Morris, Jacob Pomrenke, James E. Elfers, James R. Nitz, Jim Sandoval, John Heeg, Kelly Boyer Sagert and Rod Nelson, Lyle Spatz, Paul Mittermeyer, Peter Morris, Richard Smiley, Rick Huhn, Russell Arent, Steve Cardullo, Steve Steinberg, Steven G. McPherson, and William F. Lamb.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction, by Jacob Pomrenke
2. Prologue: Offseason 1918-19, by Jacob Pomrenke
3. Joe Benz, by William F. Lamb
4. Eddie Cicotte, by Jim Sandoval
5. Eddie Collins, by Paul Mittermeyer
6. Shano Collins, by Andy Sturgill
7. Dave Danforth, by Steve Steinberg
8. Red Faber, by Brian Cooper
9. Season Timeline: April 1919
10. Happy Felsch, by James R. Nitz
11. Chick Gandil, by Daniel Ginsburg
12. Joe Jackson, by David Fleitz
13. Bill James, by Steven G. McPherson
14. Joe Jenkins, by Jacob Pomrenke
15. Dickey Kerr, by Adrian Marcewicz
16. Season Timeline: May 1919
17. Nemo Leibold, by Gregory H. Wolf
18. Grover Lowdermilk, by James E. Elfers
19. Byrd Lynn, by Russell Arent
20. Erskine Mayer, by Lyle Spatz
21. Hervey McClellan, by Jack Morris
22. Tom McGuire, by Jack Morris
23. Season Timeline: June 1919
24. Fred McMullin, by Jacob Pomrenke
25. Eddie Murphy, by John Heeg
26. Win Noyes, by Bruce Allardice
27. Pat Ragan, by Andy Sturgill
28. Swede Risberg, by Kelly Boyer Sagert and Rod Nelson
29. Charlie Robertson, by Jacob Pomrenke
30. Season Timeline: July 1919
31. Reb Russell, by Richard Smiley
32. Ray Schalk, by Brian Stevens
33. Frank Shellenback, by Brian McKenna
34. John Sullivan, by Jacob Pomrenke
35. Buck Weaver, by David Fletcher
36. Roy Wilkinson, by William F. Lamb
37. Season Timeline: August 1919
38. Lefty Williams, by Jacob Pomrenke
39. Owner: Charles Comiskey, by Irv Goldfarb
40. Manager: Kid Gleason, by Dan Lindner
41. General Manager: Harry Grabiner, by Steve Cardullo
42. Executive: Tip O’Neill, by Brian McKenna
43. Batboy: Eddie Bennett, by Peter Morris
44. Season Timeline: September 1919
45. Walking Off to the World Series, by Jacob Pomrenke
46. The 1919 World Series: A Recap, by Rick Huhn
47. The Pitching Depth Dilemma, by Jacob Pomrenke
48. 1919 American League Salaries, by Jacob Pomrenke
49. The Black Sox Scandal, by William F. Lamb
50. Epilogue: Offseason 1919-20, by Jacob Pomrenke