The Black Sox Scandal - Assignment Example

s Analysis of the Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal is a well-known issue that centered on the Chicago White Sox who lost a match to Cincinnati Reds during the 1919 World Series. After the match, eight of the players from White Sox were accused of match-fixing and losing the match after getting money from gamblers. The incident was dubbed as The Black Sox Scandal, wordplay on the White Sox’ name, whose reputation suffered badly as a result of the scandal and led to a permanent ban being imposed on the 8 players from the said club (Aisinof 1968). The Black Sox Scandal reflected some of the shady dealings that go on behind the scenes, which also had a great deal to do with the players’ background and the environment that may have been the reason that reinforced these behaviors in the players. The essay would delve in to the personas associated with the baseball players and role played by the collective idea of the “American Dream” that may have motivated and have somehow triggered the vicious scandals which revealed the involvement of many prominent figures like Arnold Rothstein and Charles Comiskey. Even in the past most of the baseball players came from humble backgrounds and as a matter of fact there are many baseball players who have told their stories of ‘upward mobility’, which shows how they rose from rags to riches after becoming a part of the sport (Elias 2001, p. 141). Baseball embodied the national spirit for the masses, not just because it was a fun sport and a physically demanding activity that had many positive effects on the players, but also because this sport was able to convene people from diverse backgrounds on to one platform to cheer for their teams. Especially for immigrant families, baseball served as a great way to become involved in the community. As a matter of fact, many of the distinguished baseball were actually immigrants and were not just hailed as ‘National Heroes’, but they were also known to represent entire ethnic groups, to which they belonged. Therefore, baseball was also a method for the minorities to become involved in the society and operate as one team. However, since immigrant families usually were not financially stable and many people used baseball as away to earn a living not by playing, but by betting their money on their teams. The latter reason was the reason behind baseball attracting the interests of many gangsters and gamblers, and this happened way before 1919 scandal came to light. Indeed the game changed a great deal, not just in terms of safety for the players, but the way it was played in the Pre-Civil War, Aisinof points out that the game truly changed for the ‘Bettor’. Before, baseball was just a recreational sport and often led bets in jest for their favorite clubs. However when gamblers began to see the lucrative potential of this activity, there was a need to organize the sport greatly and this why club owners began to hold baseball world series as an improved showcasing of the sport. So whenever there was a game, there were many bookers, who used to place bets on the best teams and were able to make or lose a huge chunk of cash through their bets. Therefore, this subsequently increased the pressure on club owners to win and be on a constant look-out for talented players. It was noticed that young and sturdy men from lower class backgrounds were more adept at hitting the ball and running, and were also more willing to give it their full potential when they are paid well. (Linder 2010) Additionally, in that era very little regard was given to equality in opportunities for both the rich and poor, many of these poor baseball players were unable to afford a decent education. Their lack of education made them street smart, but at the same time made them more amenable by the club owners who could use their lack awareness and education to dupe them into unfair contracts and also lure them with the promise of a better future through the sport. This is why for the club owners, the players turned in to an investment to get the club as many easy wins as they could, whereas for the players, baseball was believed to be a way to get away from the afflictions of poverty and achieve the most sought after collective goal called the “American Dream”. (Elias 2001) Baseball was a sport that was loved by immigrant workers, who had seen the greatest of hardships and were often living below the poverty line. This is why many players often gave in to the temptation of selling themselves out to gamblers and changed the outcome to earn a quick buck. Many called this the demise of ‘Gentlemanliness’ in the sport and the sport was smeared with corruption cases. As the number of corruption scandals continued to surface, most of the baseball players were often seen as gangsters and were also involved with gangs as well. As a matter of fact even within the teams, the teams were sub-divided into two gangs or cliques per se. They were heavily divided according to their races and as they came from lower-middle class background, it was normal for them to have affiliations with gangs or even established gangs of their own. Therefore, even researchers have identified a strong link between baseball and the working class population, which allowed many players to rise to national and international recognition (Elias 2001, p. 141). Moreover, even though baseball paved way for realization of long-term goals, but despite the major efforts they were putting in winning the games, they were still being paid less than what was reasonable. This entire incident is recorded by Eliot Aisinof (1968), p. 14 in his book, which revealed some of the unfair salaries and settlements that the players were given and the extent of resentment that each player experienced while they played for the same team. The end of the war also fuelled their demands. The club owners had decided to cut down the salaries of the players; a move that had caused many of these players to already go on a strike. Around this time, one of the players in White Sox called Chick Gandil, who was later dubbed as the ‘ringleader’ for the Black Sox Scandal, was approached by Sport Sullivan, who convinced Gandil to become a part of the fix that he was planning and promised high returns in compensation. However, Gandil alone was not enough to pull off something so huge and soon Gandil began helping Sullivan to help find other players, who might be interested in bringing this plan to fruition. In order to understand each player’s motivation to acquiesce to the deal, it is important to understand their role in the team that led to this decision. As mentioned earlier, the salaries of each player was being cut due to the funding and this lead to great resentment amongst players. Aisinof recounts that Gandil played on Cicotte, the number 1 White Sox pitcher’s insecurities which revolved around his mortgages that he had to pay for farm he had bought for his family. As all the players on the team had their own financial woes to tackle and once Cicotte joined in on the scheme it was only a matter of time until everyone else followed suit. Moreover, their grievances against their club owner simply fuelled their bitterness for a sport that had given them a prospect. Hence, each of the players felt wronged by the contracts that offered them low pay and often the club made it clear that the players were vastly replaceable and they had no choice, but to remain with the clubs. Since it is an established fact that most of the players not just came from very humble backgrounds and around that time education was merely a luxury that most of them could not afford, which made their move away from baseball out of question, despite the unfair contract terms that they were held under. Moreover, Comiskey often made promises that he couldn’t keep and was responsible for treating their really badly, as baseball was not just a fun-filled sport, but just a means for club owners to rake in more money with each win. Charles Comiskey was another rags-to-riches story, who made his fortune by starting out as a pitcher and ended up as a manager for many teams, until he decided to own a baseball club. He was the owner of the club Chicago White Sox and is often blamed for making the club finalize the fix with Sullivan. Charles Comiskey was known for putting his team through some of the most awful working conditions. Even though, his club had the best of players, but he refused to pay a fair salary to them. One of the biggest examples of his unfair attitude towards the players was seen in his dealing with Cicotte, who he promised he would give a handsome bonus if he won 30 games. However, after 27 games, Comiskey allegedly benched him and prevented him from taking part in following matches, under the pretext that he wanted him to rest until the World Series. (Cook 2001) Although, Comiskey had also served as a player in the major leagues, he was still unable to understand the hardships faced by each of the players. He tried saving money by not having the uniforms laundered and the team protested by wearing the same dirty uniform for weeks. This caused the club to have another reputation besides being the best, which was that they had the filthiest of uniforms (Hornbaker 2013). With the war, the attitude got even worse and the players were treated very inhumanly. All of this transpired under the supervision of Comiskey and only when rumors started going around about an alleged fix that is when Comiskey came forth with prize money of $20,000 for the person who found out substantial amount of evidences of a fix. (Ginsburg 2004, p. 130) These are the circumstances that led up to the deal between the white sox and Sport Sullivan, which lead to the former approaching Arnold Rothstein, a celebrated gangster for financial backing to pay off the team. Arnold Rothstein was a famous gambler, who had amassed a huge amount of wealth through unscrupulous means and is often addressed as the black sheep of the family. Unlike the White Sox team, Rothstein came from an affluent family and was able to afford a decent education, but dropped out of school because the kind of skills Rothstein had was not taught in classrooms. He was known to be exceptionally good at math and was known for making sound judgments when it came to betting. In a matter of time, Rothstein managed to make a fortune that earned him the respect of both millionaires and gamblers of the then-society. Around the time when tension was brewing amongst the White Sox team members, Rothstein had been running many gambling houses, bars and restaurants that raked in millions for him. Therefore, it was understandable why many bookmakers, including Sullivan began to approach him for financial backing. Out of all the propositions, Rothstein ended up paying $100,000 to Sullivan that led to the fix being substantiated. However, when the fix was revealed, there were many deceptions such as confessions from the pitcher Cicotte, Rothstein ended up testifying in his favor and caused Abe Attell, his associate, to become indicted in the trial, while he was acquitted. The trials underlined the strong elements of power play and corruption by the superiors that caused their acquittal and even got scapegoats like Attell serving lengthy sentences for the fix. As mentioned earlier, Rothstein escaped punishment from the court despite his involvement and so did Comiskey, who despite his unfair treatment of the players, managed to get away from this scandal untarnished. His reputation remained unmarred to the point that he was even featured in the Baseball Hall of Fame by the old timers’ committee (Cohen 2012). On the other hand, the 8 players were acquitted, but a life-time ban was imposed on them that barred them from ever taking part in any major league championship. This demonstrated a major lopsided judgment on part of the Baseball committees, who not only prevented something like this from happening in the first place, but they were also very biased in handing down the appropriate punishment for all the parties involved and carrying out a meticulous investigation in to the 1919 world series Scandal. This is why, great pitchers like Cicotte and other great players involved in the scandal from also being included in the Hall of Fame, despite their brilliant performances on the pitch. (Cohen 2012) This scandal not only brought the role of gangster and gambling to the surface, but also shed light on the plight of baseball players. In defense of their decision, the unreasonable attitude of the management and unfair pay just drove them in to that direction that destroyed their careers. However, the ones with the money and important connection managed to escape public scrutiny. The media also had a major role in publicizing and sensationalizing the scandal by calling the team Black Sox from White. This was a major demotion for the team members and immediately portrays them in a negative light for selling themselves and the sport out. In the process some of the big names that played a pivotal role are never mentioned. Even many of the players on the team could neither read nor write, which is in line with the customs of the then-societies, where education was not that common. (Hornbaker 2013) It was easy for the media to dump the blame on the team for the scandal, but what they do not know is that the team members were also without any options. Coming from humble background and not having enough to make ends meet was one of the first motivations that triggered the decision. Furthermore, since the player barely had any real education, which made it all the more easy for people to influence them and lure them in with a promise of better returns. The incident also sheds light on the fact that the way people see sports have also changed and even the dynamics involved in arranging sporting events is entirely focused on a profit motive. The sport has truly changed for the better and even the society now comes with a lot more opportunities than it did in the past for people from such humble backgrounds. Not only are the players more, but now they can easily prevent being exploited by the managements. Therefore, the scandal had many sides to it, which shows that the White Sox team was not completely the one at fault in the incident and should not be portrayed in a negative light. There were many societal factors and people in powerful positions that in a way set off the chain of events that eventually materialized in to the 1919 Fix. Even though, morally it can be argued that the team was at fault for giving in to the deal, but from a technical perspective, it was also the external factors that deserve equal amount of blame in the fix. Therefore, it was important to give them a sentence that was fair to them and won’t completely destroy their careers as ballplayers. Works Cited Aisinof, Elliot. Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series. New York: Henry Holt. 1963. Cohen, Robert W. Baseball’s Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame? New York: Cordoza Publishing. 2012. Cook, William A. The 1919 World Series: What really happened? New York: McFarland. 2001. Elias, Robert. Baseball and the American Dream: Race, Class, Gender, and the National Pastime. New York: M.E. Sharpe. 2001. Ginsburg, Daniel E. The Fix is In: A History of Baseball Gambling and Game Fixing Scandals. New York: McFarland. 2004. Hornbaker, Tim. Turning Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey. New York: Skyhorse Publishing Inc. 2013. Linder, Douglas. The Black Sox Trial: An Account. Black Sox Scandal Research Committee. Web. Retrieved: November 23, 2014. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/blacksox/blacksoxaccount.html. 2010 Read More