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Say It Aint So Joe

Say it aint so Joe


"To me, baseball is as honorable as any other business. It has to be, or it would not last a season… Crookedness and baseball do not mix… This year, 1919, is the greatest season of them all"(Asinof 6). This is Charles Comiskey speaking about baseball, unknowingly before eight of his own players would be part of the biggest scandal in baseball and sports history alike. The scandal took place during the World Series of 1919, and these eight players would be involved with one of the most unforgivable actions in sport, throwing a game. Not only were they throwing a game but they were throwing the World Series, a sacred event that was a staple in the American culture at this time. America watched as what seemed like one of the biggest upsets of the time, the Cincinnati Reds beating the Chicago White Sox, began to become a very real reality. What most Americans did not know was there was a series of events before the series that was leading to one of the most disgraceful moments in sports history.
Baseball had always been a game that most gamblers loved to bet on and watch. And in the 1860's to the bettors it was a perfect chance to get out and spend the afternoon watching Americas pastime with the benefits of gambling and betting. So as one could imagine it was not long before the gamblers were trying to make the game their own. It quickly got out of control, "an outfielder, settling under a crucial fly ball, would find himself toned by a nearby spectator, who might win a few hundred dollars if the ball was dropped"(Asinof 11). These were only extreme measures of ensuring a bet and were rare. More commonly used strategies for winning a bet was simply bribery. Players would take cash bribes to miss a crucial play or strike out with runners on base. During the time where salary was a major issue it was not hard to find willing ball players to take a bribe.

The White Sox were a perfect example of a team on the rocks. Although...