Papers Detailing Black Sox Scandal Sold To History Museum For $100,000

BURR RIDGE, Ill. (AP)– The Chicago History Museum won a collection of rare documents, letters and memos detailing the Black Sox scandal at an auction that ended Thursday. The museum offered about $100,000 for the collection, topping 35 other bids, said suburban Chicago auctioneer Mastro Auctions. Experts say the papers offer insights about the Chicago White Sox and their notorious alleged actions in a betting scandal during the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds that was one of the darkest events in baseball history.

The documents shed light on the White Sox players, then-owner Charles Comiskey and the formative years of professional baseball, said Peter Alter, a curator at the Chicago History Museum.

“What we really need to do is dig through it and start organizing it,” he said.

The museum will eventually display some of the documents and make the collection available for inspection by researchers, officials said.

The existence of the thousands of pages of material was previously unknown. Authorities aren’t sure how they ended up packaged together or where they might have been over the past eight decades.

Mastro Auctions declined to reveal the identity of the two sellers and said they likely purchased the box without knowing exactly what was inside.

The papers include documents from the 1921 criminal trial against eight White Sox players accused of throwing the Series as part of a gambling scandal. They also include documents from a 1924 lawsuit in which some of the players sued the Chicago franchise for back pay.

The White Sox players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, were acquitted, but all were permanently banned from the game by the first commissioner of baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., will receive photocopies of the documents, Mastro Auctions said.

Led by Jackson, pitcher Eddie Cicotte and Hall of Fame second baseman Eddie Collins, the White Sox were considered one of baseball’s greatest teams to that point. They were a divided bunch, however, with many players angry at tightfisted owner Comiskey. That made them ripe targets for opportunistic gamblers looking for a Series lock — or so the story goes.
Professional gamblers Arnold Rothstein and Joe “Sport” Sullivan headed a group of shady characters that hatched the scheme to fix the Series. First baseman Chick Gandil took charge for the White Sox, asking for money up front and recruiting teammates — including Cicotte and another star pitcher, Lefty Williams.

When Cicotte hit Reds leadoff batter Morrie Rath with his second pitch in Game 1, it was a signal to bettors: The fix was in.

The White Sox opened as heavy favorites before the odds dropped. With rumors swirling, they lost the best-of-nine Series in eight games. In the press box, sports writers such as Hugh Fullerton circled suspicious plays on their scorecards.

The plot was soon exposed and, within a year, a grand jury was investigating. Jackson, Cicotte, Gandil and Williams were among the eight players indicted and then suspended by Comiskey. In June 1921 the players were found innocent in court — but not by baseball. Landis, hired to clean up the game, barred all eight for life.

As he left the courthouse one day, Jackson encountered a youngster. According to the Chicago Herald and Examiner, the boy tugged at Jackson’s sleeve and uttered a famous phrase.

” Say it ain’t so, Joe,” the boy pleaded. “Say it ain’t so.”

The Black Sox scandal left a permanent scar and inspired Eliot Asinof’s 1963 book “Eight Men Out,” which was made into a 1988 movie. Since Landis’ ruling, baseball has consistently taken a hard line against gambling — most notably the lifetime ban of career hits leader Pete Rose. Jackson, with a .356 career batting average that ranks third in baseball history, is not in the Hall of Fame.

The White Sox, who had won the 1917 World Series, didn’t win another championship until 2005.

News by Company & Category

Featured Auctions

(*) Indicates Auction in Progress
(*) JG Autographs: May 9 - May 30
(*) Pristine Auction: May 24 - May 30
(*) Steve Novella: May 26 - May 30
(*) Auction of Champions: May 25 - May 31
(*) Goldin: May 5 - May 31
(*) University Archives: May 12 - May 31
(*) Goldin: May 23 - June 1
(*) NBA Auctions: May 26 - June 1
(*) Pristine Auction: May 26 - June 1
(*) Sirius Sports Cards: May 22 - June 1
(*) Gotta Have It Rock & Roll: May 17 - June 2
(*) Iconic Auctions: May 29 - June 3
(*) Lelands: May 21 - June 3
(*) MEARS Auctions: May 26 - June 3
(*) Collector Connection: May 17 - June 4
(*) PWCC: May 29 - June 4
Auction of Champions: June 1 - June 7
(*) Clean Sweep Auctions: May 2 - June 7
(*) Goldin: May 19 - June 7
(*) MeiGray Auctions: May 18 - June 7
Goldin: May 30 - June 8
NBA Auctions: June 2 - June 8
(*) PWCC: May 25 - June 8
Auction of Champions: May 31 - June 9
(*) 44 & More Auctions: May 11 - June 11
(*) Grey Flannel Auctions: May 22 - June 11
PWCC: June 5 - June 11
(*) JG Autographs: May 23 - June 13
Auction of Champions: June 8 - June 14
(*) Goldin: May 12 - June 14
The Memorabilia Network: May 30 - June 14
(*) RR Auction: May 19 - June 14
(*) Collect Auctions: May 29 - June 15
(*) MeiGray Auctions: May 25 - June 15
NBA Auctions: June 9 - June 15
PWCC: June 12 - June 18
(*) Goldin: May 26- June 21
Auction of Champions: June 15 - June 21
Goldin: June 13 - June 22
NBA Auctions: June 16 - June 22
PWCC: June 8 - June 22
(*) RR Auction: May 19 - June 22
Sterling Sports Auctions: June 8 - June 22
Auction of Champions: June 14 - June 23
Heritage Auctions: June 2 - June 24
Collector Connection: June 7 - June 25
Pristine Auction: June 1 - June 25
PWCC: June 19 - June 25
Hindman Auctions: June 12 - June 26
Classic Auctions: June 2 - June 27
JG Autographs: June 6 - June 27
Auction of Champions: June 22 - June 28
Goldin: June 2 - June 28
Goldin: June 20 - June 29
Iconic Auctions: June 22 - June 29
NBA Auctions: June 23 - June 29
PWCC: June 26 - July 2
Auction of Champions: June 29 - July 5
Goldin: June 27 - July 6
PWCC: June 23 - July 6
NBA Auctions: June 30 - July 6
MEARS Auctions: June 30 - July 8
JG Autographs: June 20 - July 11
RR Auction: June 23 - July 12
Heritage Auctions: June 23 - July 14-15
2023 Full Auction Schedule