Today in 1919 was the final game of the series in which the Cincinnati Reds took the pennant even though the full extent of the scandal wouldn't be known for almost a year.
The story is a complicated one. There are questions about who exactly was involved and how deeply they were involved. Most historians agree though the event was one of the most famous scandals.
It all started in 1919 during the World Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. Eight players from the Chicago White Sox were accused of fixing the games and losing the series. Most will agree the catalyst was the disdain and anger over manager Charles Comiskey. Comiskey had a habit of underpaying players. He used language and loop holes in contracts to avoid paying players the full salary or bonuses they felt they were due. It was because of their dislike that they tried to lose the games in hopes of winning a large sum of money by betting on the Reds. They got some help from New York gangster Arnold Rothstein who gave money to help finance the scandal. In the end it was the large number of bets being placed on the Reds that blew the scandal wide open.
The eight players, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Claude "Lefty" Williams, Buck Weaver, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, Fred McMullin, Charles "Swede" Risberg and Oscar "Happy" Felsch were banned from professional baseball for life.
The incident exploded on newspapers across the country. The headlines were straight and to the point. Some were emotional and others broke the news with a sense of seriousness.
The New York Times:
The New York Times is know for grand, explosive headlines and this one takes the cake. The font size and length of the headline shows how big of a deal this issue was. For many fans it came out of nowhere and this headline brought the dark days into the light.
The headlines in hometown Chicago showed how serious the issue was but in a calmer less explosive manner than the New York Times. These come from the Chicago Evening Post.
This headline demonstrates the same as mentioned above. The headline is big and loud, but the words used are relatively calm. This is an article that would come well after the scandal originally broke. It would be the kind of story that people would be waiting for. The large, bold font tells readers that the paper finally has the information they've been waiting for. The language may not be colorful but the size of the font says we've got what you want.
This final headline uses more of the colorful language, but has a subdued font and text. The phrase "plot to buy world's series" implies a scandal. This paper has the inside story of a conspiracy. And, who doesn't like a little gossip and conspiracy. This headline tries to draw in readers who are looking for this gossip. They have the inside story about the plot. The sub headline mentions a $100,000 ring which adds another layer to an already complicated and exciting story that gossip hounds will eat up.
The Black Sox Scandal may have been one of the biggest scandals in all of baseball. This assertion is only backed up with newspaper headlines from the times. While there hasn't been a scandal of this magnitude in the baseball world in a while, the way we report big stories hasn't changed a bit. A good scandal is good for the news world as I'm sure these newspapers found out. Journalism is the rough draft of history and it is these drafts that help us piece together a scandal from almost 100 years ago.
Sources:
New York Times Archive
Wikipedia. org: Black Sox Scandal http://goo.gl/hQBB1
Chicago Historical Society: Chicago Black Sox http://goo.gl/ZTZ6m
Chicago Historical Society Photo Archive
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