The Chicago Black Sox saga came to an end on this day in 1921 when baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis permanently banned eight players accused of accepting a bribe for throwing the 1919 World Series.
A group of White Sox players dissatisfied with their pay agreed to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds for what would be over $1.5 million today. When the series started, gamblers were already whispering about how the fix was in. The Sox ended up losing 5-3, and each of the plotters allegedly received their hefty payouts for tanking their team’s chances. Of course, with all the leaks, they faced massive scrutiny.
A grand jury was convened, and indictments were handed out. The trial was scheduled, but key evidence disappeared — including two players’ signed confessions. Despite one of the accused admitting on the witness stand that it was all true, they were found not guilty. The next day, Landis issued the ban.
The men attempted to keep their careers going, at least in some form, by touring the country to play publicly advertised, but unofficial, games on the road. Landis quashed that effort by threatening to permanently ban anyone who played against them. Then, they tried to start playing weekly exhibition games in Chicago; offended by the whole affair, the city council shut that effort down. In modern terms, they’d been canceled.
