As a small coincidence, McMullin was a former teammate of William "Sleepy Bill" Burns, who had a minor role in the fix. Nevertheless, he was later banned along with the others for knowing about the fix but not reporting it.Īlthough he hardly played in the series, utility infielder Fred McMullin got word of the fix and threatened to report the others unless he was in on the payoff. Buck Weaver was the only player to attend the meetings who did not receive money. The conspiracy Ĭhick Gandil, the mastermind of the scandalĪ meeting of White Sox players-including those committed to going ahead and those just ready to listen-took place on September 21, in Chick Gandil's room at the Ansonia Hotel in New York City. By contemporary accounts, the two factions rarely spoke to each other on or off the field, and the only thing they had in common was a resentment of Comiskey. One group resented the more straitlaced players (later called the "Clean Sox"), a group that included players like second baseman Eddie Collins, a graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University catcher Ray Schalk, and pitchers Red Faber and Dickey Kerr. The White Sox clubhouse was divided into two factions. In the era of the reserve clause, gamblers could find players on many teams looking for extra cash-and they did. In fact, Chicago had the largest team payroll in 1919. Comiskey was probably no worse than most owners. Comiskey, who as a player had taken part in the Players' League labor rebellion in 1890, long had a reputation for underpaying his players, even though they were one of the top teams in the league and had already won the 1917 World Series.īecause of baseball's reserve clause, any player who refused to accept a contract was prohibited from playing baseball on any other professional team under the auspices of "Organized Baseball." Players could not change teams without permission from their current team, and without a union the players had no bargaining power. White Sox club owner Charles Comiskey, himself a prominent MLB player from 1882–1894, was widely disliked by the players and was resented for his miserliness.
0 kommentar(er)
