It is difficult to begin writing about a man like Joe Scheidler because there is so much to say, but not enough words to say it. Go to Source Author: {American Thinker} It was curious that a heavy influx of Cincinnati cash into betting channels had brought about the change, for almost everyone agreed that the Sox were vastly superior to the Reds. One exchange, involving the confessions, went as follows: Michael Ahern, a defense attorney: “You won’t get to first base with those confessions.”, George E. Gorman, assistant state’s attorney: “We’ll make a home run with them.”, Ahern: “You may make a long hit, but you’ll be thrown out at the plate.”. Please support this 70-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage. After the third game, which the White Sox won, Gandil received a visit from Burns, who was panicky. The Associated Press reported that the news was received with “surprise, disappointment and chagrin” by sports editors and writers. The verdict was greeted in the courtroom with a wild demonstration of approval. I always looked up to him as a role model—I can't believe he would be involved with crime like that! As a matter of fact, Commissioner Landis had precisely that in mind. On the one hand, he knew that it would take a large number ol players to throw a game, a possibility which seemed as unlikely as it was painful. I didn’t want any checks. Say it ain't so, Joe ... 96% Upvoted. But in the eighth game, played on October 9, the Reds jumped on Lefty Williams for four runs in the first inning, and went on to a ten to five victory —and the world championship. Say it ain’t so, Joe. One other player made momentary public acknowledgment of complicity. Obama-Era White House Stenographer Claims to Have Been on Biden's 2011 Trip to Russia, Reveals How Putin Humiliated the Then-VP 'for Sport' Other notable absentees were Abe Attell (whose lawyer had wangled his freedom on a habeas corpus writ), Hal Chase, Joseph Sullivan, and Rachael Brown. Among the sports writers who covered it were Hugh Fullerton and the baseball great, Christy Mathewson, who had been commissioned by a syndicate to write interpretative articles on the fine points of the Series play. And Joe Jackson, much impressed by the zealous infighting of the battery of defense attorneys, brought a laugh when he remarked: “Those are certainly smart men, and that lawyer of mine is one lawyerin’ bird. It has come down to us, one of the most pitiful fragments of the American idiom: “Say it ain’t so, Joe!” The proprietors of baseball have watchfully guarded the integrity of the game ever since the Black Sox scandal; that a similar conspiracy could take place today seems quite improbable. “I would like to blame the trouble we got into on Comiskey’s cheapness,” Gandil commented, “but my conscience won’t let me.”. In contrast to the enormous publicity of the scandal, exact documentation of it is slight, and based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. Cicotte’s control seemed to have deserted him, and when the inning was over, the Reds were ahead, one to nothing. They had no actual proof of wrongdoing, and without it, they could not very well suspend any of the players. In the Philadelphia, The result of the first game amazed everyone—except, as it later developed, eight of the Sox and certain other shadowy figures. Then, Cicotte had pitched an extraordinarily bad game, and many of the Sox big bats had been remarkably inellectual. Your admitting your mistake would break my heart. He believed that the White Sox had simply been taken “unawares” in the first game, and that they would quickly revert to form. As soon as the game was over, talk of a fix grew louder. Maharg dissuaded Burns “and thereby saved him that money.”. Decided we could get away with it. “When the gamblers left,” Gandil recalled, “we entrusted the money to Cicotte until it could be changed inconspicuously. I guess I could start by sharing my own personal experiences with this great legend of a man. David Mikkelson Published 16 July 2016 Say it ain't so, Joe The candid imploring of an innocent boy may have been legend rather than fact. Two months later, on December 10, Coniiskey admitted to reporters that an inquiry was in progress. Shoeless Joe reportedly just turned away without uttering a word. Back in New York, Maharg and Burns met with Rothstein, who declined the deal. For that matter, he declared, he was, Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Billy Maharg, the friend of Sleepy Bill Burns, had decided to talk. The outcry at this revelation was universal. Then, Cicotte, Comiskey acknowledged that he had been suspicious of the Series, that he had spent $20,000 in investigating it, and had been unable to prove a thing. Got eight [players] in, leaving for Cinn.” The next day, Maharg went to Cincinnati, where he met Burns, who told him he had run into Abe Attell in New York and that Attell had persuaded Rothstein to finance the deal. The jury opened its hearings on September 7; for two weeks a parade of witnesses marched through its chambers. Ban Johnson immediately came forward to charge that Arnold Rothstein had paid $10,000 to have the confessions stolen soon after they had been obtained and, after satisfying himself that he was not implicated, had turned them over to a newspaperman. Gandil claimed that the plot originated in Boston, in September, 1919, when he and Cicotte were approached by a gambler named “Sport” Sullivan, who suggested that they get together seven or eight players to throw the Series. Owned by Charles A. Comiskey—nicknamed the Old Roman—the team had Eddie Collins at second base and Ray Schalk as catcher. The proceedings attracted feverish interest on the part of the public. The price was f 100,ooo, to be paid in installments of $20,000 before each game and split among the eight players involved. “He and some other gamblers, going on the assumption that the Series was fixed, had bet heavily on the Reds. You do not get to libel America as being a hub of systemic racism and throwing your support behind the absurd ideas of Critical Race Theory as a defense. The fifth game, scheduled for Sunday, October 5, was postponed until the next day because of rain; when it was over the Reds had won again and the world championship seemed virtually clinched. It was my price. Yet, what could he and Gleason do? Perhaps this authoritative voice does not exist, and never did, for there is reason to believe that some of the dozen or so gamblers whose names hover over the scandal were not even aware of the involvement of others. By this time, Comiskey had heard a great deal more than he admitted publicly. A sensational loss was revealed on July 22, following Burns’s testimony, when it became known that the waivers of immunity signed by Cicotte, Jackson, and Williams, as well as the original transcripts of their statements, had disappeared. There were two out and one on. A hard fight was expected, since it was no secret that Jackson, Cicotte, and Williams had repudiated their confessions; the admissibility of these statements as evidence would be briskly debated. Gleason was of two minds about the truth of the rumor. Ryan,” but, said Gandil, “having met this man two years before in New York, I recognized him as Arnold Rothstein.”. Outside of the courthouse where the trial was being held a young boy came up to Joe and infamously said "Say it ain't so Joe." After the Series was over, Gandil seemed to be spending freely, and it was argued that if he had bet his shoes on his own team, he would have been in no position to throw his money around. Sometime during that day, however, Heydler sought out Ban Johnson and repeated what he had heard. McDonald wondered what action, if any, should be taken, and conferred with Ban Johnson. Support with a donation>>. After the second game—and the second Sox loss- Maharg and Burns saw Attell and demanded the players’ payoff. Equally as suspect was Abe Attell, the onetime featherweight boxing champion of the world. Much of it was bruited about the lobby of the Hotel Simon, quarters for the visiting Sox and hence a natural gathering place for Series-minded sportsmen and gamblers. As proof, Attell flashed a telegram which read: “Abe Attell, Sinton Hotel, Cinn. On June 27, 1921, the long-delayed trial finally got under way, with seven of the eight Black Sox present. Maharg and Burns were now suspicious, and pointedly questioned Attell as to whether Rothstein was actually backing him. He put the bills under his pillow.” Gandil claimed that he never received a cent of the money. I didn't want to play after I heard what was going on. He told Hoyne he believed he had been “jobbed” in the Series, asked for help, and expressed willingness to foot the investigative bill. Comiskey was not so vacillating. Are you an author? Share on Twitter. Say It Ain’t So, Joe: Biden’s Ill-Advised Plan to Eliminate Exclusionary Zoning. Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. By contrast the Reds, who had beaten seven listless, ineffectual teams to win their first National League pennant, were at best a competent outfit. Johnson advised that a grand jury look into the matter, and McDonald followed his suggestion. Branco ©2021. Rothstein’s plan was to win the first game, in order to raise the odds on the White Sox; then the players could lose the Series as they wished. The spectators cheered, and the judge congratulated the jury, whose members responded by carrying the vindicated players from the courtroom on their shoulders. Other notable absentees were Abe Attell (whose lawyer had wangled his freedom on a, To Buck Weaver and Happy Felsch, the acquittal may have seemed unnecessary, for before the case went to the jury, the judge had announced that, on the basis of the evidence, he would not let a verdict against them stand. D Am Say it ain't so, Joe please, say it ain't so. On the one hand, he knew that it would take a large number ol players to throw a game, a possibility which seemed as unlikely as it was painful. At a meeting, the players decided to consider Burns’s terms. Presently, the gist of the rumor reached Kid Gleason; he in turn told Comiskcy what he had heard—namely, that gamblers had bribed some members of the team. His Philadelphia contacts refused the proposal, but suggested that Rothstein was the man to see. “ Say It Ain’t So, Joe ” was provoked by a seventies documentary on Richard Nixon prior to his resignation. “I have bet my shoes,” it read. Lefty Williams, Chicago’s starting pitcher, had lost again. The final score was nine to one. Newspaper editorials thundered imprecations. When it came to paying the players the promised $80,000, Rothstein demurred; he finally handed over ten fi.ooo bills, with a promise to pay the rest in installments. From time to time, too, baseball fans signed petitions for the reinstatement of various of the players—particularly Jackson—but none was ever effective. The two players indicated that they could “deliver” the Series—for a price. Karen Townsend Posted at 7:01 pm on March 13, 2021. The White Sox of 1920 were virtually the same team that had won the pennant the year before; and as the season drew to a close in September, they were in a hot race for the flag with the Cleveland Indians. In Chicago, its publication set off a limited chain reaction. Em C G I'm sure they're telling us lies Joe; please, tell us it ain't so. Pro-Life Hero Joseph Scheidler Dies At 93. No one able to speak with complete authority has ever publicly named all the persons, aside from the players, who manipulated the fix, or has explained the complexities of their interrelationships. Yet what lie knew was still based largely on tip and rumor. The 1919 White Sox were one of the notable teams in the history of baseball. Newspaper editorials thundered imprecations. It was Cicotte’s turn to pitch the fourth game, and if Gleason hesitated to start him, the manager’s doubts were allayed when Shineball made an earnest appeal for the starting assignment. 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