The 2025 Major League Baseball season has already seen some landmark moments, but none may be more surprising than the century-plus ban on the 1919 Chicago White Sox players.
Commonly known as the Black Sox Scandal, eight players conspired to throw the World Series and were banned from the game. The reversal by current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, which also reinstates Pete Rose, will apply to all players who passed away, essentially maintaining the spirit of their lifetime ban while allowing them to be recognized for their on-field achievements.
As reported by ESPN, all reinstated players will be next eligible for Hall of Fame voting in December 2027, when Cooperstown’s Classic Baseball Era Committee next meets.
The Need
To understand the Scandal, one must first learn what motivated players to gamble their careers. In this case, it was money.
Players were scantily paid in these early days of organized professional sport. Unless you were a Babe Ruth-level superstar (he being the scarce exception), you were getting pennies on the dollar compared to today’s athletes. Whereas today’s mid-tier or lower baseball players can easily make six-figure salaries, baseballers of the 1910s were poorly compensated.
The Players
Shoeless Joe Jackson
The most famous among the White Sox players involved in the Scandal, by far, was “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. A would-be Hall of Famer, Jackson still holds the number four spot on MLB’s career batting average list (.356) and won a World Series Championship in 1917. As a rookie, Jackson hit .409, a record that still stands today. Even after the Black Sox Scandal, Jackson surfaced in minor league baseball under a pseudonym.
Unlike the other players, Jackson’s involvement in the Scandal is broadly questioned. Even under the supposed throw, Jackson counted a batting average over .370 and had the only home run for either team in the World Series. Reports say that he refused twice to be part of the Scandal, but ultimately, he was part of the grand jury trial that sentenced the players to sit on the sidelines permanently.
Jackson’s retained legacy is partly due to the namesake book Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella and the corresponding movie Field of Dreams. In both, Jackson is resurrected by farmer Ray Kinsella, who plows part of his Iowa farm to make a baseball diamond for Jackson’s spirit and those of other long-deceased players to ply their trade once again. His reverence sees incredible auction results today, including one of his signature baseball bats going for more than $2 million in 2024.
While Jackson is, in all likelihood, the only player among the Black Sox who will now go into the Hall of Fame, the others are a mixed group of sometimes stellar names and others who had a brief yet fulfilling moment in the sun.
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Eddie Cicotte (Pitcher)
Cocotte began his career with the Boston Red Sox but ultimately found his most significant success with Chicago. In 1917, a Springwells, MI native, had his best season when he went 28-12, leading the Majors with a 1.53 ERA among other highs. Cicotte was integral to the Sox’s 1917 World Series campaign, and repeated his dominance in 1919 with an unheard-of 29-7 record. Cicotte, as was retold in Eight Men Out, was convinced by Chick Gandil to be part of the Scandal.
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Claude “Lefty” Williams (Pitcher)
As legend goes, Gandil promised Lefty Williams $10,000 to underperform in the 1919 World Series. Williams only got $5,000. Williams kept his promise and went 0-3 in the championship round after a regular season performance of 23-11 with a 2.64 ERA. Williams was just a few years into his big league career when he was banned from baseball. He chose to run in independent leagues and ended up managing in the minors.
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Arnold “Chick” Gandil (First Base)
Gandil was the mastermind of the Black Sox Scandal. While born in St. Paul, Gandil moved across the U.S. as a child with his family. Originally, Gandil was picked up by the St. Louis Browns, but his big league debut came with the White Sox in 1910. He went back and forth between the majors and baseball’s minor leagues but ultimately found his space in Chi-town. The Scandal, unfortunately, wasn’t his only run-in with inflammatory acts, as he paid off the Detroit Tigers to lose games in 1917.
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Charles “Swede” Risberg (Shortstop)
Risberg began his pro career at the age of 18 and quickly rose through the ranks of baseball’s minor leagues. He played in the Pacific Coast League for the Venice Tigers before his rights were purchased by the White Sox in 1917. Risberg’s game centred on his defensive play, and he ultimately won the World Series with Chicago that year. In 1918, Risberg was sent back down to the minors for seasoning and returned for 1919. Amid his thrown play, Risberg committed a World Series record eight errors.
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George “Buck” Weaver (Third Base)
Weaver’s reputation in the field was widely regarded. It’s said that Ty Cobb wouldn’t dare bunt in Weaver’s direction, the only third baseman the legendary hitter wouldn’t challenge. Despite being part of the Scandal, Weaver averaged .324 in the World Series, a number most players dream of. Weaver didn’t take his lifetime suspension lying down, applying for reinstatement six times. None of those attempts were successful, and Weaver passed away in his sixties.
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Oscar “Happy” Felsh (Outfielder)
Felsh was an incredible hitter in his day. Between 1916 and 1920, except for 1918, when he left baseball for military service during the season, he led the majors in several offensive categories. In 1917, Felsh was instrumental in the Sox’s World Series-winning campaign. The MLB ban limited Felsh’s top-tier career to just six seasons, and after the Scandal, Felsh continued to play ball in semi-pro and minor leagues, including a stint in Canada.
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Fred McMullin (Infielder)
A utility player, McMullin toiled in baseball’s minor leagues for ages before getting the call from the White Sox. He was sparsely used by the White Sox and ultimately found his way into the Scandal by threatening to expose the conspiracy. Unlike most of his teammates, McMullin ceased his baseball career following the Scandal, moving into other professions before passing away at 61.
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Jon Waldman is a Winnipeg-based writer. He has written for Beckett, Go GTS, Canadian Sports Collector, and several other hobby outlets over his two decades in the hobby. His experience also includes two books on sports cards and memorabilia. Connect with Jon on Twitter at @jonwaldman.
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