Ten Stories from the Roaring Twenties

By James Kreis

This book encompasses a unique decade in the history of the United States, one that figuratively exploded in terms of business expansion and worth, social experimentation, individual ingenuity and general prosperity the vast majority of those achievements coming in the first half of the period. Who possibly would have thought all those cutting edge gains would come to an abrupt halt as the 1930s loomed, eventually propelling the nation into a calamitous depression.
Within these pages are the exploits of several important and controversial characters whose escapades helped shape not only their times but those for many years to follow. Very recognizable names -- even in current times such as Hearst, Darrow, Hoover, Capone and the obscure {but powerful} Wayne Wheeler were major protagonists of the decades events both publicly and covertly as chronicled in this volume.
Others like Sacco and Vanzetti, Leopold and Loeb, were non-descript men whose murder trials initially revolted, then captivated the nations attention as the tales of their testimony spread throughout the daily front pages of every major newspaper in the country. Even Organized Baseball, Americas favorite pastime, was rocked by news of a scandal as arguably the sports best team would become branded as the Black Sox for baseball perpetuity. Hollywood would not escape their share of notoriety either as one of their best known and revered comedians was unwarrantably thrust into the national spotlight, an entertainment mogul was dogged by allegations of a hushed up murder with still another of Tinseltowns most controversial celebrities a victim of personal frailty. A small hamlet in Tennessee was the site of another national story, this one pitting the Bible against modern science.
All these events began life with a national ban on the sale and distribution of alcohol {Prohibition} and ended with the devastation of the nations economic barometer {Wall Street}. While the passage of time has perhaps dulled the memory and effect the men and women detailed herein contributed to the culture of the United States, either in positive or negative ways, the retelling of their stories help us determine where we come from and hopefully, who we are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491838419

James Kreis

The author has been a devout and voracious reader of American and World History for a lengthy period of time, biographies of the famous in particular. In compiling this work, he augmented his stored knowledge with many volumes and articles specifically detailing the events and personalities of the 1920’s decade -- the end result a book filled with the causes and effects of a remarkable period in American life.

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Chapter 1.  The Black Sox Scandal {1920-1921}

Chapter 2.  The Sacco and Vanzetti Case—{1920-1921}

Chapter 3.  The Harding Presidency—{1921-1923}

Chapter 4.  The Fatty Arbuckle Scandal—{1921}

Chapter 5.  The Death of Thomas Ince—{1924}

Chapter 6.  Leopold and Loeb {1924}

Chapter 7.  The Scopes Monkey Trial—{1925}

Chapter 8.  Aimee Semple McPherson—{1926}

Chapter 9.  The Stock Market Crash {1929}

Chapter 10.  Prohibition {1920-1933}

Acknowledgement

Dedication

For Diann, always supportive and forgiving, particularly during those times I often deserve considerably less.

Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.

George Santayana

Spanish Philosopher

FOREWORD

During the 1910 to 1920 decade, the industrial United States continued to enlarge and prosper, perhaps like no other ten-year period in its’ history, highlighted by big breakthroughs and gains in transportation and communications. It was also to be a period of unforeseen events that would shape the immediate and future pursuits of many citizens for years to come—while the country adopted a political posture of international isolation.

World War 1 had started in 1914 and ended four years later, the Allies having dealt Germany a number of crippling blows, both on the battlefield and economic fronts, ones they would not recover from until the 1930’s. That military catastrophe would claim 8.5 million lives including 117,000 U. S. combatants; estimates ranging another 20 million injured globally. The man who led the country through the war, President Woodrow Wilson, had lost much of his political strength due to partial paralysis—his dream of a coalition of world countries to agree to no future wars {The League of Nations}—also a victim. Perhaps not well known today but a Spanish influenza epidemic broke out during the summer of 1918, ultimately killing 30 million inhabitants worldwide {500,000 in the US}.

The 1911 to 1920 decade of the United States was a time of much social unrest as the country was first recognized as a world leader. While undergoing mass immigration from foreign entities—that circumstance a prime factor for increased poverty levels—and generating a coincident rise of labor unions due to general dissatisfaction with working conditions. Larger companies tended toward monopolistic pursuits, often employing children for extreme periods of time at outrageously low wages, sometimes in coal mines and sweatshops, unhealthy working conditions a constant. The mobilization of the nation for the latter stages of World War 1 {finally entering the fray in 1917}, helped bring about a winning, Allied military finish to that cataclysmic event. That success also brought a renewed vigor, the country becoming more socially progressive while attempting to assume a much more disinterested posture internationally.

The following decade in America {the 1920’s} is known as the Roaring Twenties and/or the Jazz Age in Europe, that period also sometimes referred to as the Golden Twenties—perhaps due to comparison with the severe constraints pre-World War Two. Although other European countries were devastated early on via debts from World War 1, the Treaty of Versailles radically and punitively punished Germany for its role as the main aggressor of the war—that vengeance would eventually and tragically lead to the emergence of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in the Deutschland during the 1930’s—while the rest of the continent was struggling mightily with survival due to economic issues. Somewhat ironically, the only two European countries emerging as strong economic forces during that decade were Germany and Italy, due largely to gearing up militarily in their joint quests for territory expansion and conquest.

Russia had been another country in political upheaval, the Communists gaining control and power a few years prior to the start of the 1920’s while led by Nikolai Lenin, overthrowing the last Romanov czar, and establishing Bolshevik rule in the emerging Soviet Union. Europe’s general reaction in response to the communist takeover was to foster the rule of fascist governments in some countries and quasi-dictatorships in others, the latter tending to be strong right-wingers. Ireland gained their independence from Great Britain in 1922 as did Egypt in the Middle East.

The American economic boom of the 20’s lasted well into the decade but unfortunately, was followed by the collapse of Wall Street in 1929, the subsequent Great Depression of the entire 1930’s in the United States and a similar, economic downturn for virtually all the leading countries of the world. Consumerism was an American staple in the decade—the purchases of cars and appliances reaching levels never seen before, more people settling in urban areas and the ascent of the skyscraper as a means to accommodate the influx new inhabitants required for increased housing and business needs. Only those engaged in farming seemed to have a long and constant struggle to stay afloat. In a few words, Americans wanted to achieve their potential, have fun and be entertained.

However, certain segments of the population continued to struggle—many blacks, women and farmers were considered poor by conventional standards. Racism was pervasive still—particularly in the mostly rural South. However, the prevailing attitude was one of optimism, the country considered the most powerful in the world by most objective and subjective measures, poised to expand to heights never before imagined.

Prohibition would also become law, the Volstead Act of 1919 {18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution} established the national prohibition of alcohol. Many unintended consequences would arise from this legislation, including the formation of numerous criminal entities—featuring the emergence of bootlegging in the next decade—dedicated to providing the American public those services the government had hoped to eliminate. This amendment was finally repealed in 1933, well into the throes of the Great Depression. Women would vote for the first time in the 1920 presidential election, having won that right through something called Suffrage, that leading to females seeking an unprecedented number of job opportunities as one tangible result of their new emancipation.

The national immigration quotas for certain European countries were drastically reduced, joining other nationalities of the world in limiting access to their terra firma. The National Origins Act of 1924 severely limited the incoming quotas for eastern Europeans and Asians, dramatically favoring northern Europeans and those from Great Britain. These quotas were mostly in reaction to the anti-communist mood of the nation due to the antics, demonstrations and violence those of the former persuasion had visited on the country after World War 1.

Many young American writers and artists emigrated to Europe—Paris {France} the favored destination—to discuss, pontificate about and generally bemoan the fate of the world in negative terms. Included in the disaffected numbers were future literary luminaries Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck and music composer Cole Porter among several others. The relaxed mores of European society permitted anti-American behaviors such as homosexuality, alcohol and drug use, casino gambling, etc., those tolerances serving to entice, embolden and hold these expatriates. These people as a group were dubbed The Lost Generation.

On the home-front entertainment scene, organized baseball produced a new hero—George Babe Ruth—who made a major impact in transitioning the game from a pitching and defensive emphasis to featuring the home run. Ruth reached plateaus in that discipline unthinkable before his time as post war-weary fans flocked to see this man ply his trade—attendance at these events reaching new heights.

Notable world feats of achievement included:

Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic Ocean by flying solo and non-stop—from New York City to Paris {1927}. Another aviator, Robert Byrd, flew above both the North and South Poles as the decade was ending.

Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.

The first winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924.

The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, the first motion picture with talking sound, was released in 1927. By the end of the decade, it was estimated 75% of Americans were weekly visitors to a movie theater.

Women gained the right to vote through the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution in 1920.

The first commercial radio station, KDKA, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, began in 1921. By 1925, there would be 500 radio stations throughout the country, the U. S. counting over 12 million radios in a population of 105,000,000.

J. Edgar Hoover was appointed as the first FBI director.

Inventions included phonograph records, the electric razor, frozen foods, juke boxes, the female diaphragm, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and refrigerators. A Model-T Ford could be purchased for under $300 with a ratio of one car for each five citizens by decade’s end. The new-found ability of Americans to travel nationally spawned gas stations and motels—a trip from New York to California taking about 13 days to complete by car.

Published were notable, literary works such as A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Winnie-the-Pooh, Main Street, Babbitt, Ulysses, All Quiet on the Western Front and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Top songs of the day included Rhapsody in Blue and I’m Just Wild About Harry, dances named the Charleston and Black Bottom performed by young women called Flappers, a constant. Flappers loved to drink, smoke and dance, wore lipstick, rouge, powder, perfume, eye shadow and short skirts. They were flaunting prior restraints left over from a more conservative time. Marathon dancing, pole-sitting and the bob-cut haircut were other fads common to daily life.

The 1920’s saw a concentrated movement of African-Americans from the South to the North, bringing with it new music sounds called blues and jazz, magnified by clubs such as the Cotton Club in New York City Harlem’s locale. The older and more conservative members of the population found this new sound revolting and immoral believing it to be the devil’s music. The Ku Klux Klan numbered its’ largest membership at this time, particularly in the Midwest. As the decade ended, more Americans lived in cities than rural areas, life expectancy had risen to approximately 54 years of age, the average wage was $1,250 annually, the unemployment ratio was 5.2% with gasoline at $.10 a gallon.

The subject matter of this book encompasses ten stories that both merited and received national headlines during their run and perhaps taken collectively, represent all aspects of the best and worst of the historical legacy of the decade—one that would have a profound effect on American life for years to come. Historians of a modern time have compared this era to those of 1950 and 1990—all three reflecting periods of much prosperity and preceded by cataclysmic events—two World Wars and the end of a cold war, respectively.

It could be argued there were many other compelling, important stories unfolding than those detailed herein—Charles Lindbergh’s flight over the Atlantic Ocean certainly one of uncommon courage—even Jack Dempsey’s three prize fights {the first with France’s Georges Carpentier, then two with Gene Tunney} were huge events in their own right. However, neither of those men and their exploits had such a profound effect on future, individual circumstances as those chronicled here. Each of these ten stories had an initial impact, then long-term ramification{s} on American society, either easily recognized initially or more clandestine as time evolved.

Briefly, Chicago White Sox baseball players conspiring with gamblers to fix organized baseball’s prime attraction, the 1919 World Series, severely shook the foundation of the game, causing its’ hierarchy to both punish the offenders and propel the entire structure of the game to a less traditional and aggressive one, exciting fans for years to come due to a concentration on the offensive aspect of the action.

Actor and comedian Fatty Arbuckle, at the top of his profession in Hollywood, was the ultimate victim of negative publicity—forced to prove he was not guilty—rather than be judged by the constitutional imperative to be found guilty by his peers. That hurdle was motivated in large part by those who wished to purge the entertainment industry of immoral and salacious activities. Arbuckle’s quick fall from grace, virtual bankruptcy and subsequent death at a relatively young age, was the price he paid as the example society forced his industry to endure.

The death of Thomas Ince relates the story of how a man of infinite power through intimidation and wealth—William Randolph Hearst—was able to obfuscate the likely murder of an innocent victim, due to an extreme moment of jealousy. An example of how justice is often overlooked by those with something to gain due to the promise of real or intangible rewards—as those of means and influence covertly direct and intimidate certain societal protectors in order to bend outcomes in their favor.

Sacco and Vanzetti were two European immigrants with strong, vocal communistic/Bolshevik political leanings and voice, convicted of a crime that even today the verdict is not totally accepted by many criminologists. That they were subsequently executed may have been due more to their political beliefs rather than the crimes they were convicted of, law enforcement officials perhaps wanting to make a telling example of un-American behavior.

The Scopes Monkey Trial—well chronicled in the 1960 film Inherit the Wind—was a conflict of religious belief versus scientific data regarding the origin of the human species. That the entire production and national attention of this event was actually instigated by town entrepreneurs is not well known, the American Civil Liberties Union eagerly jumping into the fray, nonetheless. Even though the trial itself did not settle either contention, that basic conflict still persists to some degree in today’s culture.

The Leopold-Loeb case is still one of the most startling in United States crime history—the story of two young, privileged and intelligent college students who randomly murdered a youth for the thrill of it. This may have been the first major, murder case in which one’s upper class environment and upbringing may have decided the eventual penalties imposed on these perpetrators.

Aimee Semple McPherson was and may still be the best known and most celebrated female evangelist in our nation’s history—nearly 90 years since the height of her popularity. That she, with her talent for showmanship and accompanying publicity, would concoct a story {most likely to cover up a sexual liaison with a married man} so bazaar in its ease to refute, is in itself remarkable.

Prohibition was a major intrusion on people’s lives for nearly 15 years and brought organized crime to new heights of proficiency as well as creating a divisive chasm between wets and drys. That it didn’t have a chance to succeed was lost on its’ proponents who were able to overcome a weakened President and his associates—in approving the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. That it minimally took the lives of numerous, innocent people and created a huge economical loss in federal revenues, did not help in mitigating a national depression.

The Stock Market collapse of 1929 had a profound impact on the U. S. and world economies that most probably lasted well into World War Two. The rush to create wealth—by the relaxation of prudent behaviors by individuals and aided by the regulatory and financial institutions—were the primary causes of the inevitable decline both confidence and performance shortcuts usually produce. It has been estimated at least 15 million Americans held stock at one time during the late 1920’s. These greedy lessons have not apparently been well-learned—given the financial meltdown of the United States in the first decade of the 21st Century.

Finally, for many believing the corruption of highly-placed, government officials {elected or appointed} is a relatively new phenomenon, the Harding Presidency of the early 1920’s strongly refutes that perception. Actually, there are numerous tales of administration corruption in U. S. annals. However, this regime perhaps did it more often and successfully than any of its’ predecessors—and in such a short period of time—many historians noting corruption is the first thing one associates with President Harding and his innermost associates.

What follows in these pages will be a narrative description of these important events that delineates what really happened in these circumstances, recognizing there exist numerous other publications marvelously crafting these events in more detailed versions. Some of these are noted in the reference sections of each chapter.

My intent was not to compete word-for-word with these writings but to relate these stories with the appropriate background information and enough specificity to bring understanding to the reader as to the cause and effect the actions the participants contributed to our collective history and culture. That many individuals described herein—several of whom our society has chosen to celebrate from time-to-time—were subsequently determined to have feet of clay should not be startling; those outcomes are scattered throughout history for both our nation and virtually every other country of the world.

The quotation at the very beginning of this segment has been attributed to several of history’s figures. Regardless whether George Santayana was the first or not, there are some obvious parallels to those sage words since the 1920’s—perhaps the most recognizable—the eerie similarities of the financial meltdown of the United States during the latter part of the first decade of the 21st Century—as compared to the Stock Market Crash in 1929. Also, the rise of evangelist Aimee McPherson, who utilized new communication techniques to enhance her popularity, then stumbled badly when a sexual tryst was highly intimated, her circumstances most likened to certain television evangelists of the latter 20th century whose personal exploits were similarly exposed.

Other comparisons may not be so obvious but in all likelihood, we all can relate to either individuals and/or events involving much of the deceit, immoral, selfish and clandestine behaviors exhibited by the characters immersed in these tales of a prior time in our nation’s formulative history.

CHAPTER ONE

THE BLACK SOX SCANDAL

{1920-1921}

PROLOGUE:

As a side effect of World War 1, professional baseball had shortened the 1918 season to early September as several star players—names such as Ty Cobb, George Sisler, Grover Cleveland Alexander and Christy Mathewson among others—spent time overseas. The next season in 1919, baseball administrators were forecasting a loss of fan interest and to cut expenses, shortened the usual spring training schedule and reduced the number of scheduled games to 140, rather than the typical 154.

However, these officials were shortsighted—the renewed enthusiasm for the game caused the attendance to more than double, from approximately 3 million in 1918 to 6.5 million a year later. A young left-handed pitcher for Boston, George Herman Babe Ruth, smacked 20 home runs in 1919 in a part-time role, his reward a sale to the New York Yankees for a reputed $125,000 in cash and a $300,000 loan to the Red Sox owner. The Babe’s future stellar accomplishments created a buzz like no one else ever had, he going on to become arguably the most renowned player in baseball history.

The Chicago White Sox captured the 1919 American League pennant, the Cincinnati Reds likewise in the senior circuit. It had been decreed that years’ World Series would deviate from the norm {best four of seven} and require the victor to win five of a potential nine games. The White Sox were thought by the experts to be the superior team, due to their having won the 1917 Series, and still sported most of that considerable, veteran experience—despite the Reds having won eight more games than the Sox during the regular season.

This story is about a specific period in baseball history but more specifically, it is a tale about greed, conspiracies, the resultant cover-ups and reckoning. That is, the greed of a team owner, various gamblers and a group of players—all starring in the shocking and enduring story that would be labeled the Black Sox Scandal for baseball eternity. The cover-ups mainly consisted of those trying to protect their financial assets and good name while some of the players soon suffered pangs of conscience both for the short and long term.

Chicago White Sox owner and skinflint extraordinaire, Charles Comiskey—upon learning his players had sold him out—did everything in his power to obscure the damning facts and protect those very same players. You see, he had a very successful, economic enterprise with the White Sox and wanted that to continue uninterrupted. He also correctly realized the game’s integrity and sense of fair play was integral to its popularity. Given those factors, the actual deeds of his players became irrelevant when contrasted with what could be taken away from him, the game’s integrity a distant second in his pecking order.

Gamblers, with the promise of payment to the eight White Sox conspirators of relatively large sums of money, were initially able to control the results of individual games of the 1919 World Series, maximizing the returns on their wagers by strategically altering the betting odds daily. Hard to lose when you know the outcome beforehand, although the players’ complicity waned later on as they realized the gamblers were not to be trusted.

The involved players—a/k/a the Black Sox—were in it for the money—period. A promise of $180,000, a huge amount of money in their day, served to override any immediate twinges of personal or athletic integrity. It was their time and opportunity to make up for the constant, economic slights they suffered during Comiskey’s reign. That they ultimately received considerably less money than promised was likely inevitable, given the people they were dealing with.

Professional baseball in the 21st century has not generated any suspicion or evidence in which the results of any game or series was fixed, meaning there is no reason to doubt the outcome of any contest had been rigged by a player, official or any other individual having the means to do so. The same can be said for football and hockey and until most recently, professional basketball. However, the latter discipline was rocked by the news a referee had conspired to affect the outcome of some games—due to his having lost several bets to gamblers and required to square himself in some manner. Subsequently caught, he did spend time in prison for his malfeasance. That circumstance, however, was unique to an otherwise clean sport.

It would be extremely naive {actually stupid} to believe gambling does not occur in the contesting of all sports—in reality, pro football by far the leader in wagers—whether legal or not. Athletic contests, even without intense rivalry and rooting factors included, have always lent themselves to betting. Many individuals and other entities have made a successful and long-term living in capitalizing on this fact by providing the means to do so for those who wished to prove their waging acumen.

The early 1900’s, however, were a different story, baseball the only professional team sport either active or flourishing then. Fans {some of whom were bettors} then had much easier physical access to the playing areas, often actually interfering with the live action by hitting, tackling or impeding players as they attempted to carry out their duties. Gamblers openly admitted they had certain contacts that enabled them to help determine the outcome of a given contest. Several players were known to be for sale, many often seen in the company of gamblers. National League first baseman Hal Chase became the most notorious and upon being caught red handed, was permitted to move to a new team rather than baseball officials publicly acknowledging and punishing his sins. American League President Ban Johnson did voluntarily {a rarity}, reveal a $12,000 bribe had been made to a Boston Red Sox catcher prior to the 1903 World Series. There had been strong rumors the 1905 Fall Classic wasn’t on the level, ditto the 1908 National League pennant race and apparently in 1910—efforts to dishonestly alter that year’s individual batting race had been well-established.

The Chicago White Sox of 1919 were clearly a superior team at that time. They had won 100 games while taking the 1917 American League pennant, then disposed of the New York Giants in six games to win the World Series. They still had a large nucleus of the key players from that team and were heavily favored to throttle the upstart Cincinnati Reds easily in the 1919 Fall Classic.

The Sox boasted the pitching tandem of Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams, who had combined to win 52 games that season. They also featured Shoeless Joe Jackson, an outfielder who was perhaps the game’s best pure hitter and in George Buck Weaver, the American Leagues’ premier third baseman. Throw in future Hall-of-Famer Eddie Collins at second base, a superior defender and solid hitter in outfielder Happy Felsch, the team rounded out with solid veterans at every other position. Virtually anyone with even a limited understanding of the game would readily understand how formidable this club was—how could they possibly lose?

However, generally unknown and/or never having been divulged to outsiders, there was an internal turmoil with these Sox, virtually even unknown about by their most faithful fans. That is, given their many accomplishments, the players were a consistently underpaid bunch, particularly when compared to their far less successful rivals. This resentment toward penurious owner Charles Comiskey, was not new and had festered for some time. Whatever the normal standard and expense consideration was for the care and feeding of baseball players, Comiskey always found a way to come in under that norm. For instance, most clubs paid each player $3/day for meal money on the road; the White Sox paid just $2. There were those who insisted Comiskey billed his players for the cleaning of their uniforms. Conversely, by all accounts, the owner didn’t spare expenses when he wined and dined members of the press, that enterprise designed to keep his skinflint behavior foisted on his players out of the newspapers.

In addition, anticipating a fall-off in attendance for 1919 due to a war hangover, Comiskey had reacted decisively by cutting some player salaries and upon the team learning that had been his deliberate intent, they announced their intention to strike in July. Manager Kid Gleason, himself Comiskey’s victim of the entire 1918 season due to a salary dispute, was able to diffuse the situation by promising to talk to the owner on their behalf. This Gleason did as he promised {unsuccessfully}—that wound continuing to fester with the players. Yet, this had still been a most successful team on the field that year. To Comiskey, that success and the increased fan attendance, were the only facts that mattered—the welfare of his players immaterial—his boys were merely his property to use as an attraction to swell his coffers, nothing else mattered.

Second baseman Eddie Collins was easily the best paid player at $14,500—that due in large part by Collins having been well-compensated by his prior team before his Chicago acquisition—he insisting those pre-existing terms be written into his Chicago contract. He was disliked by most of his teammates due to his educational accomplishments—a Columbia University graduate—and hung out mainly with fiery catcher Ray Schalk, rookie pitcher Dickie Kerr and veteran hurler Red Faber. The latter would be unavailable in the upcoming World Series due to injury. Neither first-baseman Chick Gandil nor shortstop Swede Risberg would throw the ball to Collins during infield drills, Gandil having stopped talking to the future Hall-of-Famer much earlier.

It had been rumored ace pitcher Eddie Cicotte had a clause in his contract he was to be paid a bonus of $10,000 if he won 30 games during the season. With a few weeks left, he had accumulated 29 wins and with three, perhaps four starts left, seemed to be a sure bet to cash in on his 30 wins. However, on Comiskey’s orders, Cicotte was not permitted to pitch again in any possible circumstance where he might capture his 30th win. Then, as now, a starting pitcher had to work at least five innings to be eligible for a victory. Previously, during the 1917 season, Comiskey had promised all the players a bonus when they won the American League pennant. True to his word, he presented them with a few cases of champagne—which turned out to be flat and undrinkable. That was the bonus.

Some of the key players were getting a little long in the tooth in baseball age jargon {Cicotte was 35, others in their early 30’s}—and all realized their individual success had little to do with how well compensated by Comiskey, that happenstance likely not to change. Given that baseball teams had a virtual lifetime stranglehold on a player’s services at that time, the players with no leverage at all, it is not difficult to sympathize with their plight.

This was the tenor of the Chicago clubhouse as the 1919 World Series approached.

Author’s Note:

As a life-long baseball fan, I readily admit to being ignorant of many details of the 1919 Black Sox scandal for a long time. It wasn’t until I saw the 1988 film Eight Men Out that my interest was piqued, then leading to the digest of the 1963 book of the same title written by Eliot Asinof and utilized herein for much of what follows. From those starting points, I have been fascinated by this event.

THE PLAYERS:

EDDIE CICOTTE:

Edward Victor Cicotte was born on June 19, 1884 in Spring Wells, Michigan. Of French-Canadian parentage, he early on became the family’s main, male figure due to his father’s early passing. Dropping out of school, he helped his mother meet family expenses while employed as a box maker.

Many believe he began his professional career by playing semi-pro ball in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula region as early as 1903. In 1904, young Eddie combined to pitch for both Sault Ste. Marie and Calumet in the Northern League, compiling a mark of 38 wins against just 4 losses while tossing 11 shutouts.

Subsequently purchased by the Detroit Tigers the following year, Cicotte was sent to the Augusta, Georgia, team in the Sally League. Appearing in 32 games there, he posted a 15-9 won/lost slate, toiling 318 innings, where he also played with a young Ty Cobb. There has been a reference to an altercation between the two, emanating when Cobb’s alleged nonchalance in the outfield cost Cicotte a victory. Promoted to the parent Tigers in September, he lost his major league debut in a relief stint, then won his first big league contest with a complete-game victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Despite his late season effectiveness in the brief trial, he began 1906 with Indianapolis of the American Association, throwing just over 70 innings with a disappointing 1-4 record. Optioned to Des Moines of the Western League, Cicotte accumulated 18 wins and 9 defeats with a 2.56 ERA in 32 games. Still unable to crack the Detroit staff in 1907, the young hurler once again pitched in the Western League, this time with Lincoln, going 21-14 with a 2.02 ERA in 312 frames spread over 40 games. He was never to be seen in a minor league game again, the Boston Red Sox purchasing his contract for $2,500 at the end of the season, propelling Cicotte to a 14-year, major league career.

His five years in Boston were somewhat pedestrian, Eddie posting an overall record of 52 wins against 46 losses, despite individual full-year ERA’s of less than 3.00, including 1909 when he went 14-5 with a low of 1.94. He was accused by owner John Taylor of underachieving, suspended without pay several times during his stay with the Red Sox. The owner had actually put Cicotte on waivers during the 1911 campaign but pulled back when another team put in a claim.

Frustrated after Eddie’s 1-3 record with a high ERA, Boston sold him to the White Sox after just 9 games in 1912. Cicotte would win another 66 games before busting loose with a league-leading 28 wins, 346 innings pitched and splendid 1.53 ERA in 1917, leading the Pale Hose to the American League pennant and a World Series win over the New York Giants. He was not quite as dominating in the Series, splitting 2 decisions and appearing in relief in Game 5 as Chicago won in 6 games. His year had been kick-started with a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns in April.

He slumped to a 12-19 record the next year, largely due to a whiplash back injury suffered in a car crash on an off day as the White Sox tumbled all the way to a sixth-place finish, trailing the winning Red Sox by 17 games, compliments of a 57-67 record. That set the stage for resurgence by both Cicotte and the Sox in 1919, both entities would be at the top of their game during the regular season.

Despite the 1918 lackluster year, Cicotte re-established himself, victorious 29 times during this banner year, losing but 7 while completing 30 games, hurling 306 frames with a 1.82 ERA as his teammates won the AL flag with 88 wins in a 140-game schedule. The team finished 3 and ½ games in front of the Cleveland Indians while leading the league in team batting average at .287, approximately .20 better than the league average.

A 5 foot, 9 inch right hander, Eddie Cicotte was not a fastball pitcher. Rather, he had an unusual number of off speed pitches including the knuckleball, spitball, emery ball and something called a shine ball. The latter’s technique involved rubbing the ball on the right side pocket of his uniform which had been packed with talcum powder. This routine produced a wobbling of the baseball, most difficult to hit and due to numerous hitter complaints, subsequently outlawed before the 1920 season.

In fact, the use of substances on a pitched ball was moderately outlawed around that time, the caveat being those having used those pitches prior to the ban could continue to do so, the emery ball having been banned in 1914. It should also be noted the typical game then utilized just two or three different baseballs, most being sticky, significantly off-color and even lopsided by the time of replacement. Fans were not allowed to keep balls hit into the stands, those being returned to game action. The full ban for all ball additives was approved after the 1920 season when it also became the norm to utilize a new baseball far more often and allowing fans to keep souvenirs‘, those balls hit into the seating areas.

Despite this varied repertoire, Cicotte admitted using the knuckleball 75% of the time and seems to have started his run of success around the same time he found better control of this unusual, fluttering missile. His technique was to hold the ball with three fingers closed, the forefinger and thumb used to guide while throwing with a straight, overhand, whip-like motion. He was sometimes referred to as Knuckles.

Generally acknowledged as one of the league’s best during the latter part of the 1911-1920 decade, he was, however, woefully underpaid compared to his peers, earning but $5,000 in 1918, after the best year of his career the prior season while leading the league in several categories. As indicated, his performance fell off significantly that season, losing 19 games while significantly hampered by injuries.

Cicotte’s 1919 low salary and personal circumstances likely contributed to some real financial concerns during this period. It was no secret he had taken out a $4,000 mortgage on the farm where he lived and as a 1920 Census would later divulge, was responsible for the welfare of nearly a dozen relatives, including his wife and three children.

In the book Eight Men Out, author Eliot Asinof claimed Cicotte’s 1919 contract called for a $10,000 bonus should the veteran pitcher win 30 games that season. When he won his 29th with two weeks left in the season, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey decreed he was not to pitch again in any remaining regular season game in which he had any chance to post a victory, thus denying Eddie the opportunity to collect on the bonus.

Asinof further alleged Black Sox co-conspirator and teammate, Chick Gandil, made repeated attempts to involve Cicotte in a World Series fix and only when it became apparent Comiskey would deny him the bonus, did he agree. As the amount of the potential bonus {$10,000} was the exact same sum Cicotte received for