Crisis: 1919 Black Sox Scandal

1. • The date is September 27, 1920, and an article by James Isaminger in the Philadelphia North American has spread around the country and stunned the baseball-loving public. Gambler and former player Billy Mahrag’s shocking accusation that the White Sox threw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds has been published in papers around the country, exposing the alleged fix to the wider public for the first time. Suspicions run rampant as the public hungers for more clarification on the fix, and extends far beyond the White Sox players, even including connections to the criminal underworld due to the alleged amount of capital involved. This scandal has the potential to completely unravel professional baseball and shatter the public’s perception of the game as honest and the greatest representation of American values. The owners’ massive investments in clubs are tied to the game’s popularity, and dropping attendance from disillusioned fans would spell disaster for their bottom line. Tensions between owners and players also threaten to boil over, as players continue to feel dissatisfied with their meager compensation and lack of agency compared to the, to them, tyrannical owners. This is baseball’s darkest hour, and delegates must find a way to reform its structure, keep its credibility, and bring justice, if necessary, to the true perpetrators if they wish America’s pastime not to become a relic of the past.​