Black Sox Scandal 1919

Introduction
I. Imagine your favorite sports team playing in the championship game against their biggest rival. Keep that scenario in your mind.
II. Now what if I told you that your favorite team lost the game, and lost it on purpose?
III. In 1919 a professional baseball team lost the World Series intentionally just to earn extra money to put in their pockets.
IV. In this speech you will learn about the Chicago White Sox and their involvement in the Black Sox Scandal of 1919.
Transition: First of all, I will give you some information about the team involved in the scandal.
I. The White Sox are a baseball team founded in Chicago, Illinois.
a. They were founded in 1900.

d.ii. Due to struggles with the manager the whole team began to struggle to get along.
Transition: With the team in turmoil it was easy for gamblers to swoop in and “help” the poor players.
II. Gamblers were very present at baseball games during the 1900s.
a. There were two in general that aided in the Black Sox Scandal.
a.i. William Thomas “Sleepy Bill” Burns and Bill Maharg were the masterminds.
a.ii. According to Eric Everstine they “approached two of the White Sox players, Pitcher Ed Cicotte and First Baseman Arnold "Chick" Gandil, about fixing the Series.”
b. Cicotte and Gandil knew they could not lose on purpose with just the two of them
b.i. So they recruited six more players on board, pitcher Lefty Williams, centerfielder Happy Felsch, shortstop Swede Risberg, third baseman Buck Weaver, and Utility man Fred McMullin, and leftfielder Joe Jackson.
b.ii. According to Everstine they were bribed with $100, 000 to split all ways.
c. They assumed they would not get caught fixing the games.
c.i. After the World Series writers Ring Lardener and Cristy Matthewson compared notes and discovered that there was something fishy going on.
c.ii. They players were then indicted.
c.iii. All eight players were cleared of criminal charges but were still banned from playing baseball for
life.
Transition: Even though the Black Sox Scandal occurred years ago it is still a tough topic to discuss amongst many White Sox fans.
Conclusion
I. Today I informed you about the Black Sox Scandal that occurred during the 1919 World Series.
II. In conclusion, hopefully learning about this aspect of baseball history was informative and interesting. The Black Sox Scandal is an example of how professional players can lose their integrity.
III. According to www.baseball-almanac.com the first commissioner for the MLB, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, was quoted after the Scandal saying, "Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ball game, no player that entertains proposals or promises to throw a game, no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are discussed, and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball."
Works Cited
"1919 World Series by Baseball Almanac." 1919 World Series by Baseball Almanac. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
Everstine, Eric W. "1919 Black Sox Scandal." 1919 Black Sox Scandal. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
"History Files - Chicago Black Sox." History Files - Chicago Black Sox. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.