All three of the of the Chicago White Sox hits in game five of the 1919 World Series were from suspected or proven fixers!
It was a close game, that Chicago lost 2-0. Amazing to think, the last three guys you'd think would have stopped the no-hit bid by Cincinnati, did just that! The guys not trying to lose couldn't do much right this game!
Eddie Cicotte was also trying to lose and was the Chicago White Sox starting pitcher. Jimmy Ring started for the Cincinnati Reds. But Cicotte seemed to also be trying, at least for a while. The first batter Cicotte faced (and the first batter of the game) hit a single, but a double-play ended that. A 1-2-3 second seemed to settle Eddie down. How about his 'mates? The dishonest ones?
They went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first. But Shoeless Joe hit a double to lead off the bottom of the second and went to third on Happy Felsch's sac bunt. Chicago did not get Joe home, but did everything except that! Two walks (including one to Swede Risberg, another fixer) loaded the bases. But nothing got home!
Cicotte made sure Chicago lost this one by making two errors in the top of the fifth as Cincy broke open a scoreless game. With two runs, the Reds had more than they would need. Jimmy Ring was working on a one-hitter at this point.
Cicotte had a 1-2-3 sixth, but Ring did not have it so easy. Joe Jackson grounded out, but Felsch gave it a ride to left before he was retired. But then Chick Gandil, in on it, singled. Risberg was out on a fly.
In the top of the seventh, Eddie had another 1-2-3 inning. Ring, for his half, hit the leadoff batter Ray Schalk. Schalk was not in on the fix, watched from first as the next three men went down.
In the eighth, the Reds got a one out single by catcher Ivey Wingo. Wingo had been gunned down earlier by his counterpart behind the dish, Schalk, on an attempted steal earlier in the game. Jimmy Ring, Eddie Cicotte's counterpart on the mound, hit a comebacker. Cicotte grabbed it, tossed to shortstop Risberg at second for the force. Swede then tossed it over to Gandil at first to complete the twin killing. The three fixers sure made an honest effort there! But what hadn't happened was a score or two by Chicago!
Buck Weaver popped out to start the bottom of the eighth and then Jackson fanned. I thought these guys were trying! Felsch singled, though, to keep the inning alive. Gandil fanned to end it.
Cicotte had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth to finish with a fine five-hitter. Except for his own self-induced stupidity in the top of the fifth inning, he had been flawless. And with a 4-1 win in game seven, he would even win a game in this tainted Fall Classic. Eddie may have been feeling some remorse at this point.
The White Sox got another baserunner on in the bottom of the ninth as Schalk walked again. But they failed to score and did not get a hit in their last at-bats. Cincinnati had won game five of the 1919 World Series, 2-0.
The Chicago White Sox team had come out flat on this day, namely on offence. And yes, the game was thrown. But there is something to be said when your pitcher produces a fine effort (even if it wasn't his best effort, intentionally) and the guys who provide the offence aren't there, you deserve to lose. There will be debate until the end of time as to Shoeless Joe Jackson's involvement (personally, with three hits in game two, a hit in this game, plus two more in game eighth, it's reasonable to think he was trying in the games the Sox lost) and Buck Weaver's as well. With the six other players involved, there is little doubt. But here in this game five, it's something else. The White Sox, as a team, should have pointed to everyone on the field and laid the blame on a total lack of team effort!
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Jan 11, 2014.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
It was a close game, that Chicago lost 2-0. Amazing to think, the last three guys you'd think would have stopped the no-hit bid by Cincinnati, did just that! The guys not trying to lose couldn't do much right this game!
Eddie Cicotte was also trying to lose and was the Chicago White Sox starting pitcher. Jimmy Ring started for the Cincinnati Reds. But Cicotte seemed to also be trying, at least for a while. The first batter Cicotte faced (and the first batter of the game) hit a single, but a double-play ended that. A 1-2-3 second seemed to settle Eddie down. How about his 'mates? The dishonest ones?
They went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first. But Shoeless Joe hit a double to lead off the bottom of the second and went to third on Happy Felsch's sac bunt. Chicago did not get Joe home, but did everything except that! Two walks (including one to Swede Risberg, another fixer) loaded the bases. But nothing got home!
Cicotte made sure Chicago lost this one by making two errors in the top of the fifth as Cincy broke open a scoreless game. With two runs, the Reds had more than they would need. Jimmy Ring was working on a one-hitter at this point.
Cicotte had a 1-2-3 sixth, but Ring did not have it so easy. Joe Jackson grounded out, but Felsch gave it a ride to left before he was retired. But then Chick Gandil, in on it, singled. Risberg was out on a fly.
In the top of the seventh, Eddie had another 1-2-3 inning. Ring, for his half, hit the leadoff batter Ray Schalk. Schalk was not in on the fix, watched from first as the next three men went down.
In the eighth, the Reds got a one out single by catcher Ivey Wingo. Wingo had been gunned down earlier by his counterpart behind the dish, Schalk, on an attempted steal earlier in the game. Jimmy Ring, Eddie Cicotte's counterpart on the mound, hit a comebacker. Cicotte grabbed it, tossed to shortstop Risberg at second for the force. Swede then tossed it over to Gandil at first to complete the twin killing. The three fixers sure made an honest effort there! But what hadn't happened was a score or two by Chicago!
Buck Weaver popped out to start the bottom of the eighth and then Jackson fanned. I thought these guys were trying! Felsch singled, though, to keep the inning alive. Gandil fanned to end it.
Cicotte had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth to finish with a fine five-hitter. Except for his own self-induced stupidity in the top of the fifth inning, he had been flawless. And with a 4-1 win in game seven, he would even win a game in this tainted Fall Classic. Eddie may have been feeling some remorse at this point.
The White Sox got another baserunner on in the bottom of the ninth as Schalk walked again. But they failed to score and did not get a hit in their last at-bats. Cincinnati had won game five of the 1919 World Series, 2-0.
The Chicago White Sox team had come out flat on this day, namely on offence. And yes, the game was thrown. But there is something to be said when your pitcher produces a fine effort (even if it wasn't his best effort, intentionally) and the guys who provide the offence aren't there, you deserve to lose. There will be debate until the end of time as to Shoeless Joe Jackson's involvement (personally, with three hits in game two, a hit in this game, plus two more in game eighth, it's reasonable to think he was trying in the games the Sox lost) and Buck Weaver's as well. With the six other players involved, there is little doubt. But here in this game five, it's something else. The White Sox, as a team, should have pointed to everyone on the field and laid the blame on a total lack of team effort!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Frommer,
Harvey. Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball. Dallas, TX: Taylor Pub.,
1992. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Whiteford, Mike, and Taylor Jones. How To Talk Baseball. Revised ed. New York: Dembner, 1987. Print. pp. 47-50
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Jan 11, 2014.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
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