Do you think Shoeless Joe participated in the Black Sox scandal? I've been listening to a podcast (Infamous America) about the whole ordeal, and I've learned a lot of new stuff. Most of my knowledge of the scandal comes from Fields of Dreams or Eight Men Out. Jackson didn't attend any meetings, but there is strong evidence that Jackson received $5,000. What isn't clear is if he knowingly took the cash, or if it was forced upon him. Some players have said they just included him because his name gave more weight to getting a deal made with the gamblers.

Also, if you look at his statistics blindly, it certainly appears he was not on the take. He had the highest average of the series, hit the only HR, and had no errors. However, his numbers were substantially higher in games the fix wasn't in, or the game was already out of hand. There are also reports that he slow played balls in the outfield, letting guys stretch doubles into triples.

Anyways, I think it makes for an interesting debate. Certainly less clear than, "Did Bonds take steroids?" Regardless of if he threw the series, I think he has done his time and should be allowed into the Hall of Fame. Many years ago, when I visited the Hall, they had a whole section about the scandal. It's not like baseball is really trying to downplay the whole thing, or distance themselves from it. It's one of the great stories that makes baseball history interesting, and lets it claim to be America's Past Time (We love a good outlaw story).

The guy who got really screwed is Buck Weaver. There is no evidence he was part of the scandal, and he played the series of his life. However, he got banned simply because he knew some guys were in on it. He tried to talk them out of it, but got banned because he didn't go to management. It really sucks for him.

I've seen Eight Men Out many times and listened to the audio book earlier this year. I'm convinced Buck Weaver didn't have anything to do with the fix. I'm less convinced that Shoeless Joe was clueless, however, he did try and talk to Comiskey about it (after the Series and before he went home to S Carolina), but I think the main thing that got him and Buck caught up in it was the fact they didn't blow the whistle earlier. But, I'm not sure anyone wanted to know about it earlier, either. Comiskey was sure his guys weren't on the take and wouldn't hear of it, if memory serves me correctly.

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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I've seen Eight Men Out many times and listened to the audio book earlier this year.

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Apparently, the book Eight Men Out isn't super accurate, although not entirely the fault of the author. Since the book was written, more stuff has come out that contradicts some of the points made in the book/move. A couple of them that podcast highlighted:

• The gamblers did not come to the players. It was the players who had the idea and they sought out the gamblers. Apparently, a Cubs player told one of the White Sox players that the Cubs threw the 1918 World Series for $10k each, and they wanted the same.
• The White Sox players were paid very well for baseball players. During the trial, the White Sox players portrayed themselves as every men, and pushed blame on Comiskey for not paying them well. However, the 1919 White Sox payroll was released several years ago, and they had the third highest overall payroll in baseball. Shoeless Joe was second to only Babe Ruth, and Eddie Cicotte was the second highest paid pitcher. Although, one could make the argument that all owners were paying their players poorly.
• Eddie Cicotte was paid a bonus by Comiskey for winning 29 games, but not as much as if he had won 30. He also was not benched in an attempt to prevent him from winning 30 games. He had a chance in the last week of the season, but received no-decision.
• There was no threat on the players lives before Game 8. The author admitted to making that part up.
• Comiskey likely knew of the scandal at the time, and didn't seem to care. He made a weak attempt at an investigation after the series, but likely didn't want to know the truth, so he shut the investigation down.
• The Grand Jury that indicted the players was originally created to investigate the Cubs throwing the 1918 World Series, but switched its focus after learning that the White Sox were paid to lose.

I've been doing other reading about the scandal, and it seems like the Black Sox probably weren't the only team to throw a World Series. As mentioned above, they likely got the idea from the Cubs, who were rumored to have thrown the 1918 World Series. There's a good chance this is true, because the World Series was actually postponed because they owners refused to pay the players their bonuses. It's certainly believable that the Cubs players would have been willing to lose. Also, the 1914 A's may have thrown the World Series. Apparently, Connie Mack thought so. He was so certain that he traded away most of the team right after the series. There were also questions about the 1917 World Series, and two of the Giants players were later banned for life for throwing games (although not the 1917 World Series specifically). There are also tons of stories of regular season games being lost on purpose. I don't think any of this is really surprising. As we learned with both the steroid and sign stealing scandals, if one team is doing it, it's likely they all are.

I also learned there was a ninth player banned, although it wasn't a White Sox player. Apparently someone told Joe Gedeon, a player for the Browns, and Gedeon made a bunch of bets for the Reds to win. Since he had knowledge of the scandal, and didn't say anything, it also earned him a lifetime ban.