Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series Documents go to Auction

Starting this Monday in Chicago, an auction house will have a rare item up for bid. A box was submitted that holds thousands of documents, memos and letters that are supposedly on the Black Sox scandal in1919. The scandal was that White Sox players allegedly threw the World Series when they played against the Cincinnati Reds in 1919.

Experts have stated that the documents are from the trial that the players faced in 1921. Eight players were charged in the gambling scandal and some documents are from a trial in 1924 when some of the players sued the White Sox for back pay. The papers were examined by the Chicago Tribune. The players were found not guilty by acquittal but were banned from the game of baseball permanently by the commissioner. One of those players on trial was “shoeless” Joe Jackson.

The documents have been copied and sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame for historical purposes. It has not been stated where the box came from or who originally had custody of the contents. The White Sox have also stated they would like to see the documents for themselves. It seems the documents contain correspondence of anger from Byron Johnson, American League president, and Charles Comiskey, White Sox owner.

There was also a letter in the box from Comiskey to a fan that seems to have been sent after the scandal broke. “Words utterly fail to express my appreciation of the kind things you and my other friends have taken every opportunity to express,” the letter reads. “They are indeed compensation for much that I have recently endured.” Also in the box were two cashed checks that were believed used during the trial for back pay as evidance.
Because the documents have surfaced and are almost 90 years old they are a moment in history frozen in time. People from generations to come can look upon the documents and get a taste of what went on in those dark days in baseball all those years ago.

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