History and the Census: The 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" Scandal
When the 1919 Black Sox Scandal rocked the baseball world, Chicago, Illinois, was the second-largest city in the United States with approximately 2.7 million people. With 2,746,388 people in 2020, Chicago was the nation's third-largest city behind New York City, New York and Los Angeles, California.
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History and the Census: The 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" Scandal
The baseball world was rocked by scandal in October 1919 when eight Chicago White Sox players were accused of conspiring with professional gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series. Although the players suspected of participating in the "Black Sox Scandal" were acquitted following a 1921 trial, they were permanently banned from playing Major League Baseball (MLB). Some baseball fans have attributed the team's long championship drought to the so-called “Curse of the Black Sox,” as the team would not reach the World Series again until 1959 or win the championship until 2005.
Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of conspiring with professional gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Charles Comiskey's American League Chicago White Sox dominated baseball in the late 1910s. After winning the American League pennant in 1917 with 100 wins (10 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox), they defeated the New York Giants to win the World Series. The White Sox fell to sixth place in 1918 when several star players left to serve in the U.S. military during World War I. The return of its championship veterans—including "Shoeless" Joe Jackson—and new manager Kid Gleason helped the team win the 1919 American League pennant. After a five-month, 140-game season, the 88-52 Chicago White Sox would face the 96-44 Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.
Few would have picked the Cincinnati Reds to win the National League pennant prior to the start of the 1919 season. During the previous two decades, the team usually ranked near the bottom of the National League standings. However, a new manager (Pat Moran) and additions to their infield and pitching staff helped the Reds take a nine-game lead over the New York Giants and win the National League pennant. Playoff games for the American and National League pennants did not begin until 1969. Despite the Reds' impressive turnaround, the Chicago White Sox were expected to easily win the championship. With odds favoring the White Sox, professional gamblers saw an opportunity to make a fortune betting on the underdog Reds. They needed the assistance of a few disgruntled White Sox players.
Long before individual baseball stars earned millions of dollars per season, the combined 1919 Chicago White Sox roster earned less than $100,000—approximately $1.8 million in 2024 dollars. Although the White Sox players were generally paid salaries comparable to those of other major league players, tensions within the clubhouse contributed to an atmosphere of discontent. Resentment existed in most clubhouses and there were often rumors that gamblers paid players to underperform. Rumors that gamblers had influenced the outcome of baseball games were not new. The 1918 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox had also been surrounded by allegations of gambling. One year later, gambling money threatened to taint the 1919 championship. In September 1919, several White Sox players reportedly agreed to accept a $100,000 payment (reputedly from underworld financier Arnold Rothstein) to throw the 1919 World Series, allowing professional gamblers to make huge profits on bets favoring the underdog Cincinnati Reds.
When the 1919 World Series began on October 1, baseball fans were unaware of the White Sox conspiracy to lose the series, but rumors were beginning to surface in the gambling world as huge sums were bet on Cincinnati. Rumors also reached sportswriters who closely watched the games and agreed to compare notes about suspicious plays.
Game 1 of the championship series was at Cincinnati's Redland Field. White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte, who had led the American League in several pitching categories during the 1919 season and was identified as a leader of the conspiracy, was on the mound. He hit the first batter he faced, signaling that the "fix" would take place. Cicotte allowed six runs in 3⅔ innings before being relieved by White Sox manager Kid Gleason. The Reds ultimately won the game 9-1. In Game 2, starting pitcher "Lefty" Williams was less obvious about his participation in the conspiracy but, with a weak White Sox offense, the Reds won again 4-2.
By Game 3, the conspiracy seemed ready to fall apart when the gamblers failed to pay the players (except for Cicotte) for their participation in the thrown games. Game 3's rookie pitcher Dickie Kerr was not part of the conspiracy and threw a nine-inning, three-hit shutout of the Reds to earn Chicago's first win in the series. Cicotte was on the mound again for Game 4. He pitched well, but made two fielding errors that helped the Reds win 2-0. The Reds won Game 5, 5-0, on October 6, leaving Chicago one loss away from elimination.
In Game 6, Dickie Kerr returned to the mound and pitched all 10 innings to earn his second victory of the series and the White Sox' second win. Cicotte pitched Game 7 for Chicago and allowed just one run as the White Sox defeated the Reds 4-1. Cincinnati committed four errors in the game, helping Chicago extend the series. There was now a real chance that the White Sox could still win the World Series, which would have caused enormous financial losses for the conspiracy's financiers. According to later accounts, one of the gambling financiers' "associates" visited several White Sox players and warned of imminent danger to the players and their families if they won Game 8. The following afternoon, Lefty Williams was pulled from the game after recording just one out. The White Sox relief pitcher was not part of the conspiracy, but was unable to save the game. The Reds won the game and the series.
Except for Eddie Cicotte, the remaining conspirators never received their full payment from the gamblers for throwing the World Series. Rumors swirled and sportswriters penned stories detailing suspect plays, but there were no investigations during the off-season. However, toward the end of the 1920 season, allegations that cheating had again taken place during an inconsequential game between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies brought the 1919 World Series rumors to the surface. Within a month, Cicotte, Williams, Jackson and others admitted to accepting gamblers' money, but insisted they played to win or did not have an opportunity to intentionally make mistakes that affected the outcome.
On October 29, 1920, eight Chicago "Black Sox" players—Eddie Cicotte, Oscar "Happy" Felsch, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles "Swede" Risberg, George "Buck" Weaver, and Claude "Lefty" Williams—were indicted on several counts of conspiracy to defraud. The scandal's underworld financiers were also named in the indictments. When the case was dismissed in March 1921, new indictments were issued and the trial began in July. During the proceedings, one of the gamblers who agreed to testify for the prosecution admitted that eight White Sox players intentionally threw the 1919 World Series in exchange for cash payments and that Cicotte was the conspiracy's ringleader. After deliberating for just three hours, the jury found all defendants not guilty on August 2, 1921. The acquittals did not end the scandal, however.
Despite the acquittals, the eight White Sox players did not go unpunished. Newly appointed Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned all eight players from professional baseball for life. In the decades after the scandal, some of the players asked the commissioner for reinstatement, but their requests were denied. In 2015, the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library in Greenville, SC, urged Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to reinstate Jackson. Reinstatement could make the outfielder eligible for consideration for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. After an official review, Manfred denied the request, saying that he could not be sufficiently certain of the truth of events more than 95 years earlier to overrule Landis' determinations.
You can learn more about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal and baseball using Census Bureau data and records. For example:
- The 1840 Census was the first to include Chicago, Illinois. In that year, Chicago's population was 4,470. The city's population grew to 29,963 in 1850; 112,172 in 1860; 298,977 in 1870; and 503,185 in 1880. Chicago was the United States' second-largest city following the 1890 Census, with a population of 1,099,850, and retained that title until being surpassed by Los Angeles, California, in 1990. With a population of 2,746,388 in 2020, Chicago ranked as the nation's third-largest city behind New York City, New York (8,804,190), and Los Angeles (3,898,747).
- Many Americans assume Chicago earned its nickname as the "Windy City" for the strong, chilly winds that sweep into the city from Lake Michigan. However, Chicago doesn't make the list of windiest cities in the United States. Fargo, North Dakota, Concordia, Kansas, Merlin, Oregon, Boston, Massachusetts, Kahului, Hawaii, and Kaktovik, Alaska, are just a few of the many cities and towns that are windier than Illinois' famous "Windy City." According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Hampshire's Mount Washington registered a record-setting wind gust of 231 mph on April 12, 1934, that was not broken until a gust from Tropical Cyclone Olivia in 1996 battered instruments on Barrow Island, Australia, with a 253 mph gust. Given that Chicago's winds are relatively calm in comparison, the city likely earned its ‘Windy City’ moniker because ‘long-winded’ 19th-century residents and politicians boasted about their city as they sought to host the 1893 World's Fair and competed for business and industrial investment with aspiring Midwestern cities like Cincinnati, Detroit, Michigan, and St. Louis, Missouri.
- Four of eight 1919 World Series games were played at Cincinnati's Redland Field. Redland Field was home to the Reds from 1912 to 1933 and was renamed Crosley Field in 1934. The Reds played at the stadium from 1912 to 1970. During that time, Cincinnati's population grew from 363,591 in 1910 to 452,524 in 1970. Beginning in 1970, the "Big Red Machine" and the Cincinnati Bengals played at the new Riverfront Stadium. Today, the Reds call Great American Ball Park home, where they entertain Cincinnati's more than 309,000 residents with exciting postseason action.
- One year after the 1919 World Series, the 1920 Census counted 401,247 people living in Cincinnati, including 194,342 males and 206,905 females. Cincinnati's population was young, with 128,870 age 20 and younger. The majority of the city's population was classified as "Native White" (328,270), while 42,827 identified as foreign-born White, 30,079 were Black, and just 71 people were listed as Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and all other races. Among the foreign-born population, 17,833 were from Germany, 4,198 were from Russia, and 3,887 came from Ireland. More recently, the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program estimated Cincinnati's 2022 population at 309,536. The 2022 American Community Survey estimated that 144,796 residents were male, 164,740 were female, and 58,978 were under 18 years of age. Most Cincinnatians—290,396—were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Island Areas, or abroad to American parent(s), while 19,140 were foreign-born. Among the major racial categories, White alone was the largest (175,126), followed by Black or African American alone (129,096), Asian alone (10,170), and Some Other Race alone (14,261).
- Charles Comiskey's Chicago White Sox originated as the Sioux City Cornhuskers of Sioux City, Iowa, in 1888. Comiskey purchased the team in 1894, moved it to Saint Paul, Minnesota, and renamed it the "Saint Paul Saints." After the Cornhuskers left Iowa, Sioux City's population declined from 37,806 in 1890 to 33,111 in 1900. During that same period, Saint Paul saw its population grow from 133,156 to 163,065. In 2022, Sioux City was home to the Sioux City Explorers, an American Association independent baseball team, and had a population of 85,727. A second Saints baseball club played in Saint Paul beginning in 1901, but left in 1960. After a 33-year hiatus, baseball returned to Saint Paul in 1993. Today, many of Saint Paul's 303,820 residents enjoy visiting the CHS Field to cheer Saints players working their way up through the Minnesota Twins' farm system.
- When the Chicago White Sox (known as the Chicago White Stockings from 1900 to 1903) began playing in the city in 1900, Chicago was already the second-largest city in the United States with a population of 1,698,575. The 1900 Census found that Chicago's population was composed of 1,111,463 native and 587,112 foreign-born residents. Of the foreign-born residents, 73,912 reported they were from Ireland, 48,836 from Sweden, and 32,995 from Poland. Of Chicago's total population, 1,667,140 were White, 30,150 Black, 1,209 Chinese, 68 Japanese, and 8 Indian. The Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey estimated that Chicago was home to 2,665,064 residents, many of whom are baseball fans. The city has grown increasingly diverse since the arrival of the White Sox in 1900. For example, 1,298,231 residents identified as White alone; 800,146 identified as Black or African American alone; 228,799 identified as Asian alone; 67,676 identified as American Indian and Alaska Native alone; 7,964 identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone; and 673,187 identified as Some Other Race alone in 2022.
- The Census Bureau County Business Patterns series collects data about Sports teams and clubs (NAICS 711211) including professional baseball teams. In 2022, there were 1,372 establishments in the industry that included baseball teams like the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds as well as other sports teams playing basketball, hockey, soccer, football, and other sports. These establishments employed 79,231 people during the pay period that included March 12, 2022, and had an annual payroll of nearly $26.8 billion.
- The popularity of professional and recreational baseball and other sports supports a large sports equipment industry, including helmets, gloves, bats, balls, and other equipment. In 2021, the Annual Survey of Manufacturing reported that the sales, value of shipments, or revenue in the Sporting and athletic goods manufacturing industry (NAICS 339920) was more than $12.4 billion. In 2022, the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series found there were 1,673 establishments in the industry. During the pay period that included March 12, 2022, these establishments employed 40,574 people. California and Utah led the nation for employment in the industry with 4,429 and 3,602 people, respectively.
An aerial view of Cincinnati, Ohio, with a close look at the Great American Ball Park, home of major league baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise.
This Month in Census History
On October 5, 1978, the "72-Year Rule" became law. Public Law 95-416 restricts access to personally identifiable decennial census records for 72 years, except for the individual named on the record or their legal heir.
In accordance with this law, the National Archives released the 1940 Census records to the public on April 2, 2012, and the 1950 Census records on April 1, 2022. The 1960 Census records will be released in April 2032.
Related Information
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau's YouTube channel.
Did You Know?
In 2000, 2010, and 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau partnered with Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to produce public service announcements promoting the census.
For the 2000 Census, Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter made videos promoting census participation and educating the public about the confidentiality of census data.
In 2010, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo, Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton, San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and multi-position Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim player Howie Kendrick were just a few professional athletes who encouraged fans to participate in the census.
Most recently, Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria urged Americans to "Shape Your Future" by responding to the 2020 Census.
Other professional athletes who helped spread the word about the value of the 2020 Census included retired San Antonio Spurs basketball star Manu Ginobili, Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall-of-Famer Johnny Rodgers, and retired National Football League cornerback Jerraud Powers.
Related Information
Cincinnati, Ohio
One year after the 1919 World Series, the 1920 Census counted 401,247 people living in Cincinnati, including 194,342 males and 206,905 females. Cincinnati's population was young, with 128,870 age 20 and younger. The majority of the city's population was classified as "Native White" (328,270), while 42,827 identified as foreign-born White, 30,079 were Black, and just 71 people were listed as Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and all other races. Among the foreign-born population, 17,833 were from Germany, 4,198 were from Russia, and 3,887 came from Ireland.
Photo courtesy of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio: City Manager's Office.
More recently, the Census Bureau's population estimates program found that Cincinnati had a population of 309,536 in 2022. The American Community Survey estimated that 144,796 were male, 164,740 were female, and 58,978 were under 18 years of age. Most Cincinnatians—290,396—were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Island Areas, or abroad to American parent(s), while 19,140 were foreign-born. Among the major racial categories, White alone was the largest (175,126), followed by Black or African American alone (129,096), Asian alone (10,170), and Some Other Race alone (14,261).
