The Black Sox Scandal

History Daily

This episode details the dramatic rise and fall of baseball star 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson and the infamous 1919 World Series scandal. It explo

Key takeaways

• Joe Jackson earned his 'Shoeless' nickname in 1908 after playing without cleats due to blisters.
• Bookie Joe Sullivan offered $80,000 to Chick Gandil to bribe White Sox players to throw the series.

Main topics

• Origins of Shoeless Joe Jackson
• The 1919 World Series conspiracy

Notable quotes

You shoeless son of gun!

Conclusion

A cautionary tale about how financial greed and organizational mismana

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:09) It's a beautiful day in 1908 at Furman Park, a baseball field in Greenville, South Carolina, that serves as the home of the Spinners, Greenville's celebrated minor league team. The crowd erupts as Joe Jackson stepped out of the dugout. Joe is a 20-year-old textile mill employee who moonlights as an outfielder for the Spinners, one of six teams at play in the newly formed Carolina Association. Joe, who bats left and throws right, is their best hitter and quickly becoming a fan favorite. But today, as Joe walks toward home plate, confused murmurs ripple through the crowd. There's something different about Joe. Instead of wearing his usual spiked baseball cleats, today Joe only wears stockings on his feet. That's because the cleats he wore during the previous day's game caused blisters. Joe planned to take today off, but at the last minute, his manager informed him that he'd be needed in the lineup, so Joe has removed the spikes and will bat shoeless. As he takes his position at home plate, Joe can hear the derisive jeers of the opposing team's fans, and he can sense the quiet apprehension of his own supporters, who are unsure if their star player will be able to perform in stockinged feet. But Joe lets neither reaction get him down. He readies his bat, and when the pitch is thrown, Joe knocks the ball way out into the field. He takes off for first base, continues to second, and just as he's about to round third, he hears the voice of a fan yell out, You shoeless son of a gun! Speaker 1 (1:38) That day, shoeless Joe Jackson earns a nickname that will stick, and he will go on to finish his first year with the Spinners with impressive statistics. His play will attract the interest of the Philadelphia Athletics, who will buy his contract from the Spinners. And after one year with the A's, he'll be traded to the Cleveland Naps. Then in 1911, his first full season as a rookie, Joe will set a number of baseball records as he begins what seems like a very promising career in the Major League. But within a decade, his fate will take a turn. In 1915, Joe will be traded to the Chicago White Sox, a team that will come to define him as a baseball icon, not just for his impressive performances, but for his role in one of the biggest scandals in professional sports history, which will be revealed on September 28, 1920. Speaker 1 (2:27) Hello, History Daily listeners. The live show I've been telling you about for a few weeks has a new date, October 23rd at the Plaza Theater in Garland, Texas. This is my Days That Made America tour, a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music with me and a band live on stage. So if you're in the North Texas area or anywhere close, be sure to come out and see me live. More shows will be announced soon, too. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to HistoryDailyLive.com. That's HistoryDailyLive.com. Come see my Days That Made America tour live on stage. Go to HistoryDailyLive.com. From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is History Daily. Speaker 1 (3:29) History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is September 28th, 1920, the Black Sox scandal. Speaker 1 (3:44) It's September 18th, 1919 at the Buckminster, an upscale hotel in downtown Boston. A taxi pulls up to its doors and a smartly dressed man in a white suit and bow tie steps out of the car. His face is set with determination. Today, Joe Sullivan is a man on a mission. Joe Sullivan is a local gambling bookie, and he's been developing a plan to fix this year's World Series. If he can get a team to intentionally lose games, then he and his clients can easily cash out by placing bets against them. It