g, contacted two White Sox players, pitcher Ed Cicotte and first baseman Arnold ?Chick? Gandil, about fixing the series. The two players knew they had to enlist more teammates to successfully fix the series. They spoke to six more players; pitcher Lefty Williams, centerfielder Happy Felsch, shortstop Swede Risberg, thirdbaseman Buck Weaver, utilityman Fred McMullin and one of the best and most popular stars ever, left fielder ?Shoeless? Joe Jackson. The gambler?s bet almost a half-million dollars on the Reds, and planned to give the players $100,000 to split. Rumors that the series had been fixed spread throughout the following season. In late 1920, the eight players nicknamed the Black Sox were indicted. Judge Landis, the first commissioner of baseball suspended the eight players but promised reinstatement if found not guilty in a court of law. Although they were all cleared of criminal charges the judge still banned them from baseball for life. Seven of the eight players confessed to the fix, but ?Shoeless? Joe maintained his innocence. Jackson played for thirteen years and had a life-time batting average of .356, except for Ty Cobb, who was the best hitter in the American League. Ty Cobb has called ?Shoeless? Joe ?the greatest pure hitter I ever saw.? (Schwalbe 10) He still holds he third highest batting average in the history of baseball. (see figure 1) Lifetime StatisticsPinch HitYearsGamesBASAABH2B3BHRHR%RRBIBBSOSBABHPOAEDPTC/GFAG by POS.131330.356.51849811774307168541.187378551915820211 42646198107482.2.964OF - 1289, 1B - 27Figure 1. ?Shoeless? Joe?s lifetime statistics?Shoeless? Joe Jackson was targeted because the first two players in the scandal knew they needed more teammates to fix the game. ?Shoeless? Joe was a powerhouse player and they needed him to ensure the fix. The gamblers wanted a sure thing and since Joe could carry the White Sox to victory, despite the fix, they wanted Joe involved. (The Facts 2)Joe?...
