A young boy pleaded to Jackson as he left the Grand Jury room,” Say it ain’t so, Joe, say it ain’t so.” Jackson replied,” Yes kid, I’m afraid it is.”
“Shoeless Joe” Jackson to young boy. This is a reporter’s myth, but it should have happened, and is now enshrined in the lore of baseball.
As the above video indicates the Black Sox scandal remains controversial. The folly of turning professional athletes into heroes was amply demonstrated by players throwing the World Series for money a century ago. The players were found not guilty in a conspiracy to defraud case in Chicago in 1921, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Legendary Federal judge, and first national Baseball Commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis had an appropriate response to the verdicts:
Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ball game, no player who undertakes or promises to throw a ball game, no player who sits in confidence with a bunch of crooked ballplayers and gamblers, where the ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball again.
Nothing to do with this post, just a warning. I received an automated computer warning on my work laptop when accessing TAC this morning. Screen capture is sent to Mrs. McClarey via FB messenger for your inspection. Have had problems accessing TAC via Android – auto popups claiming I won various contests for money, cruises, etc. TAC is under attack, yes by human beings but the attacks are surely demonically inspired.
Our tech support is working to correct the problem LQC. Being hacked is for the birds.
I think Google has flagged the site as a malware site. I can access it with Microsoft Edge but not with Chrome, and not on my Android Phone.
A student of the history of sports noted that in 1920 the two most popular spectator sports in the country were baseball and boxing. He was of the opinion that Landis’ severity kept baseball from decaying in the manner of boxing (which, whether you measure in revenue, league attendance, TV ratings, or surveys, ranks 10th or lower among American spectator sports; three of the four international sanctioning organizations are now headquartered in Latin America).