Scandals in Baseball: The List is Growing – Part One

Note – Picture –

Chicago White Sox players Eddie Murphy, John ‘Shano’ Collins, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Happy Felsch, and Nemo Leibold at 1917 World Series. Photograph, 1917.

When the Ohtani betting story broke, my first reaction was, oh crap, not again. First Bauer, then Urias and now this???  Since most of us start out very young as fans, we usually do not see the dark side of the game until later. I think I was in my early teens when I first read about the Black Sox.

But they were not the first to be suspended. Other players pre-1900 got tossed too. And of course, Mantle and Mays, who were already retired, got short suspensions when they were hired by casinos on the East coast as greeters. Bowie Kuhn was the commissioner then.

Now I turn on the MLB channel, and there is a show produced by Bet MGM called “The Bettors Eye”. If betting on the game is such a no-no, how do they justify a show dedicated to gamblers?

Manfred made Bet MGM an official partner of MLB and gave their betting books advanced stats. Seems like a double standard to me. But I thought we might look back on some of the black eyes the game has suffered.

You can actually find this stuff on Wikipedia and other sites. One thing I have noticed, lifetime bans are fairly rare. Some players have been banned for as little as one year.

Three players, Thomas Devyr, Ed Duffy and William Wansley, were all banned in 1865 for associating with known gamblers. Of course, this is before the establishment of the office of the commissioner. All three were members of the New York Mutuals. Devyr was reinstated in 1866, the other two in 1870.

The first player to be banned and never reinstated was George Bechtel of the Louisiana Grays in 1876. He conspired with his teammates to lose a game for 500 dollars, equal to 14,300 today. He died in 1921.

The next year, four more Grays players were banned for throwing two games. Jim Devlin, George Hall, Al Nichols and Jim Craver were all banned. Although there was no evidence to prove Craver had done anything wrong, he refused to cooperate. None of them were ever reinstated.

Most banned prior to the 1900’s would be allowed back in the game. One player was banned for his play being so bad, it was considered suspicious. Lip Pike was reinstated in 1883 after being blacklisted in 81.

A team physician, Joseph Creamer III, was banned in 1908 for trying to bribe umpire, Bill Klem 2500 dollars, about 85,000 in today’s cash to conspire against the Cubs in a playoff with his Giants.

Even though the Black Sox were the culprits in throwing the World Series in 1919, in 1921, Hal Chase, was banned for consorting with gamblers and betting on his teams among other disallowed practices. Chase had been accused of fixing games as early as 1910. In 1918, Reds manager Christy Mathewson. suspended him mid-season for fixing games. Giants manager, John McGraw, persuaded Matty to trade him to the Giants.

At the end of the 1919 season, NL president, John Heydler found evidence that Chase had bribed players on other teams. He ordered his immediate release. No team in the NL would touch him, and no AL team would either. He and Heinie Zimmerman of the Giants, who was also accused of fixing games. He had been benched by McGraw in 1919 and informally banned from the majors. But Landis’s decision on the Black Sox effectively banned him and Chase for life. Chase died in 1947, Zimmerman in 1969.

In total, besides the 8 Sox players banned, 8 others would be banned by Landis. The eight were Joe Gedeon of the Browns, conspiring with the gamblers behind the Sox scandal in 1921. Eugene Paulette, Phillies, 1921, associating with known gamblers.

Benny Kauff, Giants, banned in 21 for selling stolen cars. Banned despite being acquitted of the charges. Lee Magee, Cubs. Released just before the season began in 1920, he sued for his salary and lost. After it was revealed in testimony in that case that he had been involved in throwing games and collecting on bets, Landis banned him for life in 21.

In one that would not happen in today’s game, Ray Fisher of the Reds, was banned in 1921 when he left  the Reds to accept a coaching position at the University of Michigan. He thought his status was voluntarily retired. When he found out he was ineligible, he appealed to Landis who banned him for violation of his contract. Bowie Kuhn reinstated him in 1980. He passed away in 82.

Phil Douglas of the Giants was banned after telling an acquaintance of the Cardinals that he planned to leave the Giants during the pennant stretch run to spite McGraw, who he had a severe falling out with during the season, 1922.

Jimmy O’Connell and Giants coach Cozy Dolan were banned in 1924 for offering Phillie SS, Heine Sand, 500 dollars to throw a game between the two teams for the financial gain of O’Connell and his gambling backers.

There was a lull for several years and then in 1943, Landis banned Phillies owner, William D. Cox, for betting on his team’s games. Cox died in 1989, the last living person banned by Landis. He and former Phillies owner, Horace Fogel, are the only owners banned for life.

In part two, we will look at the post Landis era. Not nearly as many banned, but problems just the same involving some of baseball’s biggest stars.