Series
Even before the Series started on October 2, there were rumors among gamblers that the series was fixed, and a sudden influx of money being bet on Cincinnati caused the odds against them to fall rapidly. These rumors also reached the press box where a number of correspondents, including Hugh Fullerton of the Chicago Herald and Examiner and ex-player and manager Christy Mathewson, resolved to compare notes on any plays and players that they felt were questionable. Despite the rampant rumors, gamblers continued to wager heavily against the White Sox.
However, most fans and observers were taking the series at face value. On October 2, the day of Game One, the Philadelphia Bulletin published a poem which would quickly prove to be ironic:
- Still, it really doesn't matter,
- After all, who wins the flag.
- Good clean sport is what we're after,
- And we aim to make our brag
- To each near or distant nation
- Whereon shines the sporting sun
- That of all our games gymnastic
- Base ball is the cleanest one!
On the second pitch of the Series, Eddie Cicotte struck Cincinnati leadoff hitter Morrie Rath in the back, delivering a pre-arranged signal confirming the players' willingness to go through with the fix.
Read more about this topic: Black Sox Scandal
Famous quotes containing the word series:
“History is nothing but a procession of false Absolutes, a series of temples raised to pretexts, a degradation of the mind before the Improbable.”
—E.M. Cioran (b. 1911)
“Autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)