| Show r t- t c w 4 2 p j 2 4 v 44 4 w 4 A V w i Great as Any Trio Shoeless Joe Jackson left leff was considered the most natural hitter hit hit- ter who ever stepped to the plate Buck Weaver center was a remarkable shortstop who had to play third base for Chicago Black Sox Eddie slickest of spitball pitchers called his shots n ii C Swede Risberg Happy Felsch Chick Gandil shortstop Threw strikes Rough and tough Black Sox Rated Tops As Players Anyway By Harry Grayson NEA Sports Editor 1 You wont won't find the records of ot Edward Victor Cicotte Claude P. P Williams Chick Gandil Swede I Risberg Buck Weaver Fred McMullin McMullin McMullin Mc- Mc Mullin Happy Felsch and Joseph Jackson in the 7 Of I books but they I I OTil I 55 were among the theof theof theof of a O more remarkable players of the S. S Series SeneS erles game They were the notorious Chicago Black Sox who threw the world series of 1919 With Eddie Collins and Ray Schalk they were the backbone of what many baseball men consIder consider con con- sider aider the most formidable ball club that ever took the field The White Sox who changed the color of their hose were dangerously dangerously dangerously danger danger- good They bounced down in front in 1917 repeated in 19 and were about to win again in 20 when stocky Eddie Cicotte's confession cracked the scandal wide open They stood out when baseball playing was at its peak and for forat forat forat at least two years mind you while performing according to the price and watching the Scoreboard for forthe forthe forthe the next move They could pick up a cluster of runs whenever they wanted to and there was the peerless right right- hander Cicotte and Lefty Letty Williams Williams Wil Wil- liams hams to stop the other side No pitchers were more adept at slamming slamming slamming slam slam- ming the door in a batters batter's face Gandil had everything required of a first baseman except the physical advantages enjoyed by a left left-hander at the position He was rough and t tough ugh Weaver was one of the more accomplished accomplished accomplished ac ac- ac- ac shortstops but could not play shortstop for this outfit The slam bang Risberg brought in from the outfield chased Weaver to third base where he was top man in his profession McMullin who could have made any other infield rode the boards Felsch could do everything Just Justa a little bit better and threw strikes from center field Jackson Natural Hitter flitter Ty Cobb Tris Speaker and Babe Ruth call Joe Jackson the most natural hitter they ever saw Shoeless Joe Jackson so called because as a kid he once played for Greenville of the Carolina association association as as- in his stocking feet to spare a sore heel matched his 10 year American league batting average of as a strong armed outfielder A left-handed left batter standing an even six feet and weighing pounds Jackson hit in 1911 his first full campaign in the big show He batted in 12 in 13 in 16 in 18 in 19 and in 20 the year he was given the boot yet never led the league He never was below in his life Jackson was the one Cobb had to talk out of the championshIp championship championship cham cham- and the Georgia Peach did just that on more than one occasion Jackson batted and fielded I f faultlessly In the series for which h hu he e was barred for finding 1000 u under his pillow Shoeless Joe smacked the ball s savagely and on a line One hundred hundred hun hun- d dred red and sixty-eight sixty triples give Y you OU a R rough idea Shoeless Joe could get around with his brogans on He swiped 4 41 1 bases in 11 Never Kever Revealed Secret Cicotte the could make a baseball sing at the end was pitching with the cunning that came with 15 years of experience Cicotte required a long time to get going and never divulged the pitching secret that suddenly brought him to life in 16 after which there wasn't much the opposition opposition op op- position could do to or about him Id watch Eddies Eddie's hand closely to see how he held his says Frank current coach of the Red Sox Id grip the ball the same way but my pitch would be as straight as a string Id I'd watch him again His ball would hop in all directions Id I'd try again Nothing happened When he discovered his secret in 16 Cicotte was second only to Ruth of the Red Sox in effective effective- ness The following year he pitched the White Sox Sax to the pennant winning 28 and losing 12 yielding no more than 59 earned runs in innings He led the circuit in strikeouts with and only 70 bases on balls and but one wild pitch were striking evidence of ot his near perfect control There were excuses made for Buck Weaver otherwise a classy fellow and many were were inclined to lessen Shoeless Joe Jacksons Jackson's culpability culpability culpability cul cul- cul- cul on the grounds that he was illiterate and easy going The Black Sox acts were as reprehensible as they were criminal criminal crimi crimi- nal however and they are object lessons tragic examples But the fact remains that as a group baseball has had no brighter stars than those who wrote the darkest chapter in its history Next Next Hal Hal Chase another sad story |
