With the 2019 World Series hours away from coming to its conclusion, I would like to take a moment and turn back the clock a century to 1919. It has been exactly 100 years since the infamous 1919 Black Sox World Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds during which eight members of the White Sox allegedly threw the Series after consorting with gamblers. I use the term allegedly because all eight members of the Chisox including Shoeless Joe Jackson were acquitted in a court of law. But notwithstanding that court verdict, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis saw fit to ban them for life.
What gets lost in the retelling of this story is the Cincinnati Reds, the team that actually won the Series. They are essentially treated as an afterthought. The premise is had the White Sox played the series on the up and up they would have routed the Reds. I don't believe this is such a straightforward proposition.
It's true the White Sox won the 1917 World Series following a 100 win campaign. But in 1918, the Chisox fell to sixth place in the American League in a season shortened by WWI. This disappointing campaign prompted White Sox owner Charles Comiskey to fire manager Pants Rowland and replace him with Kid Gleason.
Although the White Sox got off to a 24-7 start under Gleason, they would swoon in June and were briefly overtaken in the AL standings by the upstart New York Yankees who were a year away from adding Babe Ruth to their lineup. The White Sox would reclaim first place for good on July 9th, but would face a late season challenge by the Cleveland Indians as the Chisox dropped 7 of their last 9 regular season games and finished only 3½ games ahead of a Tribe team that would win its first World Series the following year.
The Reds, like the Chisox, also had a new manager. The team hired Pat Moran who had guided the Philadelphia Phillies to their first NL pennant in 1915, but had been fired following a fifth place finish in 1918. Moran replaced future Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis after being exposed to poisonous gas while in combat during WWI.
The Reds jumped out of the gate winning their first 7 games. They would spend a good part of the season locked in a race with John McGraw's New York Giants winners of five NL pennants and who had faced the White Sox in the 1917 World Series. The Reds would claim first place for good on July 31st and surged ahead of the Giants after a 22-8 August during which they enjoyed a 10 game winning streak. At one point, the Reds had an 11 game lead over the Giants and would finish the season 9 games ahead with 96 wins. Indeed, the Reds had 8 more wins than the White Sox.
The Reds were led by NL batting champion Ed Roush, Heinie Groh and former NL MVP Jake Daubert. Pitchers Dutch Ruether and Cuban sensation Dolf Luque would have breakout seasons while journeyman pitchers Hod Eller, Slim Sallee, Jimmy Ring and Ray Fisher had career years.
While it is frequently noted that Shoeless Joe Jackson's .375 average in the World Series was the best of any player on either team, it's not like the Reds were slouches. Reds outfielder Greasy Neal hit .357 during the Series. While Roush hit a subpar .214, he did drive in 7 runs - one more than Jackson. Reds rookie outfielder Pat Duncan's 8 RBIs were the highest total on either side. Eller had two complete game victories striking out 15 over 18 innings. But, of course, this is where the questions come in. How many would Eller have struck out if the White Sox were really trying? This question ignores the fact that Eller struck out 137 batters en route to 19 wins and 16 complete games in 1919.
I believe the main reason for the lack of respect for the 1919 Reds is that they didn't replicate their success. The Brooklyn Robins won the NL pennant in 1920 and McGraw's Giants won NL record four straight pennants between 1921 and 1924. The Reds finished third in '20, fell to sixth place in '21 but had back to back second place finishes in '22 and '23. Sadly, Moran died during spring training in 1924 from complications of Bright's Disease.
By the late 1920's, the Reds became ensconced in the NL's second division enduring 11 straight losing seasons between 1927 and 1937 including five last place finishes. The Reds would return to respectability when Bill McKechnie took over the club in 1938. McKechnie guided the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series title in 1925 and the St. Louis Cardinals to the NL pennant in 1928 and would do the same for the Reds leading them to back to back NL pennants in 1939 and 1940 and a World Series title in 1940 - 21 years after the Black Sox series. Three decades would pass before the NL was dominated by the Big Red Machine with back to back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Next year three decades will have passed since the Reds won their last World Series title in 1990.
Whether members of the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series or not, I believe the Cincinnati Reds would have prevailed. Baseball fans should give the 1919 Reds the respect they deserve.
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