Podcasts about ban johnson

Prior to Babe Ruth and Judge Landis, perhaps no person was as synonymous with baseball as Ban Johnson, the visionary who founded the American League, outfought the National League, and ran the National Baseball Commission until the Black Sox scandal. But his tenure was not always a smooth one, and he was not well liked. So much so that 104 years ago this week, the Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox all tried to abandon the AL and form a super Senior Circuit with the NL teams. While that plan was thwarted, it signalled the beginning of the end for Johnson's reign, which Mike and Bill look back at this week. Plus, happy birthday to Tommy Leach and Jim McCormick! And farewell to Bob Blaylock and Wayne Graham.

fWotD Episode 2637: 1912 suspension of Ty Cobb Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia’s finest articles.The featured article for Wednesday, 24 July 2024 is 1912 suspension of Ty Cobb.During the 1912 baseball season, center fielder Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers was suspended for ten days. Cobb was at the time probably the biggest star in the major leagues. American League president Ban Johnson suspended and fined him $50 ($1,600 in 2023) for going into the stands at New York's Hilltop Park and beating Claude Lucker, a fan who had been heckling him.Cobb had been Lucker's verbal target throughout the four-game series between the Tigers and New York Yankees. By the fourth inning of the fourth game, on May 15, 1912, with the stream of insults continuing and questioning Cobb's racial ancestry, he lost his temper. He raced into the stands, punching and kicking Lucker, who due to an industrial accident had lost eight fingers and could not defend himself. Cobb was ejected from the game. These events were witnessed by Johnson, who suspended Cobb indefinitely. Since there were at the time few protections for ballplayers from the insults and hurled objects of fans, many took Cobb's side, including his teammates. After beating the Philadelphia Athletics on May 17, the Detroit players telegraphed Johnson that they would not play again until Cobb was reinstated. Johnson refused to do so. Seeking to avoid a $5,000 fine ($114,000 in 2023) if Detroit did not field a team, owner Frank Navin instructed manager Hughie Jennings to recruit a team. Aided by Connie Mack, the Philadelphia owner/manager, he did so. Facing baseball's World Champions, the replacement team lost 24–2. After the game, Johnson came to Philadelphia to negotiate with the players. Cobb urged them to go back to work, and they did. The striking players were fined, as was Cobb when his suspension was lifted on May 25, but all penalties were paid by Navin. Baseball's first major league strike, it had little effect, but teams put additional security into stadium seating areas.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:31 UTC on Wednesday, 24 July 2024.For the full current version of the article, see 1912 suspension of Ty Cobb on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm generative Matthew.

Back in the early 1900s, the National League was the only game in town. It was Major League Baseball, thus the name the "Senior Circuit". In 1901, Ban Johnson, and others, joined the game with the American League and it was granted Major League status in 1903. Both leagues operated as separate entities, but met every year in the World Series. In 1913, the Federal League was a minor league, but it wanted to join the party and in 1914 and 1915 it called itself a Major League as well. The Federal League, however, did not gain widespread acceptance. Despite going to head-to-head in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Brooklyn and St. Louis with established NL and AL teams, it couldn't gain a foothold. It also played in Buffalo, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Baltimore, it struggled in those cities as well. Poor attendance and high salaries for the players it poached from its NL and AL rivals, the Federal League didn't make it. In fact, very - very - few have challenged MLB. On this episode of Sports' Forgotten Heroes, baseball historian and author Dan Levitt joins the podcast to discuss the Federal League. Its teams, players, the court cases and so much more. Dan is an expert on the Federal League having written the book, "The Outlaw League And The Battle That Forged Modern Baseball."

Timothy Zarley has written a wonderful new book, "1901: The War of the Baseball Magnates." (Yelraz Publishing 2024) about the chaotic birth of what we now call baseball's modern era. We talked about some of the franchise movements, contract battles (and lawsuits) with players and the backroom dealings that brought competition to the National League, opened new markets for American's pasttime, and triggered a series of events that led to the first AL/NL World Series in 1903.The episode opens with a tribute to the great Willie Mays and Craig accepts blame for the Aggies' disappointing loss in the College World Series final round. Zarley's interview begins around the 10 minute mark.Timothy Zarley website: https://www.timothyzarley.comErrata: When Mays caught Vic Wertz long fly in the 1954 World Series, Larry Doby was on second base, not third. Doby likely could have scored had he tagged -- but he didn't. Doby only got as far as third base.-->Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/tT8d3pVUsN-->You can support Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including the books featured in this episode, through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - www.hooksandruns.comHooks & Runs on TikTok -  https://www.tiktok.com/@hooksandrunsHooks & Runs on Twitter - https://twitter.com/thehooksandrunsAndrew Eckhoff on Tik TokLink: https://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestRex von Pohl (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/ Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (Premium Beat)     This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2024, all rights reserved.     

Connie Macks Page - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/connie-mack-page/Sponsor a Page - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/product/player-page-sponsorship/February 8 Events - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/this-day-in-baseball-february-8/OnFebruary 8, 1956, one of baseball's most prominent figures, Connie Mack, dies at the age of 93 from old age and hip surgery. He was known as “The Tall Tactician” and was baseball's grand old gentleman for more than a generation. Statuesque, stately, and slim, he clutched a rolled-up scorecard as he sat or stood ramrod straight in the dugout, attired in a business suit rather than a uniform, a derby or bowler in place of a baseball cap. He carried himself with quiet dignity, and commanded the respect of friend and foe.After his 11 year career as a journeyman catcher and managing Pittsburgh's National League he became a prominent figure in Ban Johnson's Western League. A founder of the American League in 1901, Mack managed and owned the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950, leading the team to five World Series titles and nine American League pennants. The 'Tall Tactician' set records for the major league wins (3,731) and losses (3,948), compiling a .486 managerial mark during his 54 years as a skipper, including his three seasons with the Pirates before the turn of the century.He won election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.Interview with Connie Mack, conducted by legendary vaudevillian Joe Cook on his Shell Chateau radio broadcast of May 29, 1937, in which Mack picks his all-time all-star team and discusses his rivalry with New York Giants manager John McGraw

Connie Macks Page - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/connie-mack-page/Sponsor a Page - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/product/player-page-sponsorship/February 8 Events - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/this-day-in-baseball-february-8/OnFebruary 8, 1956, one of baseball's most prominent figures, Connie Mack, dies at the age of 93 from old age and hip surgery. He was known as “The Tall Tactician” and was baseball's grand old gentleman for more than a generation. Statuesque, stately, and slim, he clutched a rolled-up scorecard as he sat or stood ramrod straight in the dugout, attired in a business suit rather than a uniform, a derby or bowler in place of a baseball cap. He carried himself with quiet dignity, and commanded the respect of friend and foe.After his 11 year career as a journeyman catcher and managing Pittsburgh's National League he became a prominent figure in Ban Johnson's Western League. A founder of the American League in 1901, Mack managed and owned the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950, leading the team to five World Series titles and nine American League pennants. The 'Tall Tactician' set records for the major league wins (3,731) and losses (3,948), compiling a .486 managerial mark during his 54 years as a skipper, including his three seasons with the Pirates before the turn of the century.He won election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.Interview with Connie Mack, conducted by legendary vaudevillian Joe Cook on his Shell Chateau radio broadcast of May 29, 1937, in which Mack picks his all-time all-star team and discusses his rivalry with New York Giants manager John McGraw

1-6-2024 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this show with the following statement, "Trevor Bauer has the right to work." John states his interest in discussing this matter with others, especially those with differing points of view. He then explains why Trevor Bauer should be playing Major League Baseball for a Major League Baseball team right now. During today's #savingsportshistory segment, John talks about the first ever boxing match (it happened in 1681!), Bob Feller, Ted Turner, Nancy Lopez, Lenny Wilkens, Don Sutton, John Smoltz, Ban Johnson, Lou Holtz, Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, Rabbit Maranville, and Johnny Keane.

August 20th, 1923 - A four-piece bat used by Babe Ruth is banned by American League president Ban Johnson because of the glue used on it. Johnson rules that all bats must be one piece with nothing added except tape extending to 18 inches up the handle.On August 20th, 1934 Lou Gehrig hits a first-inning grand slam off A's pitcher Buck Ross in an 11-3 Yankee win. It is the 23rd and last grand slam of his career for a still-standing record. August 20th, 1960, Ted Williams joins Babe Ruth as the only batters to collect 2,000 walks during the Red Sox's split of a twi-night doubleheader with Baltimore. August 20th, 1965, Eddie Mathews hits his 28th home run as the Braves win 4-3 at Pittsburgh. The Braves duo of Mathews and Hank Aaron, from ‘54 to ‘65, becomes the top home run duo in major league history, passing the Ruth-Gehrig total of 772 home runs while they were Yankee teammates.August 20th, 1989, Howard Johnson hits his 30th home run of the season in the Mets' 5 - 4 loss to the Dodgers and joins Barry Bonds and Willie Mays as the only players to compile 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in two different seasons. August 20th, 1998, Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire becomes the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons with a seventh-inning solo shot. The Cards beat the Mets, 2-0.

This Day in Enhanced History:August 7, 2007, Giants slugger Barry Bonds became the all-time home run king when he belted his 756th roundtripper. Bonds hit the milestone homer in the fifth inning into the right-center field bleachers off Mike Bacsik of the Nationals at AT&T Park.Milestones:August 7, 2004, Cubs' pitcher Greg Maddux wins his 300th career game, becoming the 22nd member of the 300-Win Club. Maddux defeats the Giants, going five innings and allowing four earned runs at SBC Park in San Francisco.August 7, 1999, Wade Boggs of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays becomes the first major leaguer to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit. Boggs connects against Chris Haney of the Cleveland Indians, just one day after Tony Gwynn collected his 3,000th hit.August 7, 1907, Walter Johnson picks up his first major league victory. The Washington Senators' rookie defeats the Cleveland Indians, 6-2. Johnson will win 417 games during his Hall of Fame career.Cooperstown Calls:August 7, 1972, the Hall of Fame inducts one of its largest classes ever. The list of eight new members includes Yogi Berra - presently the manager of the New York Mets - Negro leagues stars Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard, and standout pitchers Sandy Koufax and Early Wynn.Oddities:1901 - Ban Johnson suspends Baltimore 1B Burt Hart for striking umpire John Haskell yesterday, stating "This is the first time a player in the American League has struck an umpire, and it is an offense that cannot be overlooked." The 31-year-old Hart will never play again. Births: 1886 - Bill McKechnie, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer - Bill McKechnie was the first manager to ever guide three different teams to the World Series, and he won championships in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, both in seven games. Despite eight seasons at the helm of the Braves, where he won less than 46% of the time, McKechnie retired with a respectable .524 winning mark and more than 1,800 victories. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962.

In 1901, Buffalo nearly landed a Major League Baseball time with Ban Johnson's upstart American League. A double-cross by Johnson, however, gave the franchise to Boston instead.    To purchase the Greg Tranter's book mentioned in this episode, click https://buffalohistory.org/?s=moments&post_type=product   Help us grow by rating and reviewing our podcast!  

Eds gets back in the box with the story of the World Series' early days. The Series as we know it today was agreed upon in 1903, but not by Ban Johnson and John McGraw. Two of baseball's most powerful men at the time who were stern adversaries cost the fans of the game the fall classic in 1904 because of, well, reasons I guess. Tune In

We celebrate the Society for American Baseball Research's fiftieth anniversary with a look back at one of the most pivotal events in major league baseball history - and featured in the group's newly-released commemorative anthology "SABR: 50 at 50".   Longtime Society contributor Bob Bailey ("Four Teams Out: The National League Reduction of 1900") revisits his 1990 Baseball Research Journal article describing how a fledgling 12-team, 1890s-era National League pro baseball monopoly found itself on the brink of implosion - as financial imbalance, competitive disparity, self-dealing common ownership, and a pronounced national economic Depression collectively threatened the circuit's very survival by decade's end.   As a result, the NL eliminated four franchises for the 1900 season - all former refugees from the previous American Association: Ned Hanlon's "small ball"-centric (original) Baltimore Orioles (AA: 1882-92; NL: 1893-99); The Cy Young-led Cleveland Spiders (AA: 1887-88; NL: 1889-99); The woeful original Washington Senators (AA: 1891 as the "Statesmen"; NL: 1892-99); AND Louisville's first and only major league baseball team - the Colonels (née Eclipse) By 1901, Baltimore, Cleveland and Washington each had new franchises in Ban Johnson's NL-challenging American League - with Louisville never returning to major league play.

Baseball was the only truly national American sport in 1919, loved by fans across the United States. But the mood among players was grim--team owners kept salaries artificially low. When the Chicago White Sox won their league championship, the temptation to accept hard cash from gamblers to deliberately lose the World Series was irresistible. After all, what could possibly go wrong? The Wingfoot Express took its maiden voyage around Chicago on July 21st, 1919. The 150-foot long airship was filled with hydrogen gas--lighter than air, but extremely flammable. The dirigible caught fire in downtown Chicago, inside the Loop, right above the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, at the corner of LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard. The entire ship was consumed in literally seconds. The five men aboard jumped and tried to inflate their parachutes, but only three were successful. One man, mechanic Carl Weaver, plunged through the skylight of the bank. In this photo of the bank before the disaster, you can see how the interior was ringed by a circle of teller stations. They enclosed an area where typists, telegraphists, and other bank staff worked. For security purposes, this inner area could only be accessed through two gated entrances. Flaming debris, including the engine and two full tanks, crashed through the skylight above this inner area, starting a massive fire and trapping employees inside. This image of the interior of the bank after the disaster gives some sense of the horror of those trapped inside. 13 people died in the crash, ten of them bank employees. Before radio, fans had few ways to follow a live baseball game. Newspapers would receive game updates by telegraph and posted results in their windows. In 1912, the Washington Post invested in an elaborate scoreboard system complete with lights indicating balls, strikes, and position on the field. You can see here fans gathered to "watch" the 1912 World Series. The American and National Leagues kept player salaries low with the reserve clause, a provision in player contracts that kept players tied to one team and unable to negotiate higher salaries. The clause also made it difficult for new teams and new leagues to attract top-quality players. The Federal League, founded in 1913, tried to operate as a third major league and ended up suing the established leagues for operating an illegal monopoly. This is an official scorecard of one Federal League Team, the Neward Peps. The case came before Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. It couldn't have landed on the desk of anyone more deeply invested in the game of baseball. At the start of World War I, team owners were desperate to keep the game going and their players out of the trenches. One attempt to demonstrate their patriotism was the practice, seen here, of holding drill sessions with players before games. The War Department was not impressed and made players eligible for the draft after the 1917 World Series. The president of the American League, Ban Johnson, suggested reserving 18 players for each team and conscripting the rest. No one was impressed by this plan. While more than one third of major league players enlisted, others went to work for factories in essential industries such as steel manufacturing or shipbuilding. The players spent far more time playing baseball for factory teams than painting or welding, and team owners worried that major league baseball would be run out of business by industrial ball. Charles Comiskey, owner of the Chicago White Sox, denounced the factory team players as unpatriotic and sniffed that he wasn't sure he wanted them back on his team. The 1918 World Series was held in early September at the request of the War Department, so the second, most deadly wave of the Spanish Flu pandemic was just getting started when baseball ended for the season. Nevertheless, at least some players took to the field in masks to prevent the spread of the disease. I have been able to find out little about this photo. I don't know who was playing or the exact date. I wish I knew more--when and where the picture was taken would be a start. If I find out more, I will post it. The 1919 White Sox had a fantastic team, with several top-notch players and one genuine superstar in Joe Jackson. Shoeless Joe Jackson is one of baseball's all-time greatest players. Eddie Cicotte was a fine pitcher and possibly the inventor of the knuckleball. Lefty Williams was another strong pitcher for the White Sox. Chick Gandil, on other hand, was just average. On the other hand, he had a reputation as being crooked and multiple contacts with gambling organizations. Gandil's connections went all the way back to New York underworld figure Arnold Rothstein. Thoughtful and scheming, Rothstein inspired multiple fictional representations, including Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. The Cincinnati Reds beat the White Sox in the World Series five games to three. It was difficult to tell, watching the White Sox play, if some men on the team were playing to lose. Certainly, some of the players seemed off, but a player can have a run of bad luck. Other members of the team, such as the catcher, were sure something fishy was going on. Rumors swirled throughout the series and into the off-season that the the series had been fixed. In the fall of 1920, the story broke open, the case went before the Cook County grand jury, and all eight players were indicted. Cicotte, Jackson and Williams confessed before the grand jury--after being told they would not be prosecuted if they told the truth. In fact, the person who made that promise, Charles Comiskey's attorney, had no power to make such a promise. In the summer of 1921, the Black Sox went on trial for intent to injure the business of the Chicago White Sox. It was a difficult case to prove. Cicotte, Jackson and Williams retracted their confessions, and it proved impossible to get the gamblers in court. Ultimately, the men were acquitted. Despite their acquittal, Judge Landis, now the Commissioner of Baseball, declare the men banned from baseball for life. This had the intended effect of cleaning up the game, but was seen then and now as unjust. In this cartoon from 1921, a laundry woman, identified as the jury, shows Landis the White Sox uniforms and declares them "Clean and white!" Landis replies, "They look just th' same to me as they did before." A myth arose about the Black Sox, that they were more sinned against than sinning--hard working, blue-collar guys who just wanted to play ball but were unfairly treated by the owners, the lawyers, and the commissioner. The ultimate expression of this myth is the 1989 movie Field of Dreams. In this scene the spirits of the players emerge from an Iowan cornfield to again play baseball.

ML brings in Ian Kahanowitz to chat about his new book "Baseball Gods in Scandal", how much trouble the game was in during the Dead Ball Era, Ban Johnson's impact, the real Ty Cobb, bets and chaos and mischief and more!  

Author, Ian Kahanowitz, talks about his new book, "Baseball Gods in Scandal" . On September 25, 1919, a seemingly meaningless game was played between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, a game that should have faded to a tiny line item on MLB’s historical ledger. But Herbert "Dutch" Leonard had other ideas, and nearly seven years later the at-times brilliant and always irratic left-hand pitcher presented letters written by Ty Cobb and Smoky Joe Wood to baseball's powers that be, implicating the Baseball Gods in the fixing of and wagering on that game. Leonard's actions set off a chain of accusations, denials, resignations, player transactions, and a power struggle at the top of baseball’s power hierarchy that would change the game forever. Baseball Gods in Scandal is three stories in one, and author Ian Kahanowitz tells them all with the art of a storyteller and the precision of an historian: The pervasiveness of gambling and crooked dealings in the early days of baseball, all the way through to the Black Sox Scandal The relationship between the affair’s complex protagonists—Cobb, Tris Speaker, Smoky Joe Wood, and Dutch Leonard—with detailed profiles and ample color from baseball’s rough-and-tumble Dead Ball Era The epic battle for control of the game between the long-time Czar of Baseball, Ban Johnson, and the game’s new sheriff in town, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who cared not to share even a whiff of power with anyone Capping off Baseball Gods in Scandal is a never-before-published interview with Smoky Joe Wood (told to Lawrence Ritter for The Glory of Their Times) in which Wood recounts a very different version of the affair from his original testimony. It is safe to say that had Wood's original testimony been consistent with his revised account, the fates of Baseball Gods Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker may have turned out very differently. https://www.summergamebooks.com/titles/upcoming/baseball-gods-in-scandal-ty-cobb,-tris-speaker,-and-the-dutch-leonard-affair-detail --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-campanis-jr/support

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?This week, Steve is joined by Jim Leeke, author of From the Dugout to the Trenches: Baseball During the Great War, plus the usual preamble involving baseball and current events. Plus: An old song that sounds ominous!Warning: There is one off-color word about 15 minutes into the show.No one was replaced by Jackie Robinson*A few terrible, no good, very typical days*Jim Leeke: Baseball and “Preparedness” in 1917*The National League says no*Patriotism in a 1917 context*How World War II swamped the memory of World War I*Was the drilling of ballplayers naïve?*Clark Griffith’s war effort*Even bad people aren’t bad all the time*Why was the American League so eager to quit?*The “Work or Fight” order*Ban Johnson’s gaffe*The “Work or Fight Order” vs. the World War II “Green Light Letter”*The value of entertainment in wartime*The Steel/Steal League and Shoeless Joe Jackson*The mystery of Babe Ruth’s wartime activities*Hank Gowdy, American*An Eddie Grant Memorial*Christy Mathewson and Pete Alexander in the war*The unprecedented brutality of the First World War*The Angl0-American Baseball Project*Baseball in the land of total war*Goodbyes.

Gambling and sports have been in the news lately in the US. Authorities in Nevada and New York have shut down the fantasy sports operatorsDraftKings and FanDuel in their states, judging that their daily fantasy games constitute illegal gambling. Both companies had already come under scrutiny this past October, when news broke that their employees were scoring among the top money-winners each week. Is fantasy fixed? Or do all players have a fair chance of winning? State officials across the U.S. are deliberating whether this new variety of sports-related betting represents contests of skill and research, like investing in promising stocks, or illegal games of chance. Wagers have always been a part of modern sports. In fact, many aspects of what makes our games modern – uniform rules, standardized playing spaces and equipment, the authority of governing bodies – were developed in order to ensure a fair bet. As Charles Fountain shows in his book The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball (Oxford UP, 2015), gamblers were a constant presence around organized baseball from its start, so much so that a common term in baseball vernacular of the 1800s was “hippodroming,” a word used to describe a game whose results had been pre-arranged. Chuck points out that when rumors of a fix began to swirl around the 1919 World Series, it was nothing new or unusual. And when the rumors were revealed as true, it was thanks not so much to a principled effort to clean up the game but to the personal feud between White Sox owner Charles Comiskey and Ban Johnson, the president of the American League. But no matter how the news broke, the Black Sox scandal had a decisive influence on baseball and – as this new history shows – a lasting legacy in American popular culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gambling and sports have been in the news lately in the US. Authorities in Nevada and New York have shut down the fantasy sports operatorsDraftKings and FanDuel in their states, judging that their daily fantasy games constitute illegal gambling. Both companies had already come under scrutiny this past October, when news broke that their employees were scoring among the top money-winners each week. Is fantasy fixed? Or do all players have a fair chance of winning? State officials across the U.S. are deliberating whether this new variety of sports-related betting represents contests of skill and research, like investing in promising stocks, or illegal games of chance. Wagers have always been a part of modern sports. In fact, many aspects of what makes our games modern – uniform rules, standardized playing spaces and equipment, the authority of governing bodies – were developed in order to ensure a fair bet. As Charles Fountain shows in his book The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball (Oxford UP, 2015), gamblers were a constant presence around organized baseball from its start, so much so that a common term in baseball vernacular of the 1800s was “hippodroming,” a word used to describe a game whose results had been pre-arranged. Chuck points out that when rumors of a fix began to swirl around the 1919 World Series, it was nothing new or unusual. And when the rumors were revealed as true, it was thanks not so much to a principled effort to clean up the game but to the personal feud between White Sox owner Charles Comiskey and Ban Johnson, the president of the American League. But no matter how the news broke, the Black Sox scandal had a decisive influence on baseball and – as this new history shows – a lasting legacy in American popular culture.

Gambling and sports have been in the news lately in the US. Authorities in Nevada and New York have shut down the fantasy sports operatorsDraftKings and FanDuel in their states, judging that their daily fantasy games constitute illegal gambling. Both companies had already come under scrutiny this past October, when news broke that their employees were scoring among the top money-winners each week. Is fantasy fixed? Or do all players have a fair chance of winning? State officials across the U.S. are deliberating whether this new variety of sports-related betting represents contests of skill and research, like investing in promising stocks, or illegal games of chance. Wagers have always been a part of modern sports. In fact, many aspects of what makes our games modern – uniform rules, standardized playing spaces and equipment, the authority of governing bodies – were developed in order to ensure a fair bet. As Charles Fountain shows in his book The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball (Oxford UP, 2015), gamblers were a constant presence around organized baseball from its start, so much so that a common term in baseball vernacular of the 1800s was “hippodroming,” a word used to describe a game whose results had been pre-arranged. Chuck points out that when rumors of a fix began to swirl around the 1919 World Series, it was nothing new or unusual. And when the rumors were revealed as true, it was thanks not so much to a principled effort to clean up the game but to the personal feud between White Sox owner Charles Comiskey and Ban Johnson, the president of the American League. But no matter how the news broke, the Black Sox scandal had a decisive influence on baseball and – as this new history shows – a lasting legacy in American popular culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gambling and sports have been in the news lately in the US. Authorities in Nevada and New York have shut down the fantasy sports operatorsDraftKings and FanDuel in their states, judging that their daily fantasy games constitute illegal gambling. Both companies had already come under scrutiny this past October, when news broke that their employees were scoring among the top money-winners each week. Is fantasy fixed? Or do all players have a fair chance of winning? State officials across the U.S. are deliberating whether this new variety of sports-related betting represents contests of skill and research, like investing in promising stocks, or illegal games of chance. Wagers have always been a part of modern sports. In fact, many aspects of what makes our games modern – uniform rules, standardized playing spaces and equipment, the authority of governing bodies – were developed in order to ensure a fair bet. As Charles Fountain shows in his book The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball (Oxford UP, 2015), gamblers were a constant presence around organized baseball from its start, so much so that a common term in baseball vernacular of the 1800s was “hippodroming,” a word used to describe a game whose results had been pre-arranged. Chuck points out that when rumors of a fix began to swirl around the 1919 World Series, it was nothing new or unusual. And when the rumors were revealed as true, it was thanks not so much to a principled effort to clean up the game but to the personal feud between White Sox owner Charles Comiskey and Ban Johnson, the president of the American League. But no matter how the news broke, the Black Sox scandal had a decisive influence on baseball and – as this new history shows – a lasting legacy in American popular culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TWIBH- Ban Johnson,Baseball Dictionary-AgentTour- Women’s Baseball