The game of baseball has had its ups and downs. One of the saddest moments in the games' history occurred at the peak of its popularity in 1919. Everyone liked baseball and everyone knew when it was playoff time.

During those years, the Chicago White Sox dominated the game. They had some of the best players in the game. They also had the most famous player in the game. He was the Great Shoeless Joe Jackson. The hard hitting left fielder's glory days wouldn't last forever. After winning the playoffs in 1919, Shoeless Joe made the biggest mistake of his life. He got involved in the infamous Black Sox Scandal. Eight players from the White Sox team accepted money to throw the World Series.

The players, including Jackson, were offered $100,000 to lose the World Series. This was a lot of money back then. They accepted and lost to the Cincinnati Reds. Baseball took them to court, where they won, because there was no law against what they did. The Commissioner of Baseball threw them out of the game forever.

Why did they accept the money? They were baseball players and made a lot of money, right? Wrong. At that time, baseball players didn't make a lot of money, especially the White Sox. The White Sox owner Charles Comiskey paid his players horribly. The whole team protested this mistreatment by not washing their uniforms for games. This is how they got the nickname, the Black Sox. You can assume that Charles Comisky could have prevented the trouble by paying his players well.

Baseball began to become popular again thanks to one player: Babe Ruth. Between 1920-1933 Ruth and the Yankees won seven pennants (playoffs) and Four World Championships. Babe Ruth had an impact off the field, as well. Growing up as an orphan made the Babe care about children.

He helped other orphans throughout his career. He gained a lot of respect from the fans. Babe Ruth led the American League in Homeruns 12 times. He hit 60 homeruns alone in 1927. He completely changed the course of baseball.

So baseball made it's big come back and the Babe was a big factor. Some still argue that the White Sox never recovered, though. They still haven't won a World Series since 1917. Nonetheless Baseball is still considered America's pastime.

Nick

Please email me at: nick@ustrek.org