Informative Speech (Event)
General Purpose: To inform my audience about an event.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal in Major
League Baseball (MLB).
Central Idea: In 1919 eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to
intentionally lose the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in what people now refer
to as the Black Sox Scandal.
I. Introduction
A. Attention Getter: In 2008 the New York Giants won the Super Bowl by
defeating the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in what most sports
fans call one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
1. Detail: What would you think if I told you the Patriots lost the game
on purpose?
2. Detail: They didn’t but in 1919 a professional sports team did
intentionally throw their championship for the sake of a few extra
dollars from some greedy gamblers.
B. Central Idea: Now called the Black Sox Scandal, in 1919 eight members of
the Chicago White Sox baseball team agreed to lose several games in the
World Series against the inferior Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from
some gamblers.
C. Preview #1: Heading into the World Series the White Sox were heavy
favorites, and people in both cities believed they would make quick work of
the Reds.
D. Preview #2: Unfortunately, eight White Sox players felt slighted by their
management and also wanted to make some extra money so they agreed to
lose several games in the World Series so some gamblers could make money.
E. Preview #3: Eventually, they were found out and as a result baseball changed
its management and punished those involved in the Black Sox Scandal.
F. Transition: To get an idea of how shocking the result of this World Series
was, I will first discuss perceptions of the event from those who anticipated it.
II. Body #1
A. Topic Sentence: Throughout the time leading up to the 1919 World Series,
reporters in both Chicago and Cincinnati spoke about how good the World
Series would be, and the odds-makers listed the White Sox as heavy favorites.
B. Supporting Sentence #1: The Peter Gammons of the time, former MLB
pitcher Cristy Mathewson, predicted the best played series in years (October
1, 1919, p. 13).
1. Detail: He gave the edge on pitching to the Reds, but believed the
White Sox offense and experience gave them a better chance at victory
(October 1, 1919, p. 13).
2. Detail: He also pointed to the fact the Sox played in a better league
and had a tougher road to the series, making them ready for a fight
(October 1, 1919, p. 13).
C. Supporting Sentence #2: Gamblers also made the White Sox heavy favorites
in the World Series.
1. Detail #1: The Cincinnati Inquirer claimed that through September
29 the Reds received little moral than moral support (“Red Money
Appears,” October 1, 1919, 16).
2. Detail #2: Only when rumors about a White Sox pitcher’s health
started to swirl did the money on the Reds start to appear, but even still
the White Sox remained the favorites to win in New York, the center
for gambling activity (“Ruether to Oppose,” October 1, 1919, 13).
D. Supporting Sentence #3: Even with injuries and an apparently strong
matchup between the White Sox and the Reds, everyone felt at the outset that
the White Sox would win.
E. Transition: Little did the odds-makers and reports know, but several White
Sox players felt slighted by the way management treated them, making them
less inclined to play well for the championship.
III. Body #3
A. Topic Sentence: Despite how good the team was, the players played for an
owner who tried to squeeze every penny out of them he could, and thus they
felt the need to get back at him and make a few bucks by teaming with
gamblers and throwing a few games.
B. Supporting Sentence #1: Charles Comisky, the owner of the White Sox, had
treated his players poorly and not rewarded them for the successes they
achieved.
1. Detail #1: In fact, Comisky had not given his players a raise since
1915, and in those days players did not make nearly as much money as
they do today (Burk, 1994, p. 233).
2. Detail #2: Comisky also was the only owner who charged his own
players to launder their uniforms (Burk, 1994, p. 236-240).
3. Detail #3: As if that was not enough, he also benched his best pitcher,
Eddie Cicotte, for the last month of the season to keep him from
receiving a bonus for number of wins in a season (Asinof, 1963).
C. Supporting Sentence #2: So, Comisky’s practices set the stage for White
Sox players, led by Arnold “Chick” Gandil to make a deal with gamblers to
throw some games in the Series to make some money and make their owner
sweat.
1. Detail #1: The players were only supposed to lose a handful of
games, but when the gamblers saw how lucrative the fix was they
forced the players to lose more (Burk, 1994, p. 236-240).
2. Detail #2: Additionally, the gamblers never paid the eight corrupt
players all the money they promised them (Burk, 1994, p. 236-240).
3. Detail #3: Ultimately, the White Sox lost the Series in eight games,
but it was never close.
D. Supporting Sentence #3: Shortly following the conclusion of the World
Series, writers Ring Lardener and Cristy Mathewson compared notes and
believed the White Sox threw the Series.
E. Transition: When the law and the league looked into whether there was a
scandal, they made several important decisions regarding the players and the
game of baseball.
IV. Body #3
A. Topic Sentence: With questions swirling about the integrity of the 1919
World Series, both the government and MLB looked into the situation.
B. Supporting Sentence #1: The following year the District Attorney’s Office
in Cook County of Illinois investigated and charged quite a few White Sox
players with conspiring to throw the World Series.
1. Detail #1: The players were acquitted of the legal charges mainly
because two signed confessions disappeared during the trial (Bachin,
2003, p. 943).
C. Supporting Sentence #2: In response to the rumors of the White Sox
throwing the Series, and the subsequent Cook County investigation, the
owners of major league baseball teams hired a commissioner with unlimited
power to clean up the image of the sport.
1. Detail #1: They named Federal Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis as
commissioner, and he promptly suspended all eight of the accused
players from baseball for life (Rosenberg, 1987, p. 129-146).
2. Detail #2: His statement on the issue was simple: “Regardless of the
verdict of juries, no player who throws a ball game, no player who
undertakes or promises to throw a ball game, no player who sits in
confidence with a bunch of crooked ballplayers and gamblers, where
the ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not
promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball”
(Rosenberg, 1987, p. 129-146).
3. Detail #3: Regardless of courts, Landis found the men guilty of what
many now believe is the greatest crime against the game a player or
manager can commit.
D. Supporting Sentence #3: The guilt Landis attributed to the players,
combined with the team name, became the origin of the nickname given to
this scandal.
E. Transition: The suspension from the game they loved became an even
harsher penalty than anything the courts could have imposed.
V. Conclusion
A. Signpost: So, as you can see, the 1919 Black Sox Scandal represented one of
the worst cheating scandals in professional sports history.
B. Summary #1: The Chicago White Sox entered the World Series in 1919 as
heavy favorites over the Cincinnati Reds.
C. Summary #2: Despite their talent, their ownership created an atmosphere
where the players felt the need to seek money elsewhere, including from
gamblers.
D. Summary #3: Ultimately, the players were cheated out of their money from
the gamblers, and eventually were suspended from baseball for life as a result
of their dishonest actions.
E. Restate Thesis: The Black Sox Scandal was the largest conspiracy in
baseball history, and was the fault of greedy owners, greedy players and
greedy gamblers.
F. Clincher: Unfortunately, it is the very real actions of teams like the White
Sox that make people pause and consider whether upsets like the Giants in the
Super Bowl are truly upsets, or something more sinister.
Bibliography
Mathewson, Christy. (1 October 1919). Pitching is most important factor: Real test for
managers rests in naming boxmen and making changes, says Matty; Cicotte may
not be fit. New York Times, 13.
“Red money appears.” (1 October 1919). Chicago Daily Tribune, 16.
“Ruether to oppose Cicotte in the opener: Moran announces that left-hander will pitch
against White Sox today.” (1 October, 1919). New York Times, 13.
Burk, Robert F. (1994). Never just a game: Players, owners, and American baseball to
1920. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Asinof, Eliot. (1963). Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series, New
York, NY: Henry Holt.
Bachin, Robin F. (2003). At the nexus of labor and leisure: Baseball, nativism, and the
1919 Black Sox Scandal. Journal of Social History, 36 (1), 943.
Rosenberg, Norma L. (1987). Here comes the judge: The origins of baseball’s
commissioner system and American legal culture. Journal of Popular Culture 20
(4), 129-146.