Black Sox in the Courtroom

A comprehensive, non-partisan account of the judicial proceedings spawned by the corruption of the 1919 World Series is badly needed. This book provides it. The narrative of events has been crafted from surviving fragments of the judicial record, contemporaneous newspaper accounts of the proceedings, museum archives and, occasionally, the literature of the Black Sox scandal. Preceding the account of judicial events are a brief overview of the baseball gambling problem, a summary of the 1919 Series, and a discussion of post–Series events that presaged revelations of the Series fix.

The grand jury proceedings, the criminal trial, and ensuing civil suits initiated by various of the banned players against the White Sox are then recounted in detail, accompanied by copious source citations. The book concludes with a survey of how Black Sox–related legal proceedings have been treated in scandal literature. The book does not purport to be the definitive account of the Black Sox scandal. Rather, it uniquely presents how the matter played out in court.

Retired New Jersey prosecutor, William F. Lamb lives in Meredith, New Hampshire.

William F. Lamb

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 240
Bibliographic Info: 26 photos, glossary, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7268-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0127-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  v
Preface  1
1. Prelude to Infamy  3
2. The 1919 World Series  11
3. Rumblings of Scandal  23
4. A Grand Jury Is Convened  29
5. Early Grand Jury Proceedings  37
6. The Scandal Explodes  48
7. The Grand Jury Probe Continues  66
8. ­Post-­Indictment Turmoil  80
9. Grand Jury Redux  88
10. Extradition Follies  93
11. Criminal Trial Preliminaries  101
12. The Prosecution Case Begins  111
13. The Missing Confesssions  118
14. The Prosecution Rests  125
15. The Black Sox Defense  131
16. Closing Words, Verdict and the Landis Edict  138
17. Black Sox Lawsuits  149
18. Deposition Revelations  155
19. Eve of Trial Maneuvers 162
20. The Case of Plaintiff Jackson  165
21. The White Sox Defense and Late Trial Fireworks  178
22. Civil Case Endgame  184
23. The Jury’s Judgment and Its Aftermath  189
24. Resolution of the Remaining Lawsuits  194
25. Treatment of Judicial Proceedings in the Black Sox Canon  199
Glossary of Black Sox Persons and Places  205
Bibliography  219
Index  223

• “recommended”—Choice
• “William Lamb makes an impressive contribution to the historical understanding of the Black Sox scandal…. [His] effort reaffirms why this chapter in baseball history is worth understanding”—Nine
• “well-organized”—SABR Deadball Era Committee Newsletter