"Charles Comiskey received a lot of the blame for the 1919 World Series scandal. Many baseball historians contend that his treatment of the players led Gandil and then others to take desperate measures to earn what they figured was their due. By any measure, Comiskey was a tightwad. He had promised his team a bonus if they won the 1917 pennant, but all they received for their victory was a case of cheap champagne. In 1918, attendance at baseball games across the country dropped because of World War I. Owners cut players salaries the next year as a result. When attendance in Chicago actually went up, Comiskey refused to bring salaries back to their previous level. While most teams gave their players $4 a day for meals, Comiskey would pay only $3. The White Sox had the filthiest uniforms in the league because Comiskey wanted to cut laundry bills. Comiskey had some of the best players in the country on his team, but paid them all far below what players of comparable talent were earning elsewhere. Charles Risberg and Claude Williams made less than $3,000 a year. Joe Jackson and George Weaver made only $6,000 a year. Eddie Cicotte had been promised a $10,000 bonus if he could win 30 games in a season. When Cicotte closed in on the 30-game goal, Comiskey had him benched to keep him from reaching the mark."
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3 comments:
i love the smell of desperation in the morning.
what's her name, and how drunk were you when you met her?
ever notice how desperation smells a lot like stale thong and Jagermeister?
really, cuz i feel that desperation smells like stale tighty-whiteys and Kamikazes... or was it tequila?? ;)
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