Quote:
Originally Posted by Bored5000
Your point about Eight Men Out is well taken. This Shoeless Joe Jackson book is also an amazing read for understanding the dynamics of the scandal and its ramifications. This book really takes the halo off Shoeless Joe's head.
According to the book, Comiskey actively covered up the scandal because he did not want to hurt his attendance. Meanwhile, the players continued throwing games into the 1920 season, either because they were being blackmailed or because they were just looking for some easy money.
http://www.amazon.com/Shoeless-The-L...ss+joe+jackson |
I read another good book on the scandal about 15 years ago: Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball. The author apologized way too much for Joe's actions, but it included a copy of Joe's grand jury testimony.
Joe was asked by the D.A. whether he hit, fielded, ran the bases, etc. with the intent to win at all times, and each time Joe answered that yes, he did.
About 5 pages later Joe was asked if he took part in a meeting with gamblers in which throwing the Series was discussed. Joe replied that he did. He was asked if he was promised money to throw the Series. Joe said that he was promised $10,000, but that he only received $5000. "We got the screw" was his exact quote.
Jackson appeared to believe he hadn't done anything wrong because, although he took the bribe and conspired to lose, he had actually played to win, making him either really dumb or really naive IMHO.