"Eddie Cicotte, who pitched in the American League 1905-1920, was one of the tragic figures of baseball. A family man and a fan favorite, he ascended to stardom with nothing more than a mediocre fastball, endless guile and a repertoire of trick pitches. He won 29 games in 1919 and led the Chicago White Sox to the pennant. Although he pitched poorly in the World Series that October, fans did not hold it against him-a slump can happen to anybody. A...

"This book is the exciting story of how one of the most infamous scandals in American history--the Black Sox scandal--continued for over a year following the "fixed" World Series of 1919 until the truth began to emerge. It is a story of gamblers and crooks; a story of teammates betraying one another; a story of investigations and cover-ups"--

In the most famous scandal of sports history, eight Chicago White Sox players--including Shoeless Joe Jackson--agreed to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for the promise of $20,000 each from gamblers reportedly working for New York mobster Arnold Rothstein. Heavily favored, Chicago lost the Series five games to three. Although rumors of a fix flew while the series was being played, they were largely disregarded by players...