Red Legs Vs. Black Sox

So I was in the book store the other day, and I picked up a book on the 1919 World Series told from the Reds perspective called Red Legs vs. Black Sox by Susan Dellinger. It winds up that Dellinger is the granddaughter of Reds hall of fame outfielder Edd Rousch, one of the opposing players in that infamous series. I must admit, I knew nothing about the 1919 Reds and even less about Roush. It is a very good read, and goes into much more detail than some of the other books that I have read on the subject (Eight Men Out, and Shoeless Joe) of the Black Sox Series.

The book is a mini-biography of Roush, growing up in Indiana, playing semi-pro ball, getting a cup of cup of coffee with the White Sox in 1913, then playing with the upstart Federal League in 1914. Roush then moves onto the NY Giants, under fiery John McGraw, but ultimately gets traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1917, where he goes onto begin his stellar career. The first half of the book is primarily about Roush's climb to the major league. However it is interesting to note where and how various people that cross his path during this ascent will ulimtately cross his path again in that fateful October of 1919.

Dellinger descibes how deeply tainted the entire sport of baseball up through and beyond the 1919 series. She details players on the Reds (Hal Chase and Lee Magee) on the 1918 Red team were being paid off and throwing games; How the gamblers determined that 1919 Reds were working together as a team and could not be easily divided (bought off); how the White Sox were the opposite and in spite of their winning tradition were broken into two camps that rarely spoke to each other on or off the field; and how they possibly worked to get these two teams into the Series to make the fix a reality

There is also a lot more detail into the inner workings of the actual fix then I have read previously. It actually begins with a gambling syndicate from St. Louis came up with the idea (I had always assumed it was Arnold Rothstein that was the mastermind, he was just the bankroll), and find out what players would be willing to work with them. The book details the minor players (Sullivan, Burns, Atell) bringing their roles to a clearer light. At times it was very similar to All the Presidents Men, where you needed to keep a score card of who each person was, what their role was, and what strings there were pulling, where the money was coming from, etc.. When you actually consider the size and the scope of the fix, it is amazing that they were able to pull it off and have it take two years before anyone really noticed or did anything about it.

I cannot imagine today in our 24 hour news cycle that this information could go uncovered for 2 days let alone 2 years.

Dellinger does not paint a flattering picture of either AL President Ban Johnson or White Sox owner Charles Commisky, as they both attempt to either deny the fix or continue the cover-up as long as it is in their own best interest. The subject that some Reds pitchers (Dutch Ruether and Slim Sallee) were not completely honest and were instrumental in throwing games 6 and 7 to the Sox was also fascinated as these theories were told to Dellinger by her grandfather in a number of interviews.

I find it pretty interesting in that past 90 years, you almost never hear about how good the Reds were that year, or that they may have been a stained team as well. Either way, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a fresh perspective on this well documented Series, or any general baseball fan who wants to know what the game was like during the dead-ball era.