Better Than The Black Sox

1917 Chicago White SoxHome Field: Comiskey Park
World ChampionsHit: #1 R; #3 BA
W - 100 L - 54Pitch: #2 OR; #1 ERA
Manager: Pants RowlandDef: #2 FA

It has been more than 80 years since a team from Chicago was champions of baseball. 1917 was the season, a year that saw the United States enter World War I. On the field the game was largely unaffected by the goings-on in Europe. That summer the Chicago White Sox won a franchise record 100 games en route to the pennant, captured by nine games over the Boston Red Sox.

Ironically the club's two top hitters, second baseman Eddie Collins and left fielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, had off years. Collins' .289 mark was his lowest in nine years while Jackson's .301 was a career low. Still Chicago had plenty of firepower, and in fact they led the league in runs scored. Center fielder Happy Felsch won the team's triple crown and his 102 RBIs was just one shy of the league's lead. Meanwhile the Sox boasted a stellar mound threesome of Eddie Cicotte, Lefty Williams, and Red Faber. Cicotte was the league's best pitcher, leading the loop with 28 wins and a 1.53 ERA. Williams chipped in 17 victories while Faber added 16.

The Sox took on the New York Giants in the World Series and promptly won two at home. The scene shifted to the Polo Grounds in New York and the Sox were shut out in Games three and four. The series returned to Comiskey Park for the fifth contest and the Giants took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh before Chicago rallied to win the game 8-5. A 4-2 triumph two days later in New York brought the World Series title to Chicago.

The club faltered in 1918 as several key players missed time. Collins, Felsch, shortstop Swede Risberg, Faber, and Williams helped the war effort and Jackson held out. Cicotte had a poor season as well. All this contributed to a sixth place finish. But 1919 dawned with essentially the same club that had won the 1917 World Series except that Kid Gleason replaced Pants Rowland as manager. Chicago won the pennant for the second time in three years. The World Series against Cincinnati turned out to be baseball's darkest hour. Eight Chicago players, including Jackson, Cicotte, Felsch, and Williams, conspired in various degrees to throw the series. The resulting Black Sox scandal is well documented.




Pos Player Bats AB H R HR RBI BA    AL Rank
C Ray Schalk R 424 96 48 2 51 .226  
1B Chick Gandil R 553 151 53 0 57 .273  
2B Eddie Collins L 564 163 91 0 67 .289    #4t R, #5 OBA
SS Swede Risberg R 474 96 59 1 45 .203  
3B-SS Buck Weaver B 447 127 64 3 32 .284  
LF Joe Jackson L 538 162 91 5 75 .301    #4t R, #5 SA
CF Happy Felsch R 575 177 75 6 102 .308    #5 BA, #2t RBI, #5t HR
RF Nemo Leibold L 428 101 59 0 29 .236  
                   
OF Shano Collins R 252 59 38 1 14 .234  
3B Fred McMullin R 194 46 35 0 12 .237  
C Byrd Lynn R 72 16 7 0 5 .222  
OF Eddie Murphy L 51 16 9 0 16 .314  
                   
Total: Team   5057 1281 657 18 535 .253  
  League Average   40671 10074 4540 134 3810 .248  

Pitcher Throw G IP W L ERA PCT    AL Rank
  Ed Cicotte R 49 347 28 12 1.53 .700    #1 W, #1 ERA, #2 K
  Red Faber R 41 248 16 13 1.92 .552    #4 ERA
  Lefty Williams L 45 230 17 8 2.97 .680  
  Reb Russell L 35 189 15 5 1.95 .750  
  Dave Danforth L 50 173 11 6 2.65 .647  
  Jim Scott R 24 125 6 7 1.87 .462  
  Joe Benz R 19 95 7 3 2.46 .700  
                   
Total: Team       100 54 2.16    
  League Average           2.66    

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