The Major Players

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World Series

The Major Players
Who were the major players involved with fixing the 1919 World Series? This page gives a brief overview of who the gamblers were and how the fix was arranged with the players. We suggest for a more detailed story of the fix that you read "Eight Men Out" by Eliot Asinof.

The bookmakers/gamblers are listed in no particular order of importance.

Joseph "Sport" Sullivan - Bookmaker and gambler, met with Chick Gandil 3 weeks prior to the Series in Boston's Hotel Buckminster. Gandil had known Sullivan for about 9 years and knew that Sullivan was the kind of a guy who could raise the $80,000.00 Gandil wanted to fix the Series. Sullivan is the man that convinced Arnold Rothstein to bankroll the fix.
William Thomas "Sleepy Bill" Burns - Former Major League pitcher, met with Eddie Cicotte and Chick Gandil at the Ansonia Hotel in New York City. Burns informed the men that he knew about the fix and wanted to be the man to organize it. At this point, Cicotte and Gandil upped their ante to $100,000.00. Burns needed an associate for a job of this size and he called on an ex-fighter named Billy Maharg to help him.
Billy Maharg - An ex-fighter from Philadelphia came to New York City to help Bill Burns come up with the money to finance the fix. Maharg would go back to Philadelphia and contact every known gambler to try to raise the funds. Between Maharg and Burns they didn't raise a dollar, however it was at this point that Maharg suggested to Burns they try the number one gambler - sportsman in America - his name.........Arnold Rothstein.
Arnold "The Big Bankroll" Rothstein - He was referred to as a sportsman by the newspapers, as a professional gambler by the Broadway crowd, and as a hoodlum by his father. The truth was, he was all of these things. On the afternoon of September 23, 1919 Rothstein was enjoying a routine session at the Jamaica Race Track, when he was approached by Maharg and Burns. They told him they had a proposition for him, Rothstein said he was busy betting on horses and for them to go wait in the track restaurant, he would get back to them. In Rothstein's entourage that day was a unique little man named Abe Attell, whom Rothstein sent after the fourth race to find out what Maharg and Burns wanted. At this point, we leave Arnold Rothstein and proceed to the other players in the fix. The rest of Mr. Rothstein's story will be told through the other gamblers.
Abe "The Little Champ" Attell - For 12 years Attell held the Feather Weight Championship of the World. His reputation as a fighter had been unmatched in his time, he fought 365 professional fights, was beaten only 6 times and was never knocked out. He weighed no more than 116 pounds, hence his nickname "The Little Champ". Attell was Rothstein's body guard and errand boy, Rothstein sent Attell to find out what Maharg and Burns wanted with him. Maharg and Burns informed Attell that eight ballplayers on the Chicago White Sox were willing to throw the Series for $100,000.00 and they knew Rothstein was the only man around with that kind of money. Attell told the two men we would tell Rothstein and get back to them. Attell met with Rothstein later that evening in a private dining room at Reuben's Restaurant. Attell recounted Burns' proposition while Rothstein ate. Rothstein told Attell he didn't think it would work, which the "Little Champ" relayed back to Burns. Upon hearing Rothstein answer, Burns sought out the help of Hal Chase.
Hal Chase - The great firstbaseman of New York Highlander fame, at the time Chase was with the New York Giants. Chase was a known gambler with some connections. He assured Burns that the scheme was a solid one, he advised Burns to pursue Rothstein personally.

NOTE: Burns did pursue Rothstein and was told by Rothstein to forget the whole thing, it simply would not work. That seemed to be the end of the scheme, Maharg went back to Philadelphia and Burns went back to his oil business. Sadly for the eight Chicago White Sox ballplayers this was not the end. We now will flesh out more of the fix story before we finish with who the rest of the major players in the fix were.

Enter again Abe Attell, Attell knew a good thing when he saw it and thought this scheme was a good one to make money on, with or without the backing of Arnold Rothstein. Attell thought on the fix night and day and came up with a plan. His plan was to go back to Burns and tell him that Rothstein had changed his mind and was in on the deal. He assured Burns that Rothstein would put up the $100,000.00. With this news, Burns got fired up, and went to work, he wired Maharg in Philadelphia:
"ARNOLD R. HAS GONE THROUGH WITH EVERYTHING. GOT EIGHT IN. LEAVING FOR CINCINNATI AT 4:30. BILL BURNS."
This was three days before the Series was to begin, Burns had a lot of work to do, and a short time to get it done. The wheels of deceit began to turn, the first in a chain of lies and betrayals that would twist the World Series of 1919 into a nightmare.

Nat Evans - Evans was a partner of Arnold Rothstein, is the man who assured Rothstein the fix was for real, and throughout the fix process he was known as "Brown". Brown, along with Sullivan met with Gandil at the Warner Hotel in Chicago soon after the White Sox had clinched the pennant. Brown (Evans) was there to arrange the fix with the players and to assure Rothstein the fix was for real. Evans changed his name to Brown at the urging of Rothstein, who said it would cause some confusion if the fix was exposed later.

The Plan: Rothstein gives $40,000.00 of the $80,000.00 total to Evans to give to Sullivan for the players, the other $40,000.00 would be placed in a safe at the Hotel Congress in Chicago. If the series goes as planned, the money will be paid to players, if not, it goes back to Nat Evans. Once assured by Evans that the fix is in, Rothstein bets $270,000.00 on the Reds. Sullivan takes the $40,000.00 given to him by Evans and instead of giving it to the players as instructed, he bets $29,000.00 on the Reds at even money and gives $10,000.00 to Gandil, who in turn hands it over to pitcher Eddie Cicotte. Cicotte had demanded $10,000.00 up front to throw the World Series. Cicotte receives the money and promptly sews the bills into the lining of his coat for safe keeping.

David Zelser - Gambler, longtime friend of Abe Attell, Zelser heard rumors of a fix and wanted in on it. He was quick to go to the Little Champ, and Attell, who needed capital, was more than willing to cut him in. Zelser, reacting warily as a matter of policy, employed the Rothstein tactic of changing his last name for the duration, he called himself "Bennett". The choice of name was Attell's idea, he had a partner in New York, Curly Bennett. Two Bennetts, in two distant cities, could properly muddy up the trail.
Carl Zork - Gambler, businessman, longtime friend of Abe Attell. The Little Champ needed capital and would take it from anyone willing to donate to the cause, even his close friends.
Harry Redmon - Gambler, businessman, longtime friend of Abe Attell. Redmon also donated money to the cause.
Ben and Lou Levi - Gamblers, businessmen, longtime friends of Abe Attell, again the Little Champ needed cash and he needed it bad if he was to make any money on this thing. He didn't mind taking it from the Levi brothers either.
Joe Gedeon - Second baseman for the St. Louis Browns, friend of Swede Risberg. Before the series started, Gandil and Risberg wanted to get money down on Cincinnati so they too could make money on the fix. Gandil contacts some second rate gambler knowing full well it could expose the fix. His partner Risberg on the other hand is more cautious, he wires Gedeon and advises him of the pending action. But the message was jumbled so that it would make no sense to an outsider. It would barely make sense to Gedeon. In 1920 when the rumors of the fix grew strong, Gedeon is the man who went to Charles Comiskey to tell the story of the fix in hopes of claiming the $20,000.00 reward offered by Comiskey. Gedeon tells Comiskey nothing new, Comiskey already knew about the fix, he refuses to pay Gedeon the reward money.
The story continues...........Bill Burns and Billy Maharg had come to Cincinnati one day before the start of the Series to meet with Attell to secure the $100,000.00 for the players. They found Attell in a room crowded with his partners. Attell informed the two that he had the money, however it was all out on bets. This made Burns furious, what was he supposed to tell the players??? Attell said he would talk to the players himself.

Attell arranges a meeting with the ballplayers in Cicotte's room at the Sinton. Seven players are present, Joe Jackson is not present at this or any other meeting between the players and the gamblers. Burns introduced Attell as the man handling the affair for Rothstein in New York. Attell told them he had the $100,000.00, but had been instructed not to give it to them in a lump sum, but to stagger the payments over the course of the Series, $20,000.00 after each game they lost. The ball players were none to happy about this news and let Attell know about it.

There was a brief discussion as to the order of games to be thrown. Attell indicated he did not care, whatever the players chose to do was alright with him. It was decided that they would lose the first two, since Cicotte and Williams were scheduled to pitch those games. The players indicated they did not want to win for Dickie Kerr, who was scheduled to pitch the third game, they did not care for Kerr and wanted to lose the game he pitched. They said they would lose the third game and win the fourth when Cicotte pitched again, however this is not how it happened, they won game three and lost game four. Finally it was agreed that Burns would pick up the money for the players and bring it to the Sinton, this however did not happen as planned.

Rothstein had given instructions that Cicotte was to hit lead-off man Maurice Rath, a token of his compliance with the deal, which Cicotte did. Cicotte's first pitch was a high fastball for a strike, his second pitch was a curve ball that hit Rath squarely in the back, right between the shoulder blades, THE FIX WAS ON!!!!