Did The Cubs Throw The 1918 World Series?

[cubbyfanforever]

I found this very interesting article.....

A newly found affidavit from the 1920 Grand Jury hearings has claims that the Cubs may have thrown the 1918 World Series against the Red Sox. White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte told 1920 Cook Country Grand Jury that the Cubs influenced the Sox. The idea came up on a train ride from New York, when they said the previous years Series was fixed, according to players. Well it is not certain that gamblers fixed the Series, Charles Comiskey's right hand man, Harry Grabiner, supposedly indicated in his lost diaries that the 1918 series was fixed. Taking a look at the box scores, they definitely support the claim:

"The Cubs were picked off three times, including twice in the decisive Game 6. That game was lost, 2-1, on a 2-run error by Cubs right fielder Max Flack. Game 4 had been tied, 2-2, in the eighth inning, when Cubs pitcher Shufflin' Phil Douglas gave up a single, followed by a passed ball, followed by an errant throw on a bunt attempt that allowed the winning run to score."

This is some pretty serious information, and I wonder if anything will be made of it. Maybe it is karma from the 1918 series that the Cubs haven't won since 1908. It is too bad though that the Cubs are hitting the century mark instead of the 90-year mark. Either way, it is still a long time.

[SkullKey]

" ...This is some pretty serious information, and I wonder if anything will be made of it. ... "

I;m guessing that's your comment, and, yes, something will come of it and has; the various blogs are making noise of little real substance. Just like the story itself.

The story is old. Here's a public presentation from 2 and a half years ago:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-06-09-sox-cubs-1918_x.htm#rigged

Here's WikiPedia's article on the 1918 Series; note the hardly hidden comments on "metaphorical dark clouds" :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_World_Series

The story is resurfacing because of this article by the dubious (in my opinion) Sean Deveney (the timing is odd to say the least):

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=401966

A man named Allan Wood wrote this comment at the end of Deveney's article:

" .....
allanwood on Mon Apr 21, 2008 04:44 pm
Those two pitchers threw every inning in the 1918 Series but two. It would be very difficult to throw a Series without your pitchers on board. The 1919 White Sox knew that, which is why they needed Cicotte and Williams in on it.

It wasn't Vaughn or Tyler that did poorly. Claude Hendrix and Phil Douglas -- two players later banned from baseball -- made key errors in Game 4. Many newspapers writers were mystified by the Cubs playing out of position, and their many mistakes at the plate, in the field and on the bases. (In fact, Hendrix's planned throwing of a 1920 regular season game led to the discovery of the White Sox fix.)

I explore this possibility in my book on the 1918 Red Sox. Any team can have a crappy week, but it is not out of the question that the series was crooked. Most pennant races and World Series at that time were suspect; the 1919 scandal was the tip of a very, very large iceberg. And there was more than enough financial incentive for players on both teams.
Approval Rating: 100% (out of 3 reviews). ..... "

Wood wrote the book 1918: Babe Ruth and the World Champion Boston Red Sox ( http://www.1918redsox.com/ ) and his comments carry more weight than Deveney's grandstanding.

Deveney is a Northwestern Grad and was given first look at the new papers that surfaced recently. I get the impression he's anti Cub. I also get the impression that his oddly timed article is just what I called it: grandstanding.

Deveney is in a category with Mariotti I my mind.