# data[].attributes.body
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson had already cemented himself as a legend in the making on the diamond. His career batting average was among that of the greats and his entire career stretched throughout the period of baseball called the "deadball" era. The extent of Jackson's involvement is still questioned today as he hit a series best .375 and claims to have only accepted 5 thousand dollars from teammates who were trying to force his participation. Either way the legend was the hero of many and his and his teammates involvement tainted the integrity and innocence of baseball.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Newspaper clipping following the banning of eight White Sox players. 

# data[].attributes.body
The eight players were tried in court for their involvement in throwing the games. They eventually confessed by were ultimately acquitted because of evidence being lost. However, this did not stop baseball's first commissioner of permanently banning the players from ever playing professional baseball again.

# data[].attributes.body
The White Sox started of the series worse than they have played all year. Their starting pitchers hit and walked batters, infielders made errors and batters struck out looking. After game 5 of the best of 9 series, the Sox trailed 4-1, just one game away from losing. However after incomplete payments by the gangsters, the players agree to call of the fix and attempt to win the series. After winning the next two games, the gangsters began to threaten the players who backed out of the arrangement. Chicago falls in game eight, whether legitimately or illegitimately, we will never know.

# data[].attributes.body
A gambling syndicate ran by mobster Arnold Rothstein offered at least eight of the Chicago White Sox large sums of money to intentionally lose the games. In turn the mobsters bet as much money on the underdog Cincinnati Reds as they could in as many places as possible. Talk of a fix began to begin before the series even started, as the betting odds quickly flipped from in favor of Chicago to Cincinnati.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Arnold Rothstein, mobster in charge of the scandal.

# data[].attributes.body
Gangs and organized crime were beginning to increase in size and prominence. These mob bosses were often interested in getting rich quickly, especially by illegal means.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
shoeless joe jackson leaves courthouse.mpg

# data[].attributes.body
Before getting into the scandal itself, one must understand the background on professional baseball players salary and lives. There were no successful player unions or input to the owners about how things should be ran. There was no free agency, a player either had to sign a contract with their team or they could not play with another organization. This led to very little to negotiate and in turn left players poor, struggling and in great resentment of their owners.

# data[].attributes.body
The 1919 Chicago White Sox dominated the league led by star play "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. They had an 88-52 record and were the clear cut favorites to win the best of 9 game series set to be held against the Cincinnati Reds.

# data[].attributes.body
Before the American Civil war, a variety of sports shared the interest of young American adults. Early forms of baseball was just beginning to be played, with very different playstyles and rules varying by region. During and directly following the war, baseball shot up in popularity and began to become adopted professionally.