1927 TY COBB & TRIS SPEAKER CLEARED OF BASEBALL MATCH FIXING 1919 WORLD SERIES

Description: Los Angeles Evening Herald January 27 1927 Commissioner Landis clears Ty Cobb & Tris Speaker of match fixing 1919 World Series Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians At least two dozen incidents are known where players from opposing teams went in cahoots to throw a game on the final day of the season. The players would pool their money and bet on the team that would “win” the fixed contest. In 1919, when the Cleveland Indians were in Detroit to face the Cobb’s Tigers, such an arrangement was concocted. Neither the Indians nor the Tigers were going to win the pennant that season, but the Tigers were in a tight scrum with the Yankees for third place. At that time, a third place finish would mean a small share of the post-season money for every member of the Tigers. The Indians had second place locked up. Veterans Cobb and Tris Speaker of Cleveland huddled prior to the game of September 25th and ironed out the details. Speaker assured Cobb that he “wouldn’t have to worry” about the outcome of the game. The Cleveland team preferred, Speaker insisted, that Detroit finish in third. By virtue of that finish, the Tigers were likely to make about $500 for each player. Cobb, Speaker, Detroit pitcher Dutch Leonard, and Cleveland pitcher Smoky Joe Wood all agreed to conspire in the fixing of the game. According to Cobb biographer Charles Alexander: ”Then, said Leonard, the four agreed that they might as well bet some money on the game. Cobb was to put up $2,000, Leonard $1,500 and Speaker and Wood $1,000 each. Cobb suggested a park attendant named Fred West would be a good man to place the bets. But because Detroit was a 10-7 favorite and because the local bookmakers were unwilling to handle so much money, West only managed to get down $600 against the bookmakers` $420 for three betting partners.” The Tigers won the game on the 25th by a score of 9-5, plating four runs in the first two innings. The Indians committed three costly errors, and Cleveland starter Elmer Myers (perhaps tipped off to the fix or maybe acting on his own whimsy) floated pitches to the plate for the Detroit batters. Speaker banged out three hits, all of them well after the Tigers had control of the game and the outcome was clear. No one is certain whether Cobb, Speaker, or anyone else actually received money from bets placed on the game. It seems, based on the scant evidence that remains, that they were unable to place all the bets before the game. That winter, Cobb, Speaker, Wood, and Leonard went home and the matter was forgotten. But the four men did exchange letters about the incident, sharing their regret that they were unable to get their bets down in time and that their shared proposition fizzled. Rumors swirled around the 1919 World Series, but that was sadly par for the course in an era of suspicious characters in the game of baseball. It took another full year, late into the 1920 season, for the dirty story to be revealed of the Black Sox, the eight crooked players who threw the World Series. But even then, Cobb and Speaker were safe in assuming that their gambling endeavor in 1919 was never going to be an issue. There’s a saying that “all bad deeds stink,” and sure enough several years later the putrid smell of the Cobb/Speaker fixing incident drifted out. It all happened because of Leonard, who wanted to settle a score with his former teammate, Cobb, who became manager of the Tigers in 1921. Pitching for Cobb, Leonard saw inconsistent results, and suffered arm injuries. Once, Cobb kept Leonard in a game in which the southpaw surrendered 20 runs, laughing at the suggestion that he pull his struggling hurler. Weeks later, Cobb released Leonard, and according to some, Ty discouraged other teams in the league from signing the pitcher. Dutch stewed, and a few months later, in May of 1926, he presented his letters to baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, confirming the gambling fiasco from 1919 that involved Cobb and Speaker. It’s possible that Leonard was simply jealous of Cobb, or bitter that his skills as a pitcher had abandoned him. Landis felt that was so, and even though he was intrigued by the letters from Cobb and Speaker that mentioned the gambling scheme, he took no official action. His inclination was to keep Leonard, whom he saw as a loose cannon, from playing in the major leagues again. Leonard was sure to let the media know about his accusations, and a controversy erupted that threatened to stain the reputations of both Cobb and Speaker, two of the greatest players in the history of the game. At the time, both men were player-managers, and finished out the season with a cloud over their heads. After the season, neither men were retained by their teams, in what many feel was an unofficial punishment. But Cobb was not going to allow his reputation to be besmirched. With great resources at his disposal, and powerful friends in government, law, and the media, Cobb fought back, just as he did every time he stepped on a dusty baseball diamond. He hired a lawyer and sent threatening letters to Leonard, Landis, and the president of the American League, Ban Johnson. From his regal home in Augusta, Georgia, Cobb told reporters “I have given my life to the game of baseball, and I won’t accept an attempt to darken my image.” Within weeks early in 1927, Cobb received a back-channel invitation from Landis to re-enter the game. In February his contract was acquired by the Philadelphia A’s, and Ty revealed that he would be back for his 23rd season in the big leagues. Speaker signed with the Senators, and the following year he joined his friend Cobb as a grey-haired outfielder for Connie Mack in Phiadelphia. Their betting dalliance was forgotten. “I should expect that men of honor in the game of baseball will afford me the position I have earned through my years of dedication,” Cobb wrote in a letter to a friend about the incident years later. “I never played to lose one day I put on the uniform.” This vintage publication from January 27, 1927 Los Angeles Evening Hearld Newspaper covers the news of Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker's clearance of baseball match fixing allegations during the 1919 World Series. The article discusses the details of the investigation and the exoneration of the two baseball legends. This original publication is a piece of baseball history that any collector would be proud to have in their collection. The newspaper also includes mentions of other baseball greats. It is a rare glimpse into the world of baseball during the early 20th century. This item is perfect for any sports enthusiast or collector of vintage sports memorabilia.

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End Time: 2024-11-20T20:33:55.000Z

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