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The Fix Is In

By Dr. John D. Eigenauer
June 23, 2006

How many major league players fought in the Civil War? Which Reds manager resigned rather than read a letter written by the team’s president accusing the players of “crooked play”? Which former major league player was banned for life from minor league baseball for confessing to having intentionally hit foul balls? The answers to these questions are among the many fascinating facts in Daniel Ginsburg’s, The Fix Is In: A History of Baseball Gambling and Game Fixing Scandals.

The book, however, is not merely full of trivia—it is an excellent and thorough history of a subject that had lacked complete treatment. Until its 1995 publication, most studies of baseball gambling focused on baseball’s most famous scandal, the 1919 World Series. Perhaps because of its publication, we have more detailed studies of some of Ginsburg’s subjects, including the Louisville Gray’s scandal (The Louisville Grays Scandal of 1877: The Taint of Gambling at the Dawn of the National League, McFarland), and two biographies of Hal Chase (The Black Prince of Baseball: Hal Chase and the Mythology of the Game, Sport Media Publishing, and Hal Chase: The Defiant Life and Turbulent Times of Baseball’s Biggest Crook, McFarland). All of these important books owe something to Ginsburg’s initial history of gambling in baseball.

The book covers the period from 1865 to 1994, sometimes chronologically, and sometimes topically. It does not get mired in detail, yet it is well researched and documented. The narrative flows nicely, allowing the book to be read easily and profitably by different kinds of baseball readers. For example, the chapters on gambling in the 1800s provide many details that baseball fans will find new and entertaining and researchers will find helpful.

The first three chapters culminate in a summary of the 1877 Louisville scandal and Ginsburg’s argument that baseball verged on collapse because of it. Ginsburg claims that William Hulbert’s formation of the National League and his insistence that the league ban players involved in fixing games (a punishment that was not certain prior to that time) probably saved baseball. The author presents a solid case that because of his foresight and firm action, Hulbert belongs in the Hall of Fame. (Hulbert was elected to the Hall of Fame shortly after the book was published).

Prince Hal Hal Chase's reputation as one of baseball's biggest cheats was hard earned.

The chapter on Hal Chase serves as a nice bridge to the Black Sox scandal. Without the aid of the two current biographies of Chase, Ginsburg provides a good introduction to the man who was probably the most dishonest ballplayer of all time. Ginsburg puts Chase in perspective by chronicling his involvement in fixing games, by arguing that Chase’s actions reflected a lax contemporary attitude toward gambling (demonstrated by baseball’s consistent desire to cover up fixes), and by showing that despite having thrown games, Chase was widely accepted as the greatest first baseman in the first 50 years of professional baseball. He demonstrates that Chase, although not to be excused or considered as typical, was a reflection of his times.

Ginsburg could not have written the book without discussing the Black Sox scandal. Since the book was written in 1995, however, those who aware of recent scholarship on the topic may consider skipping the chapter. It follows Asinof’s narrative fairly closely and provides a good summary of what was known about the scandal 12 years ago. However, I recommend reading Gene Carney’s Burying the Black Sox for a more thorough treatment of the 1919 World Series scandal.

After the chapter on the Black Sox, the book has a number of fascinating chapters that describe Judge Landis’ capricious treatment of players involved in gambling, the sad cases of players such as Phil Douglas and Jimmy O’Connell, the highly publicized case of Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb, and the odd case of Billy Cox, who purchased the Phillies in 1943. The chapters are well written and informative and should be valued for their concise yet thorough treatment of some truly interesting baseball history. (For those interested in a complete biography of Judge Landis, see David Pietrusza’s award winning Judge and Jury, and for those interested in Tris Speaker, the University of Nebraska press recently published Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend by Timothy Gay).

Ginsburg also includes chapters on Denny McClain and Pete Rose, but they are not nearly as much fun as his two chapters on minor league scandals. From the fact that gamblers in the 1860s in California shot off guns during games to distract outfielders to the story about the minor league shortstop who tipped off fellow Hispanics on other teams to pitches, the chapters are full of interesting surprises.

Despite having been published in 1995 (a new paperback edition appeared in 2004), the book is essential reading for those interested in baseball’s early years. It is also entertaining for the more casual baseball fan because of its many interesting anecdotes. I highly recommend it.

John Eigenauer can be contacted at jeigenauer@yahoo.com. A complete list of his reviews and more about him can be found here.