Curse of the Black Sox
Encyclopedia
The "Curse of the Black Sox" (also known as the "Curse of Shoeless Joe") (1919–2005) was a superstition
or "scapegoat" cited as one reason for the failure of the Chicago White Sox
to win the World Series from 1917 until 2005. As with other supposed baseball "curses", such as the crosstown Chicago Cubs
"Curse of the Billy Goat
", or the Boston Red Sox
"Curse of the Bambino
", these "curses" have been exaggerated by the popular media over the course of time.
, with several star players being suspended at a crucial time late in the 1920 season. Conventional wisdom has it that the Sox were headed for another pennant and championship and that the suspensions knocked them out of the race. In reality, the last game for the "Eight Men Out" was September 27, just three games from the end of their season. At that point the Sox had won 3 in a row and were sitting at 95-56 with 3 games to play. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1920&t=CHA The Cleveland Indians
were also in a hot streak, at 94-54 with 6 games to play, and halfway through a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Browns
. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1920&t=CLE The Indians were just a few percentage points ahead of the White Sox.
The Indians would close the season with 4 wins and 2 losses, and finish with a 98-56 record. The Sox would lose 2 of their final 3 to finish 96-58. If the Sox had swept their final series against the Browns and the Indians record stayed the same, the American League would have had its first pennant playoff. Even discounting any morale boost the Indians might have received from the news of the Sox players' suspensions, the Sox return to the World Series was by no means ensured, even if there had been no suspensions. If they had finished tied, it would be noted that the Indians had won 12 of the clubs' 22 meetings, but the Sox had taken 2 of 3 in their most recent series.
In any case, the Sox finished in second place, two games behind the Indians, who went on to win (and make some history) in the 1920 World Series
. However, the New York Yankees
, who finished in third place just a game behind the Sox in Babe Ruth
's first year with the club, would go on to win the next three American League pennants, starting a dynasty that would be a difficult hurdle for the other AL clubs, including the White Sox, for many decades thereafter.
With the players' suspensions becoming permanent, the Sox fell to seventh place in 1921. It would be the mid-1930s before the team returned to the upper half of the league
, and the early 1950s before they became regular contenders again.
called the final out of the pennant-clinching game: "A forty year wait has now ended!" At that time, four decades was the longest stretch any major league team had gone without a World Series appearance. In that sense, the Black Sox "curse," or the apparent pall cast over the franchise for some decades in the wake of the scandal, had also finally ended. Despite the team's pennant victory, however, they lost the 1959 World Series
to the Los Angeles Dodgers
in six games.
The White Sox remained competitive for the next several years, but were not quite good enough to win. After a slump, they became a contender again starting in the late 1970s, and qualified for post-season play by winning the American League West
division title in 1983
and 1993
and the American League Central
division title in 2000
. The "curse" discussion was revived by the national media during the 2005 post-season, when the Sox won their first league championship since 1959 (an even longer wait than before, 46 years). During the ensuing 2005 World Series
, the White Sox swept the Houston Astros
for their first World Series Championship in 88 years. Some of this discussion found its way to the official World Series film DVD. For example, White Sox center fielder Aaron Rowand
, in an interview for the DVD, compared the 2004 Red Sox with the 2005 White Sox: "If they could break their 'curse', so could we."
In one of those ways that patterns appear to emerge in sporting events, the White Sox World Series win in 2005, along with the Boston Red Sox
win in 2004, symmetrically bookended the two teams' previous World Series winners and the long gaps between, with the Red Sox and White Sox last Series wins having come in 1918 and 1917, respectively.
, who was an innovative marketer but lacked sufficient resources to compete with wealthier teams. Ownership then passed to the Allyn brothers, who almost moved the team to Milwaukee while mediocre on-field performance continued. The team was then reacquired by Veeck, who sold it to current majority owner Jerry Reinsdorf
, who also owns the NBA's Bulls
on the West Side of town; in the 1990s, the team won six NBA championships.
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
or "scapegoat" cited as one reason for the failure of the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
to win the World Series from 1917 until 2005. As with other supposed baseball "curses", such as the crosstown Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
"Curse of the Billy Goat
Curse of the Billy Goat
The curse of the Billy Goat was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave a World Series game against the Detroit Tigers at the Cubs' home ground of Wrigley Field because his pet goat's odor was bothering other fans...
", or the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
"Curse of the Bambino
Curse of the Bambino
The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition cited as a reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 to 2004...
", these "curses" have been exaggerated by the popular media over the course of time.
The curse: 1920 to 1958
The White Sox were dealt a severe blow in 1919 by the Black Sox scandalBlack Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
, with several star players being suspended at a crucial time late in the 1920 season. Conventional wisdom has it that the Sox were headed for another pennant and championship and that the suspensions knocked them out of the race. In reality, the last game for the "Eight Men Out" was September 27, just three games from the end of their season. At that point the Sox had won 3 in a row and were sitting at 95-56 with 3 games to play. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1920&t=CHA The Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
were also in a hot streak, at 94-54 with 6 games to play, and halfway through a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1920&t=CLE The Indians were just a few percentage points ahead of the White Sox.
The Indians would close the season with 4 wins and 2 losses, and finish with a 98-56 record. The Sox would lose 2 of their final 3 to finish 96-58. If the Sox had swept their final series against the Browns and the Indians record stayed the same, the American League would have had its first pennant playoff. Even discounting any morale boost the Indians might have received from the news of the Sox players' suspensions, the Sox return to the World Series was by no means ensured, even if there had been no suspensions. If they had finished tied, it would be noted that the Indians had won 12 of the clubs' 22 meetings, but the Sox had taken 2 of 3 in their most recent series.
In any case, the Sox finished in second place, two games behind the Indians, who went on to win (and make some history) in the 1920 World Series
1920 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 5, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 2:Wednesday, October 6, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 3:Thursday, October 7, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 4:...
. However, the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, who finished in third place just a game behind the Sox in Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's first year with the club, would go on to win the next three American League pennants, starting a dynasty that would be a difficult hurdle for the other AL clubs, including the White Sox, for many decades thereafter.
With the players' suspensions becoming permanent, the Sox fell to seventh place in 1921. It would be the mid-1930s before the team returned to the upper half of the league
First division (baseball)
First division is a term that has had various meanings, at various times, in the sport of baseball, but originally referred to the rankings within a league...
, and the early 1950s before they became regular contenders again.
The curse: 1959 to 2005
When the White Sox finally won their next pennant, in 1959, Jack BrickhouseJack Brickhouse
John Beasley "Jack" Brickhouse was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983...
called the final out of the pennant-clinching game: "A forty year wait has now ended!" At that time, four decades was the longest stretch any major league team had gone without a World Series appearance. In that sense, the Black Sox "curse," or the apparent pall cast over the franchise for some decades in the wake of the scandal, had also finally ended. Despite the team's pennant victory, however, they lost the 1959 World Series
1959 World Series
The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, four games to two. It was the first pennant for the White Sox in 40 years . They would have to wait until 2005 to win another championship...
to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in six games.
The White Sox remained competitive for the next several years, but were not quite good enough to win. After a slump, they became a contender again starting in the late 1970s, and qualified for post-season play by winning the American League West
American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...
division title in 1983
1983 Major League Baseball season
The 1983 Major League Baseball season ended with the Baltimore Orioles defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth game of the World Series. Rick Dempsey was named MVP of the Series...
and 1993
1993 Major League Baseball season
The 1993 Major League Baseball season was also the final season of two division play in each league, before the Central Division was added the following season, giving both the NL and AL three divisions each....
and the American League Central
American League Central
The American League Central Division is one of six divisions in Major League Baseball. This division was formed in the realignment in 1994, and its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States...
division title in 2000
2000 Major League Baseball season
The 2000 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series, known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series. An all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season...
. The "curse" discussion was revived by the national media during the 2005 post-season, when the Sox won their first league championship since 1959 (an even longer wait than before, 46 years). During the ensuing 2005 World Series
2005 World Series
The 2005 World Series, the 101st Major League Baseball championship series, saw the American League champion Chicago White Sox sweep the National League champion Houston Astros four games to none in the best-of-seven-games series, winning their third championship and first since 1917.Home-field...
, the White Sox swept the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
for their first World Series Championship in 88 years. Some of this discussion found its way to the official World Series film DVD. For example, White Sox center fielder Aaron Rowand
Aaron Rowand
Aaron Ryan Rowand is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who has played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies. He was released by the Giants in September 2011.-Early life and college career:...
, in an interview for the DVD, compared the 2004 Red Sox with the 2005 White Sox: "If they could break their 'curse', so could we."
In one of those ways that patterns appear to emerge in sporting events, the White Sox World Series win in 2005, along with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
win in 2004, symmetrically bookended the two teams' previous World Series winners and the long gaps between, with the Red Sox and White Sox last Series wins having come in 1918 and 1917, respectively.
Skeptics
There is a large faction of White Sox fans who dismiss the idea of a curse against the White Sox as a ridiculous (yet successful) ploy by the national media to sensationalize the team in efforts for increased ratings, instead attributing their drought to the more obvious reason: team mismanagement. The Comiskeys were very conservative spenders (which many hypothesize to be the reason the Black Sox scandal even occurred) and it was not until 1958 that the family gave up majority ownership to Bill VeeckBill Veeck
William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
, who was an innovative marketer but lacked sufficient resources to compete with wealthier teams. Ownership then passed to the Allyn brothers, who almost moved the team to Milwaukee while mediocre on-field performance continued. The team was then reacquired by Veeck, who sold it to current majority owner Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry M. Reinsdorf is a CPA, lawyer and an owner of the MLB's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the head of the White Sox and Bulls for over 20 years.He made his initial fortune in real...
, who also owns the NBA's Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
on the West Side of town; in the 1990s, the team won six NBA championships.