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Another Look at the Black Sox Scandal: Other Notable White Sox and Reds Players

As I near the end of my series of essays on the 1919 World Series, I’d like to say a few words about some of the other players on the two teams besides the “Eight Men Out.”

We’ve already highlighted the careers of the great Hall-of-Fame stars Eddie Collins and Edd Roush; plus managers Kid Gleason and Pat Moran. But there were a few other notable players on both teams who often get overlooked by the scandal that shook the baseball world to its core in 1919.

Today we’ll shine the spotlight on White Sox players. In the next post, we’ll take a look at notable Reds.

In the great featured photo below, we see members of the 1917 World Series Champion White Sox, all of whom were on the 1919 team: Joe Jackson, Shano Collins, Hap Felsch, Eddie Murphy, Nemo Leibold.

1919 WHITE SOX

Ray “Cracker” Schalk: In an 18-year career all with the White Sox, the 5’6” Ray Schalk played in 1760 games with a career batting average of .253 and 1,345 hits. He was known as the greatest defensive catcher of his era and an excellent handler of pitchers. He retired with a career fielding average of .981. Schalk was said to have revolutionized the way the catching position was played, with the addition of speed and defense. He managed the White Sox for one season (1927), and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956. He is the only catcher in major league history to catch for a father-son combination: “Big Ed” Walsh and his son, Ed Walsh, Jr. Ray died on May 17, 1970, in Chicago.

John “Shano” Collins: In a 16-year career, Shano Collins hit .264 with 1,687 hits. He was the first batter of the 1919 World Series, leading off Game One, and hit .250 in the four games in which he appeared. His best year was 1920 when he hit .303. Before the 1921 season, he was traded to the Red Sox and played for them through the 1925 season. He later managed the Red Sox (1931-32). Collins still holds the major league career record of eight triples with the bases loaded. In ten World Series games, all with the White Sox, he hit .270 (10-37) with four runs scored. Shano died on September 10, 1955, in Newton, Massachusetts.

Urban “Red” Faber: One of the White Sox all-time great pitchers, Red missed the 1919 World Series due to illness, but went 23-13 in 1920. He was a spitball pitcher and was one of 18 pitchers allowed to continue throwing the spitter after the ban in 1920. He played 20 years in the majors, all with the White Sox, and had a career record of 254-213 with a 3.15 ERA. He had the 17th-highest victory total in history at the time of his retirement and was elected to the Hall of fame in 1964. Red was one of only six pitchers to win 100 or more games in both the “dead ball” (through 1920) and live ball eras. He passed away on September 25, 1976, in Chicago.

Dickie Kerr: Dickie pitched four seasons in the majors, going 53-34 with an ERA of 3.84. He won two games in the 1919 World Series, posting a combined 1.42 ERA. His best season was 1920 when he went 21-9 for the White Sox. After his playing career, he was a minor league manager and scout; and is credited with converting a young pitcher named Stan Musial into an outfielder. Musial was so grateful that he named his first son, “Richard” after Dickie Kerr. He passed away on May 4, 1963, in Houston, Texas.

Harry “Nemo” Leibold: Nemo played 13 years in the majors, hitting .266 with 1,109 hits. His single in the ninth inning of the 1917 World Series drove in Buck Weaver with the final run of the championship-clinching game for the White Sox. Prior to the 1921 season, he was traded, along with Shano Collins, to the Red Sox for Harry Hooper. He was the last surviving member of the 1917 and 1919 pennant-winning White Sox. The 5’6” Leibold was one of only three regulars not accused of involvement in the Black Sox scandal. His best season was 1920 when he hit .306 with 143 hits. Nemo saw World Series action with the Senators in 1924 and ‘25 as a teammate of the great Walter Johnson. He died on February 4, 1977, in Detroit, Michigan.

Erskine Mayer: Mayer played eight seasons in the majors, with a 91-70 record and 2.96 ERA. His career ended with the 1919 World Series. He had been purchased off waivers by the White Sox in August of 1919 to add veteran help to the stretch drive. Mayer had been a member of the 1915 pennant-winning Phillies, pitching the second game of the World Series that year against the Red Sox, going nine innings in a 2-1 loss. Erskine Mayer died on March 10, 1977, in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of our readers, John Mayer, is a family descendant of Erskine Mayer.

“Clean Eddie” Murphy: Over his 11-year career in the majors, Eddie hit .287 with 680 hits. He had his best season in 1920, hitting .339 with 40 hits in 118 at-bats, primarily as a pinch hitter. In addition to 1919, he had played in the 1912 and 1914 World Series as a member of the Philadelphia A’s. Eddie passed away on February 21, 1969, in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.

Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

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