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EDDIE CICOTTE VINTAGE POSTCARD WITH CUT JSA SIGNED AUTHENTIC AUTOGRAPH
Eddie Cicotte and Black Sox Scandal Photo Gallery
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Spotlight on the “Eight Men Out”: Eddie Cicotte
As we get closer to hearing the magic words, “Pitchers and catchers report,” we’re going through our vast Old-Time Baseball Photos collection looking for gems to repost. Here’s one of my favorites: a write-up about Eddie Cicotte, with a beautiful featured colorization of Eddie by our resident baseball artist, Don Stokes.
“I admit I did wrong, but I’ve paid for it the past 45 years.” -Eddie Cicotte, commenting in a 1965 interview on his role in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
Eddie “Knuckles” Cicotte is probably the most recognizable of the “Eight Men Out” after “Shoeless Joe” Jackson. His quote “I did it for the wife and kiddies,” is the second-most famous line associated with the scandal, right after “Say it ain’t so, Joe…”
Eddie Cicotte was a knuckleball specialist who pitched in the major leagues for 14 seasons. Over his career, he compiled a 208-149 record, with a 2.38 ERA. He pitched for the Tigers, Red Sox, and White Sox, and is best remembered for being one of eight players banned for life for his participation in the Black Sox scandal. Had the scandal not interrupted his career, Eddie could have been headed to the Hall of Fame.
Eddie Cicotte is recognized as the first major league pitcher to master the knuckleball. According to one description, “Eddie gripped the knuckler by holding the ball on the three fingers of a closed hand, with his thumb and forefinger to guide it, throwing it with an overhand motion, and sending it from his hand as one would snap a whip.”
Eddie made his big-league debut on September 3, 1905 with the Tigers. After a 3-year stint in the minors, he resurfaced with the Red Sox where he compiled a 41–48 record from 1908 to 1912. The Red Sox sold him to the White Sox on July 22, 1912. He had a breakout year in 1913, going 18–12 with a 1.58 ERA. He topped these numbers with his best year (1917) when he led the league in wins (28), ERA (1.53), and innings pitched (346). Eddie won Game One of the 1917 World Series, lost Game Three, and pitched six innings of relief in Game Five. Injuries reduced him to a 12–19 record in 1918, but in 1919, he rebounded to a 29-7 record and again led the league in wins, winning percentage (.806), innings pitched (306), and complete games (30).
Cicotte reportedly resisted repeated attempts by Chick Gandil to join in the plot to throw the 1919 World Series until just days before the Series opened. He pitched in three games, winning one, but pitching ineffectively and lost the other two. Probably the most famous pitch Cicotte ever threw was the one that nailed Cincinnati Reds leadoff man Morrie Rath squarely in the back to lead off the 1919 World Series, a pitch that signaled to the gamblers that the fix was on.
Eddie Cicotte was the first of the eight players to come forward admitting guilt, signing a confession and a waiver of immunity. He later recanted this confession and was acquitted of all charges at the jury trial, only to be permanently banned by Judge Landis.
After the scandal, Eddie returned to Livonia, Michigan, where he managed a service station and served as a game warden. He later worked for Ford Motor Company, retiring in 1944. At the time of his death on May 5, 1969 at age 84, he was a strawberry farmer in Farmington, Michigan. In an interview in 1965, he said he lived his post-baseball life quietly. He agreed that he had made mistakes, but insisted that he had tried to make up for it by living as clean a life as he could.
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credits; The Charles Conlon Baseball Collection; and Public Domain; Colorization by Don Stokes https://www.facebook.com/Don-Stokes-Old-Time-Baseball-Colorizations-923346241033508/timeline/
Information: Excerpts edited from the Eddie Cicotte SABR biography by Jim Sandoval:http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/1f272b1a; and from the Eddie Cicotte Wikipedia page.
