In 1919 the Sox were the dominant team in baseball but they were run by a penny pinching owner who paid them a smaller salary than their less-talented peers. Eight disgruntled players decided to throw the 1919 World Series in exchange for $80,000 supplied through New York mobster Arnold Rothstein.

Unusual betting activity prior to the series gave the fix away and all eight players were banned for life and the White Sox would not win the World Series again until 2005.