Black Sox Banned: Eight Players Expelled from Baseball
Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis permanently banned the eight Chicago Black Sox on August 3, 1921 — one day after a jury acquitted them of conspiracy charges. The acquittal didn't matter to him. Landis had been hired specifically to restore public confidence in baseball after the 1919 World Series fixing scandal, and he understood that acquittal in a criminal court and fitness to play baseball were different questions. The eight players never played professional baseball again. The jury's verdict didn't follow them out of the courtroom.
August 3, 1921
105 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on August 3
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Bishop Grimketel canonized Olaf II of Norway, elevating the fallen king to sainthood just a year after his death at the Battle of Stiklestad. This formal recogn…
Frederick of Lorraine became pope in 1057, taking the name Stephen IX, and immediately pushed church reform with a zeal that rattled the Roman aristocracy. He b…
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