A New Window Into BlackSox Scandal Opens

A previously unseen series of documents related to the 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which players were accused of plotting to fix the World Series, goes up for auction this week, reports the Chicago Tribune. The papers, appearing to date from the criminal trial of eight Chicago White Sox players who were banned from baseball, have historians excited, with one saying, "this could be a treasure trove."

Those historians have struggled to retell the story, having only newspaper articles and a few surviving interviews to draw on. Among the papers is court testimony from Shoeless Joe Jackson, the most famous of the "Eight Men Out," whose story has been recounted in books and movies. The Baseball Hall of Fame apparently will be given copies of the documents by the auction house. (More MLB stories.)