Books and articles about Eddie Cicotte

Had Eddie Cicotte not agreed to throw the 1919 World Series (and not been banned from baseball as a result), he would have been remembered as one of the game's greatest pitchers. He had a repertoire of deceptive pitches, and used pinpoint control and psychology.

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In 1917 at age 33, Cicotte led the AL with 28 wins and a 1.53 ERA. He dropped to 12-19 in 1918, but led again in 1919 with a 29-7 mark. He walked few and fielded expertly, and the only time he "beat himself," he was paid $10,000 to do it. Though he took the bribe, he was not one of the disgruntled players at the core of the infamous "Black Sox." He was unhappy with his salary as his career wound down, and he wanted to buy a farm for security. "I did it for the wife and kiddies," he explained, but he had to work many years at Ford in Detroit before he could afford to retire. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » June 9, 1909: The Red Sox edge the Browns, 3-2, scoring the winning run in the 8th inning. Ed Cicotte, relieving for Jack Ryan, pitches the last three innings for the victory. (In most record books, Cicotte is erroneously listed as pitching just one inning and is credited with a save. Researcher Dix Tourangeau noted the error) » April 14, 1910: In the season opener before 25,000 at New York's Hilltop Park, the Red Sox, sport laced collars, the last major league team to wear a collar. Boston sends the Yankees into extra innings before the game is called at the end of 14 innings with the score, 4–4. Ed Cicotte starts for Boston, with Joe Wood relieving in the 8th inning. Hippo Vaughn goes all the way for New York, retiring Boston batters in the 4th and 12 innings on four pitches. He needs just three pitches in the 10th. » April 23, 1910: At Boston, CF Tris Speaker pulls off his 2nd unassisted DP, the gem occurring in the 2nd inning against the Athletics. Speaker snares a low line drive and beats baserunner Harry Davis back to 2B. The game goes 11 innings with the A's prevailing 5–3. Eddie Plank is the starter and winner over Eddie Cicotte. » May 27, 1911: At Washington, the Nationals knock Ray Collins out of the box and beat Boston, 9–4, behind Long Tom Hughes. Tris Speaker, batting for Ed Cicotte in the 9th, has the longest hit of the day, a triple. » August 11, 1914: White Sox pitchers Mellie Wolfgang and Ed Cicotte both toss 2–0 shutouts against Cleveland. » April 14, 1917: In St. Louis, Chicago's Eddie Cicotte pitches a no-hitter over the Browns, winning easily, 11–0. Cicotte faces just 30 batters, with the only near-hit a line drive by Jimmy Austin that Chick Gandil fumbles. "And not without cause, for Jimmy's drive had whiskers like a German who was trapped for ten days on Vimy Ridge." (says the Chicago Tribune). Cicotte's 28 wins and 1.53 ERA will top the AL. » May 5, 1917: St. Louis Browns P Ernie Koob gets a 1–0 no-hitter over the White Sox' Ed Cicotte, and it's the last shutout the 24-year-old pitcher will toss. George Sisler drives in the Browns' run. A first-inning tainted hit by Buck Weaver is changed to an error after much discussion with umpires and players. Tomorrow, the writers' association will take a mail vote on a resolution that a scorer's decision can not be reversed. » September 2, 1917: The first place White Sox take a pair from the Tigers, winning 7–2 and 6–5. The Sox bunch four in the 1st and three more in the 3rd to make the shine ball's leading proponent, Ed Cicotte, a winner over Willie Mitchell. In the nitecap, the Sox snap a tie in the 9th when Eddie Collins, with one stolen base already, swipes 2B and 3B after a walk. Joe Jackson's sac fly brings him home. » September 3, 1917: In a twinbill that will resonate for years, the White Sox sweep a pair—4 wins in the last two days— from the Tigers winning, 7–5 and 11–8, while the Yankees sweep a pair from the Red Sox. Chicago now leads the Red Sox by six 1/2 games. Detroit takes the lead in the morning game, driving Red Faber from the mound in the 5th, but Ray Schalk's triple in the 8th seals the win for Chicago. In the afternoon contest, Detroit again chases Faber and scores seven runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings to take the lead, but Schalk's three-run homer in the 4th, off Bill James, puts Chicago in a lead they never relinquish. Ed Cicotte takes the p.m. game with six innings of relief, while Lefty Williams pitches three innings of hitless relief to win the a.m. game. The Sox run wild on the bases, stealing seven against Oscar Stanage in the opener and five against Archie Yelle in the 2nd game. The Tigers total 24 hits, just two less than the Sox, in losing Two weeks from now, while staying at the Ansonia Hotel in New York, the White Sox will collect $45 from each player as a gift for the Tigers, allegedly as a gift for beating the Red Sox. But suspicion will linger that some Tigers threw these two critical doubleheaders and Ty Cobb, though he had three hits, will be included in the accusations. » October 6, 1917: Before the World Series starts, Charles Comiskey offers one percent of his team's World Series share to Clark Griffith's Bat and Ball Fund for American soldiers in France. In Chicago, Happy Felsch's home run is the difference as Ed Cicotte beats the Giants' Slim Sallee 2–1 in the Series opener. » October 13, 1917: Game Five sees White Sox southpaw Reb Russell relieved by Ed Cicotte. Russell gave up two hits and a walk to the first three batters he faced. In a sloppy game marred by three New York and six Chicago errors, the White Sox break a 5–5 tie with three runs in the 8th. Red Faber, working the last two innings, is the winning pitcher. » June 14, 1919: White Sox ace Eddie Cicotte beats the A's for the 12th straight time en route to 29 wins versus 7 losses and a 1.82 ERA. » October 1, 1919: Just before the start of the WS, the highly favored White Sox became the betting underdogs. A year later the White Sox will become the Black Sox, and 8 of them--pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams, outfielders Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch, 1B Chick Gandil, SS Swede Risberg, 3B Buck Weaver, and utility infielder Fred McMullin--will be barred from baseball for taking part in throwing the Series. It will take that long for the story to unfold, as most observers at the time see nothing amiss when the Series opens in Cincinnati. » October 1, 1919: Eddie Cicotte, a 29-game winner, is driven to cover in a 5-run 4th. Cincinnati's Dutch Ruether pitches a 6-hitter, and has 3 RBI on 2 triples and a single for a 9-1 win. Reds OF Greasy Neale, the only man to play in a WS, coach a football team in the Rose Bowl, and become a pro football Hall of Fame coach, also has 3 hits. He will top the Reds with .357 for the Series. » September 2, 1920: Jim Bagby wins his 31st game, clinching the pennant for the Indians with a 10–1 win over the Tigers. Tris Speaker contributes three hits to finish the year at .388, 2nd to George Sisler's .407. The Sox 10–7 victory over the Browns is not needed by the Indians. The Indians' victory is due primarily to a .303 team BA (the Browns lead the league at .308) and the pitching of Jim Bagby, 31-12, Stan Coveleski, 24-14, and Ray Caldwell, 20-10. A big boost came from Duster Mails, brought up from the Pacific Coast League at the end of August, who won seven without a loss on a 1.85 ERA. Despite the heavy hitting in the American League, there are ten 20-game winners; the White Sox have four of them—Red Faber, Eddie Cicotte, Dickie Kerr, and Lefty Williams. » September 23, 1920: The Chicago grand jury indictment adds the names of former featherweight boxing champ Abe Attell, Hal Chase, and Bill Burns as go-betweens in the World Series scandal. Confessions, later repudiated, are signed by Ed Cicotte, Joe Jackson, Lefty Williams, and Happy Felsch. » September 26, 1920: Chicago's Eddie Cicotte tosses a seven hitter in beating the Tigers, 8–1. The Sox stay a half-game in back of the Tribe. » September 16, 1958: Yankee killer Frank Lary is the 3rd pitcher to beat them seven times in the same season, as the Tiger star defeats them, 4–2. Ed Walsh (9-1 in 1908) and Ed Cicotte (7-1 in 1916) were the others.