Respect Back To America's Game example essay topic

Pressure: A compelling or constraining influence, such as a moral force, on the mind or will. Throughout society, people face pressure daily. Whether people have to rush to finish paying off their taxes, are late for school, or are even feeling the heat to make that initial kiss after the prom, the pressure is there. How we deal with that pressure separates the most respected men in America with the most shameful. The Black Sox scandal of 1919 is an example of 8 men who succumbed to the temptation of money and the pressure of crooked gamblers. It's a story that ruined the reputation of potential Hall of Fame ballplayers and changed the absolute face of the National Pastime.

This catastrophic event, which caused a rift between fans and their belief in the integrity of the game, lasted for years. It wasn't just that an ordinary game was fixed, this was the Granddaddy of them all, the World Series. The nations biggest, most loveable star was also apart of it, Shoeless Joe Jackson. This series, however, marked a change in how things were handled in baseball, and Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis tried to bring respect back to America's game. Before the Black Sox scandal, gambling was rampant in baseball. The Major Leagues had a lax commissioner who would not institute order and discipline in a game that sorely needed it.

The owners, those which were of the likes of Charles Comiskey would repeatedly take advantage of players, by continually deferring payments and treating them terribly. Comiskey was so frugal, that he would not even pay for the uniforms of his own Major League Club to be cleaned. That is actually how they became known as "The Black Sox". Comiskey was not only cheap, but was also extremely sly and unfair when he was dealing with the business between his players. Eddie Cicotte, the star pitcher of the team, was promised a generous bonus prior to the season of 1919, if he won 30 games for the entire season.

Cicotte had won 29 games going into the last week of the season. Comiskey then decided to "rest" his ace pitcher for the last week of the season, preventing him from collecting his bonus, and furthermore causing tension within the team. So what happened in that 1919 World Series was not something out of the blue. The players were being pushed, and they thought that they had to shove back to get what they deserved. At the time, Comiskey was reaping in 70% of the profit while absolutely weaseling the players out of money that they deserved. He did not take care of them at all, and many wanted to revolt against that.

Many of them were very uncertain of their futures past baseball and wanted some type of security. That is why they did it. That's why they pulled off the most infamous gambling scheme in sports history. There were definitely some positives that came out of the Black Sox scandal. Owners became aware of how important it was to treat players with dignity and respect.

To throw games or for a player to bet on their own team was not looked at the same either. By the hash penalty that Judge Landis put on those players; including Joe Jackson who was considered by many to be the best player in the game at the time, changed the way people looked at gambling. Jackson was eventually banned from the Hall of Fame, and he lived a life of shame for the rest of his life. This event also sparked a change in society. Around the year of 1919, America was a gilded society. Newspapers were not reporting on the bad that was happening in society, but would prefer to write on the good.

It actually wasn't until the stock market crash where people began to realize that the way the media was handling situations was wrong. The newspapers at the time were not reporting on the stock market, which at the time was headed downward. The public thought everything was going well, and the next 10 years of the country seemed to be fantastic. They were even referred to as the "roaring 20's". When the stock market crashed in 1929, the entire country was shocked and went into despair. We needed a hero to bring us out of it, and that turned out to be Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Baseball mirrored America, except for the fact that it happened earlier. Attendance was booming and the owners were reaping the benefits. The baseball era was moving towards the homerun and the fans began to get excited at the prospect of the long ball. Comiskey was even paying journalists at the time to attach praise with his name whenever mentioned in the newspaper or written about in magazines.

This in turn, made the fans oblivious to the fact that the players were being treated terribly. I only took the biggest scandal in the history of sport, to bring about change in the way management handled players. So the scandal would be similar to the stock market crash. The hero of this entire mess turned out to be Judge Landis, whom at times seemed too harsh, saved the game by bringing back the integrity of it.

Some cons also definitely erupted from this incident. It completely ruined the lives of 8 players, keeping one surefire hall of famer, banned from the Hall of Fame for life. Up to this day people still argue whether Shoeless Joe Jackson should be admitted. He admitted to having taken money to fix games, but he arguably had the greatest hitting world series of all time batting over.

350 and accumulating 12 hits. He was errorless in the field as well and seemed to be least likely to fix a game being the good-natured man that he was. Another con that surfaced after the scandal was that the game completely lost its integrity and as a result, fans stopped coming to games. It would take the mighty Babe Ruth to bring them back, but Commissioner Landis had to be extremely tough on players in order to make a statement to the entire League and nation. The fact that gambling on sports came into the limelight also contributed to the cons of the Black Sox scandal.

People began to think that sports were just events that crooks fixed and that contributed to their lost belief in baseball. That also ruined the family atmosphere that the owners wanted to create. Parents were concerned about exposing their children to the corruption of gambling. The gambling aspect was rampant, but the fixing of games was halted and another case of betting on sports was not found until 70 years after the scandal. In my personal opinion, I believe that fixing games is the most shameful act a person can commit in sport. I found it disgusting and hurtful that players would actually fix games, especially such an event like the World Series.

The greatest aspect of sport is that any team can win on any given day, based on talent. To take control of that spontaneity is the unjust and is cheating the small children and the adults who follow and cheer for their teams year in and year out. Something drastic however, needed to be done, and it seemed like an eruption would take place after the terrible treatment that the owners inflicted on the players. I do not agree with what the players did however, under any circumstance.

Integrity is the component in our society that is the most respected and admired. Although the Black Sox sparked reform in baseball they will forever known as the most shameful team in the history of sport..