| Arnold Gandil was born Janurary 19,1887 in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the age of 17, Arnold dropped out of school, ran away from home and took a train to Amarillo, Texas where he played as a catcher in Semi-Pro ball. The next year, he played in Cananea, Mexico near the Arizona border. As a pitcher he earned $15 a game. He also fought in the boxing ring, and earned $150 per fight. Additionally, Chick would work part time as a boilermaker in the nearby copper mines.
During his playing career Chick played for six different teams (Shreveport, Sacramento, Montreal, Washington, Cleveland and Chicago.) Except for two games, he played only one position: first baseman.
Chick was purchased by the Chicago White Sox in 1910 and made his Major League debut on April 14th. The 1911 season Chick played minor league ball in Montreal. 1912 Chick returned to the Major Leagues and from 1912-1915 was teammates with Walter Johnson in Washington.
Chick played the 1916 season in Cleveland and on Feburary 25,1917 was reacquired by the White Sox for $3,500. Later that year, the White Sox would win the World Series with "help" from Chick and his close friend, teammate Swede Risberg. Late in the season, the first place White Sox were scheduled to play two doubleheaders over the Labor Day weekend against the Detroit Tigers. Risberg suggested to Gandil that the Tigers lay down the four game series. Chick took the idea to Tigers pitcher Bill James who agreed that his team would go easy. The Tigers lost all four games and in return received $1,000 from the White Sox players. This incident would be investigated by Comissioner Landis in 1927, but due to contradictions, no action was taken.
The winter of 1919 Chick moved to California and by many accounts spent money quite freely. Prior to the start of the 1920 season, Chick asked White Sox owner Charles Comiskey for a $1,000 raise. Once denied, Chick retired from baseball.
After the 1921 criminal trial, Chick played outlaw baseball on the West Coast and in Arizona. Chick would later become a plumber and live in Los Angeles and Oakland before retiring in 1952 to Calistoga in Northern California.
In 1956, Chick's tell-all interview entitled "Blackest Secret" published by Melvin Durslag and printed in Sports Illustrated, Chick admits being the ringleader of the World Series fix. In the interview he also states "I feel we got what we had coming!"
Chick Gandil suffered from heart disease and emphysema and died of cardiac failure on December 13,1970. |
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