1919–21 W514 Chick Gandil #31
The fix's ringleader, on a strip card cut by hand during the very seasons the scandal unfolded.
- Issue
- 1919–21 W514 Strip Cards
- Year
- 1919-21
- Number
- #31
- Subject
- Chick Gandil
- Grade
- SGC 1.5
- Cert #
- 5043036
1919–21 W514 Strip Cards
Crudely drawn, blank-backed cards sold in strips at candy, grocery and drug stores and cut apart by hand, which is why no two have the same edges. At 120 cards, W514 is the largest and best-known strip set, and its 1919–21 issue dates line up exactly with the Black Sox scandal. It includes seven of the eight banned White Sox (all but Fred McMullin) plus manager Kid Gleason, and for players like Swede Risberg and Lefty Williams it is one of very few cards made during their careers.
More on this issue →Chick Gandil
The hard-nosed first baseman generally regarded as the players' organizer of the fix. Gandil approached Boston bookmaker Sport Sullivan, recruited teammates, and acted as paymaster during the Series — handing out what little of the promised money actually arrived. He did not return to the White Sox in 1920. Indicted and tried with the others in 1921, he was acquitted by the jury and banned for life by Landis the following day. He never played another major-league game.
More on Chick Gandil →