Exploring The 1919 Black Sox Scandal Through Art

Black Sox scandal documents, letters and memos are displayed on the desk at Mastro Auctions, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 in Burr Ridge, Ill. The Chicago History Museum won a collection of rare documents, letters and memos detailing the so-called 1919 World Series Black Sox scandal at an auction. Suburban Chicago auctioneer Mastro Auctions said it sold the collection to the museum for about $100,000. Experts said the treasure trove might offer insights about the Chicago White Sox and their notorious alleged actions during the series against the Cincinnati Reds that’s become one of the darkest events in baseball history.
Black Sox scandal documents, letters and memos are displayed on the desk at Mastro Auctions, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 in Burr Ridge, Ill. The Chicago History Museum won a collection of rare documents, letters and memos detailing the so-called 1919 World Series Black Sox scandal at an auction. Suburban Chicago auctioneer Mastro Auctions said it sold the collection to the museum for about $100,000. Experts said the treasure trove might offer insights about the Chicago White Sox and their notorious alleged actions during the series against the Cincinnati Reds that's become one of the darkest events in baseball history. Nam Y. Huh / AP Photo
Black Sox scandal documents, letters and memos are displayed on the desk at Mastro Auctions, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 in Burr Ridge, Ill. The Chicago History Museum won a collection of rare documents, letters and memos detailing the so-called 1919 World Series Black Sox scandal at an auction. Suburban Chicago auctioneer Mastro Auctions said it sold the collection to the museum for about $100,000. Experts said the treasure trove might offer insights about the Chicago White Sox and their notorious alleged actions during the series against the Cincinnati Reds that’s become one of the darkest events in baseball history.
Black Sox scandal documents, letters and memos are displayed on the desk at Mastro Auctions, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 in Burr Ridge, Ill. The Chicago History Museum won a collection of rare documents, letters and memos detailing the so-called 1919 World Series Black Sox scandal at an auction. Suburban Chicago auctioneer Mastro Auctions said it sold the collection to the museum for about $100,000. Experts said the treasure trove might offer insights about the Chicago White Sox and their notorious alleged actions during the series against the Cincinnati Reds that's become one of the darkest events in baseball history. Nam Y. Huh / AP Photo

Exploring The 1919 Black Sox Scandal Through Art

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A century ago in 1919, the Chicago White Sox were the subject of a scandal when eight of their players were accused of conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series game against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for large sums of money from a New York-based gambling syndicate owner named Arnold Rothstein. Artist and baseball fanatic Thom Ross is fascinated with the story, which he sees as transcending baseball to become a narrative about “human frailty and human morality.” He explores the scandal in a new exhibit at the Beverly Arts Center, which showcases paintings of Ross’ related to the scandal in an artistic dialogue with White Sox memorabilia from the time. Ross chats about the exhibit and the scandal’s place in Chicago history with guest host Steve Bynum, in for Jerome McDonnell, and Worldview’s food, health and culture contributor Monica Eng.