A box containing thousands of rare documents, letters and memos that supposedly detail events surrounding the so-called Black Sox scandal of the 1919 World Series will be up for auction starting today at a suburban Chicago auction house.
Experts say the material may offer more insight about the Chicago White Sox, whose alleged notorious actions during the series against the Cincinnati Reds has become one of the darkest events in baseball history.
“This could be a treasure trove,” baseball author Gene Carney said.
It is unclear exactly how the documents, whose existence was previously unknown, ended up together or where they have been during the past eight decades. Mastro Auctions in Burr Ridge, Ill., declined to reveal the identity of the two sellers and said they most likely purchased the box without knowing exactly what was inside.
The papers, examined by the Chicago Tribune, appear to contain documents from the 1921 criminal trial against eight White Sox players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series as part of a gambling scandal.
The documents will be up for auction until Dec. 13.
Chicago Tribune
