The Black Sox Scandal and the Commissioner's Office

The **Black Sox Scandal (1919)** was a conspiracy in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox intentionally lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for bribes from gambling syndicates financed by **Arnold Rothstein**. The event exposed the vulnerability of low-paid players to corruption and the inability of the existing **National Commission** to govern the sport. **Key Regulatory Outcomes:** * **The Commissioner's Office:** Owners replaced the weak commission with **Kenesaw Mountain Landis**, the first Commissioner of Baseball, granting him absolute authority via the **"Best Interests Clause."** * **Extra-Judicial Punishment:** Despite the players being acquitted in criminal court, Landis banned them for life, establishing that sports integrity requires standards higher than criminal law. * **Rule 21:** The scandal led to the creation of strict anti-gambling rules (Rule 21), creating a century-long firewall between US professional sports and the betting industry.