Charles Comiskey's American League Chicago White Sox dominated baseball in the late 1910s.  After winning the American League Pennant in 1917 with 100 wins (10 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox), they defeated the New York Giants to win the World Series.  The White Sox fell to 6th place in 1918 when several star players left to serve in the U.S. military during World War I.  The return of its championship veterans—including "Shoeless" Joe Jackson—and new manager Kid Gleason helped the team win the 1919 American League Pennant.  After a 5-month, 140-game slog, the 88-52 Chicago White Sox would face the 96-44 Cincinnati Reds in the MLB's World Series Championship.

Few would have picked the Cincinnati Reds to win the National League Pennant prior to the start of the 1919 season.  During the previous two decades, the team usually ranked near the bottom of the National League standings.  However, a new manager (Pat Moran) and additions to their infield and pitching staff helped the Reds take a 9-game lead over the New York Giants and win the National League Pennant.  [Playoff games for the American and National League Pennants did not begin until 1969.]  Despite the Reds' impressive turn-around, the Chicago White Sox were expected to easily win the championship.  With odds favoring the White Sox, professional gamblers saw an opportunity to make a fortune betting on the underdog Reds.  They just needed the assistance of a few disgruntled White Sox players.

Long before individeual baseball stars earned millions of dollars per season, the combined 1919 Chicago White Sox roster earned less than $100,000—approximately $1.8 million in 2024 dollars.  Although the White Sox players earned average salaries for the period, ball club owner Charles Comiskey grew rich sparking resentment in the clubhouse.  Resentment existed in most clubhouses and there were often rumors that gamblers paid players to underperform.  The Chicago Cubs were rumored to have thrown the 1918 World Series to the Boston Red Sox and, 1 year later, gambling money threatened to taint the 1919 championship.  In September 1919, several White Sox players agreed to receive a $100,000 payment (reputedly from underworld financier Arnold Rothstein) to underperform during the 1919 World Series allowing professional gamblers to make huge profits on bets favoring the underdog Cincinnati Reds. 

When the 1919 World Series began on October 1, baseball fans were unaware of the White Sox conspiracy to lose the series, but rumors were beginning to surface in the gambling world as huge sums were bet on Cincinnati.  Rumors also reached sportswriters who closely watched the games and agreed to compare notes about suspicious plays. 

Game 1 of the championship series was at Cincinnati's Redland Field.  The MLB pitching leader and conspiracy ringleader Eddie Cicotte was on the mound.  He hit the first batter he faced signaling that the "fix" would take place.  Surprisingly competent defense by his co-conspirators kept the game close until the exasperated Cicotte was forced to allow five runs before being relieved by White Sox manager Kid Gleason.  The Reds ultimately won the game 9-1.  Game 2 starting pitcher "Lefty" Williams was less obvious about his participation in the fix but, with a weak White Sox offense, the Reds won again 4-2.

By Game 3, the fix seemed ready to fall apart when the gamblers failed to pay the players (except for Cicotte) for their participation in the thrown games.  Game 3's rookie pitcher Dickie Kerr was not part of the conspiracy and threw a 9-inning, 3-hit shutout of the Reds to earn  Chicago's first win in the series.  Cicotte was on the mound again for Game 4.  He pitched well, but made obvious fielding mistakes that helped the Reds win 2-0.  That evening, the players received part of their promised payment for participating in the conspiracy and the mollified players made enough defensive mistake to allow the Reds win Game 5 the next day.

Game 6 saw pitcher Dickie Kerr return to the mound earning his and the team's second win in the series.  Conspiracy ringleader Cicotte pitched Game 7 for Chicago.  Much to the dismay of Arnold Rothstein and the other conspiracy financiers, a number of Reds' errors gave Chicago the win.  There was now a real chance that the White Sox could stumble into winning the World Series, causing enormous financial losses for the conspiracy's financiers.  In response, one of the gambling financiers' "associates" visited several White Sox players to warn of imminent danger to the White Sox players and their families they won Game 8.  The following afternoon, Lefty Williams made a disastrous one-inning appearance before being pulled from the game.  The White Sox relief pitcher was not part of the conspiracy, but was unable to save the game.  The Reds won the game and the series.

Except for Eddie Cicotte, the remaining conspirators never received their full payment from the gamblers for throwing the World Series.  Rumors swirled and sportswriters penned stories detailing suspect plays, but there were no investigations during the off-season.  However, toward the end of the 1920 season, allegations that cheating had again taken place during an inconsequential game between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies brought the 1919 World Series rumors to the surface.  Within a month, Cicotte, Williams, Jackson and others admitted to accepting gamblers' money, but insisted they played to win or did not have an opportunity to intentionally make mistakes that affected the outcome.

On October 29, 1920, eight Chicago "Black Sox" players—Eddie Cicotte, Oscar "Happy" Felsch, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles "Swede Risberg, George "Buck" Weaver, and Charles "Lefty" Williams—were indicted on several counts of  conspiracy to defraud.  The scandal's underworld financiers were also named in the indictments.  When the case was dismissed in March 1921, new indictments were issued and the trial began in July.  During the proceedings, one of the gamblers who agreed to testify for the prosecution admitted that eight White Sox players intentionally threw the 1919 World Series in exchange for cash payments and that Cicotte was the conspiracy's ringleader.  After deliberating for just three hours, the jury—enamored with the star athletes before them—found everyone not guilty on August 2, 1921.  

Despite the acquittals, the eight White Sox players did not go unpunished.  Newly appointed Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned them from playing in the MLB for life.  In the decades after the scandal, some of the players asked the baseball commissioner for reinstatement, but their requests were denied.  Most recently, the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library in Greenville, SC, urged Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to reinstate Jackson in 2015.  Reinstatement could make it possible for the outfielder to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  After an official review, Manfred denied the request saying that, "The results of this work demonstrate to me that it is not possible now, over 95 years since those events took place and were considered by Commissioner Landis, to be certain enough of the truth to overrule Commissioner Landis' determinations."

You can learn more about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal and baseball using Census Bureau data and records.  For example:

In 2000, 2010, and 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau partnered with Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Players Association to produce public service announcements promoting the census.

For the 2000 Census, Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter made videos promoting census participation and educating the public about the confidentiality of census data.

In 2010, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallado, Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton, San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and multi-position Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim player Howie Kendrick were just a few professional athletes who encouraged fans to participate in the census.

Most recently, Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria urged Americans to "Shape Your Future" by responding to the 2020 Census.

Other profession athletes who helped spread the word about the value of the 2020 Census included retired San Antonia Spurs basketball star Manu Ginobili, Heisman Trophy winner and college football hall-of-famer Johnny Rodgers, and retired National Football League cornerback Jerraud Powers.

One year after the 1919 World Series, the 1920 Census counted 401,247 people living in Cincinnati, including 194,342 males and 206,905 females.  Cincinnati's population was young, with 128,870 age 20 and younger.  The majority of the city's population was classified as "Native White" (328,270), while 42,827 identified as foreign-born White, 30,079 were Black, and just 71 people were listed as Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and all other races.  Among the foreign-born population, 17,833 were from Germany, 4,198 were from Russia, and 3,887 came from Ireland.