Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
It is not known for sure how much veteran pitcher Eddie Cicotte received for his part in throwing the 1919 World Series. $10,000 is the number most often thrown out for discussion, and if true, it is not that difficult to see how Eddie arrived at the decision to sell out. This $476.25 payroll check marks a portion of Cicotte's total $6,000 salary for that fateful 1919 season. Though $6,000 didn't exactly make Cicotte a pauper, he and the other disgruntled Black Sox felt they deserved more for their efforts. At 35, Cicotte was looking at the end of a 15-year career and his biggest concern was buying a farm after his impending retirement. The ace's 1919 contract called for a $10,000 provision if he reached 30 wins that season. Fans of the game's history know the story that Comiskey refused to pitch Cicotte after he reached 29 wins. This story, though often retold, is not true. Cicotte got two more starts before the season ended, both ending in no-decisions. The truth is more likely that after a decade and a half of hard work, Cicotte's arm was just worn out and had maybe one more good season left in it. Makes his participation in the fix a bit more understandable, doesn't it? This green voucher, dated September 5, 1919, is drawn on Comiskey's Drovers Bank account and represents the ace's bi-monthly honest earnings. The White Sox patriarch has signed the lower right corner in his imperial script and the knuckleballer himself has endorsed the reverse. The check carries the expected cancellation stampings and perforations, none of which affects Cicotte or Comiskey's signatures. The check has been encapsulated and graded a NM-MT 8 by PSA/DNA.