BIG SCREEN BASEBALL — “Eight Men Out”

Starring: John Cusak, David Strathairn,
Michael Rooker and Charlie Sheen (1988)

REVIEWED BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher

In addition to the central story of the “Black Sox Scandal,” this movie is all about atmosphere and authenticity … it just has the “feel” of the era. This ambience genuinely adds to the movie-viewing experience. It really seems like you could be in 1919 Chicago. In fact, it is especially notable at the ballpark during the games themselves.

Remember, this was still the deadball era and a time when: Players left their gloves on the field when their team was up to bat; there were no numbers on uniforms; no batting helmets were worn; dirty, banged up baseballs continued to be used during the game; there was no sound system at the park and therefore no public address announcer; the national anthem was sung through a megaphone; newspapers were the main source of information; there was no broadcast radio so during the World Series some people gathered in halls and ballrooms as action from the games was read from streaming telegraph reports; Trains were the main form of travel for teams; and finally, the Series was best-of-nine games – not seven.

THE SCENE: By the end of the 1919 season, the Chicago White Sox were considered by most to be the best team in the majors. After all, it had only been two years since the Sox were World Champions previously. And now, in ’19, they were facing the Cincinnati Reds and were heavy favorites to triumph in the Fall Classic once again.

It’s a somewhat complicated story with a lot of characters and intertwining subplots. Essentially, the film consists of three parts: During the first quarter of so of “Eight Men Out,” the characters are introduced and the fix to throw games is set up; This is followed by the longer middle section consisting of the World Series itself; Finally, the aftermath of the scandal is covered in the final portion of the film.

♦︎ The Fix ♦︎

For years, baseball had been a favorite sport for gamblers. Some of these gamblers were unsrupulous types who were not above trying to fix games by bribing players to purposely lose. Several were sniffing around the Chisox toward the end of the season to see if any players could be bought. (Many of the White Sox players felt they were vastly underpaid and not appreciated by owner Charles Comiskey and held a grudge against him – making them vulnerable to bribes.)

The gamblers found two willing players who were all-ears. First baseman Chick Gandil and shortstop Swede Risberg negotiated the terms and organized the scheme to throw games … eventually lining up five other players. This included ace starting pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams (as the gamblers said, the starting pitchers were the key), plus outfielder Joe Jackson.

Characters in “Eight Men Out” include:

♦︎ BUCK WEAVER: The overall story of the film centers around Chicago third baseman Buck Weaver, who knew about the fix, but played it straight.

♦︎ THE KIDS: Weaver is friends with a couple of youngsters in his neighborhood named Scooter and Bucky. They’re both die-hard Sox fans and love going to the ballpark.

♦︎ CHARLES COMISKEY: The owner of the White Sox is portrayed as a miserly old coot who does as little as possible for the players.

♦︎ “SHOELESS” JOE JACKSON: Probably the best player on the team. The left fielder’s inability to read and write is mocked by some of his fellow teammates as well as a heckler in the stands who yells “Hey professor, can you spell ‘cat’?” To which Jackson countered with “Hey Mister, can you spell sh–?”

♦︎ GAMBLERS: The movie zeroes in on a pair of gamblers – Sport Sullivan and “Sleepy” Bill Burns – plus others including former boxer Abe Attell and mafia-type figure Arnold Rothstein.

♦︎ CHICK GANDIL & SWEDE RISBERG: The two White Sox slime buckets who orchestrated the nefarious plan – Gandil was the ringleader, with Risberg assisting.

♦︎ EDDIE CICOTTE: Top pitcher who feels Comiskey cheated him out of a promised bonus.

♦︎ LEFTY WILLIAMS: When approached with the opportunity to join the fix, Williams responded “If Eddie’s in, then I’m in.”

♦︎ KID GLEASON: Former big league pitcher who manages the team.

♦︎ REPORTERS: Ring Lardner and Hugh Fullerton cover the Chisox and upon hearing rumors are suspicious from the beginning.

Scenes from the film – clockwise starting above: Buck Weaver
(as played by John Cusack); Happy Felsh (Charlie Sheen); Swede Risberg &
Chick Gandil (Don Harvey & Michael Rooker); Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn)

♦︎ The Series ♦︎

Cicotte, who won 29 games during the regular season, started the first game of the Series and promptly pitched like a bush leaguer. The Sox lost Game One. Then 22-game winner, Lefty Williams, helped throw Game Two. Others in on the fix played untypically lousy at times.

Now came a surpise. Dickey Kerr (who was not crooked) was a 13-game winner who sparkled in Game Three. Chicago won. This threw everything up in the air as many gamblers bet big on the Reds, expecting them to win their third in a row. However, in Games Four and Five, Cicotte and Williams again pitched poorly enough to lose. Now Cincinnati needed just one more win, as they lead Chicago 4-1 in the overall Series.

The next two contests provided further twists. Kerr won Game Six. Cicotte and some others became disullisioned because the gamblers hadn’t paid up yet and decided to play honestly in Game Seven. Chicago won. This narrowed the Series to just 4-3 in favor of the Reds. With the big-time gambling element now concerned the Sox might actually pull out a Series win, they took matters into their own hands. Lefty Williams was scheduled to start Game Eight. Beforehand, he was told in no uncertain terms that if Chicago didn’t lose, his wife would be killed. With seemingly no other choice, Williams gave in and pitched horribly. The Sox lost the game – and the Series.

♦︎ The Aftermath ♦︎

Doubts about the outcome of the World Series ran rampant. Reporter Hugh Fullerton began investigating and Chicago newspapers printed stories about the emerging scandal. Finally, a grand jury was called to investigate and three players signed confessions. Eventually, eight are charged with conspiring to commit a confidence game and a jury trial is held.

Meanwhile, a furious Comiskey and other owners are hellbent on cleaning up baseball … deciding that a change in leadership structure was necessary. They approached hard-nosed Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The owners offered Landis a relatively short-term deal, but the Judge demanded a lifetime contract – with absolute power. (The scene with Landis swatting flies on his desk while meeting with owners is priceless.)

Later, the trial hits a snag when the confessions of the players suddenly “disappear.” Ultimately, the jury acquits the eight “Black Sox” (as they’re now called). And although they now think everything is hunky-dory, the players don’t realize they’re in for a rude awakening. Landis hands down a landmark ruling as Commissioner: All eight players are suspended from organized baseball indefinitely. Even Buck Weaver, who took no money and played well was out because, according to Landis, he sat in on discussions of throwing the Series and did not immediately report it.

It all leaves one feeling a bit out-of-sorts … not only because the players killed their own careers, but because it was sad the scandal ever happened at all. The film ends – rightfully so – on a melacholy note. It shows Buck Weaver in the stands at a semi-pro game watching Shoeless Joe Jackson play under an assumed name.

• • • • •

“Eight Men Out” has an excellent cast and the actors are believable on the field. However, once the World Series ends, the film does lose a certain amount of “oomph” during the trial section. But really, there isn’t anything that needs to be cut or changed as the story is kept tight and the characterizations and subplots are necessary to tell the tale and keep the audience’s interest. It might help to know a little about baseball and/or the scandal as the back-and-forth between subplots can get a bit dizzying at times. However, most people should be able to follow along. It really is a classic baseball movie. … And that, you can bet on.

THE FOLLOWING ARE FROM PACIFIC TRADING CARDS’ 110-CARD 1988 “EIGHT MEN OUT” SET:

• THE INFAMOUS EIGHT •

• JOHN CUSACK as BUCK WEAVER •

Cusack went on to star in many more
movies, including the action-packed “Con Air.”

• DAVID STRATHAIRN as EDDIE CICOTTE •

An Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner,
Strathairn has had a prolific movie and television career.

• MICHAEL ROOKER as CHICK GANDIL •

Immediately following “Eight Men Out,” Rooker
appeared as another slimy character in “Mississippi Burning.”

• CHARLIE SHEEN as HAPPY FELSCH •

Sheen may be best known for his eight years on the hit CBS comedy
“Two and a Half Men.” He also starred in the movies “Major League” and Major League II.”

• D.B. SWEENEY as SHOELESS JOE JACKSON •

A year after “Eight Men Out,” Sweeney was
part of the acclaimed TV mini-series “Lonesome Dove.”

• JAMES READ as LEFTY WILLIAMS •

Between 1985-94, Read starred in all
three “North and South” mini-series on ABC.

• DON HARVEY as SWEDE RISBERG •

Harvey has a long list of credits
on both the big and small screens.

• PERRY LANG as FRED McMULLEN •

In addition to acting, Lang has taken the
director’s chair behind the scenes on several TV shows.

• GORDON CLAPP as RAY SCHALK •

Clapp starred in the television drama
“NYPD Blue” for 12 seasons, earning an Emmy in 1998.

• JOHN MAHONEY as KID GLEASON •

The actor’s most notable role was as Martin Crane
on NBC’s “Frasier” for all 11 seasons (1993-2004).

• CLIFTON JAMES as CHARLES COMISKEY •

James played the memorable character
Sheriff J.W. Pepper in two James Bond films.

• JESSE VINCENT as SCOOTER & TAY STRATHAIRN as BUCKY •

Vincent went on to a career as an actor, writer and producer. …
Tay Strathairn’s father is David Strathairn who played Eddie Cicotte in the film.

• JOHN SAYLES as RING LARDNER •

In addition to his role as Lardner,
Sayles wrote and directed “Eight Men Out.”

• STUDS TERKEL as HUGH FULLERTON •

Terkel was an actor, broadcaster,
historian and a Pulitzer Prize winning writer.

• CHRISTOPHER LLOYD as SLEEPY BILL BURNS •

Who could forget Lloyd on TV’s “Taxi”
or in the three “Back to the Future” movies?

• KEVIN TIGHE as SPORT SULLIVAN •

Tighe starred as a paramedic Roy DeSoto
on “Emergency!” between 1972-77 on NBC.

• MICHAEL MANTEL as ABE ATTELL & MICHAEL LERNER as ARNOLD ROTHSTEIN •

Both Mantel and Lerner have
appeared in numerous movies and TV shows.

• JOHN ANDERSON as KENESAW MOUNTAIN LANDIS •

Often playing rough, tough, gruff characters, Anderson
portrayed Landis again three years later in the TV movie “Babe Ruth.”

Former major leaguer Ken Berry (1967 Topps above left) was a Technical Advisor on “Eight Men Out.”
He also had a small role as the fan who heckles Shoeless Joe Jackson early in the movie (above right).

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN
EXCLUSIVELY FOR BaseballCardFun.com

• • •

To keep up-to-date on additions to BaseballCardFun.com, subscribe below*

* Your email address will never be shared and is only used to announce new articles