2 White Sox legends could still make Baseball Hall of Fame despite Black Sox scandal

On May 13, 2025, just seven months after the passing of MLB legend Pete Rose, Commissioner Robert Manfred reinstated Rose, along with several other longtime ineligible players, including all eight members of the infamous "Black Sox" who attempted to throw the 1919 World Series.

In the press release, Manfred announced a new rule: upon a player's death, they will no longer be banned from Major League Baseball. The decision was immersed with controversy considering the timing just months after Rose's death. Rose had fought tooth and nail to be reinstated by MLB until the day he died. 

That brings us to two members of the 1919 White Sox: left fielder 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson and pitcher Eddie Cicotte. Since the series was attempted to be thrown by Chicago against the Cincinnati Reds, Jackson has been considered innocent by many historians. Jackson hit .375 in eight games, smacking the series’ only home run, along with a then-series record 12 hits.  Not the statistics of a player trying to lose games.

Not only did Jackson perform up to par in the series, but he tried to return an envelope containing $5,000 to White Sox owner Charles Comiskey after the series. The money was placed under Jackson’s pillow by teammate and good friend ‘Lefty’ Williams, who received the money from the gamblers who helped conspire the series. While perhaps the most known of the players involved in the scandal, huge questions about whether Jackson was involved in the scandal at all remain.

Cicotte, on the other hand, did not perform up to expectations in the series. To begin game one of the series at Redland Field in Cincinnati, Cicotte was said to have hit leadoff man Morrie Rath to let the gamblers know that the conspiracy was on. A 29-game winner in 1919, Cicotte would go on to lose games one and four for the Sox, though he would rally to win game seven. He received $10,000 for his part in the scandal.

Both Jackson and Cicotte, along with Lefty Williams, testified in a Cook County court in 1920, but were found not guilty after a lengthy legal battle. Despite the ruling, the newly appointed Commissioner, Kennesaw Mountain Landis, banned the players for life. 

Jackson and Cicotte's career numbers warrant Hall of Fame consideration

Jackson died in 1951, never receiving more than two votes on the writers’ ballot for the Hall of Fame, while Cicotte, who died in 1969, never received a single vote. Both players never really received consideration for the Hall of Fame despite having statistics that deserve to be in the conversation.

Jackson ranks third all-time on the batting average list at .356, only trailing Ty Cobb (.366) and Rogers Hornsby (.358). He also posted a career fWAR of 60.4 and WRC+ of 170, both Hall of Fame caliber numbers. Forced to retire at age 33, Jackson was also potentially on pace for 3,000 career hits, and even posted a batting average of .382 in his farewell season. 

Cicotte, known for his knuckleball, put up a career 58.8 fWAR. Baseball Reference's similarity score shows him most similar to Hall of Famers Stanley Coveleski, Chief Bender, and Jack Chesbro.

The Veterans Committee will vote in 2027 to decide on whether Jackson and Cicotte get into Cooperstown. My gut says Jackson gets in, but Cicotte doesn’t, mainly due to more familiarity with the writers.  But MLB's new rule will give players who previously had no chance a shot to be rewarded for their accomplishments. And soon, the White Sox could have two more Hall-of-Famers added to their history books.

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