Did the Cubs Inspire the Black Sox by throwing the 1918 World Series against Babe Ruth’s Red Sox?
Most know that the 1919 White Sox threw the World Series. But one year earlier, the Red Sox and Cubs met in the ’18 World Series, a series marred by a strike, a deadly bombing and a killer flu strain, all overshadowed by the most violent war in history. Like ’19, fix accusations abounded—by the Cubs. The Original Curse examines those rumors, taking the reader into 1918, into the minds of players, owners and managers. Get a sense of the time. See what gambling, baseball and America were like. See that, in the end, a fix was possible. And even forgivable.
Meet the Cubs | Meet the Red SoxBabe Ruth
Reviews
"Sean Deveney plays connect-the-dots in this intriguing account of a possible conspiracy to throw the 1918 World Series. Thoroughly researched and well written, "The Original Curse" is a must-read for baseball fans and anyone who loves a good mystery. Is Max Flack the Shoeless Joe of the 1918 Cubs? Deveney lays out the case and let's readers decide if the fix was in."
Paul Sullivan, Cubs beat writer, Chicago Tribune
"This book gives the reader a fun and an honest look at baseball as it used to be --- the good guys, the gamblers, the cheaters, the drunks, the inept leaders. But, more than that, it puts those characters into the context of Chicago, Boston and America at the time of World War I, and you wind up with a unique way to explain the motivations of those characters."
David Kaplan, host, Chicago Tribune Live and WGN's Sports Central
"In The Original Curse, Sean Deveney artfully attacks one of baseball’s most widely accepted notions—that the sport’s gambling problem in the early part of the 20th century was restricted to the 1919 Black Sox, who conspired to fix the World Series. Baseball, by banning eight members of the Black Sox, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, attempted to portray gambling as an isolated problem. History has, generally, accepted that view. Deveney does not, challenging that preconception with the drive and curiosity of a classic whistle-blower. The job of a great writer is to provoke thought, and here, Deveney has created a veritable riot for the imagination."
Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports
The Curse Blog
Check out the official blog of The Original Curse. Ask the author questions, talk with fellow readers, and learn more about what made the 1918 season so unique.
Buy the Book
Purchase The Original Curse book online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or Borders.
