Chick Gandil

1917 Boston Store

Arnold Gandil

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1½", Weight 190 lb.
• Debut April 14, 1910
• Final Game September 28, 1919
• Born January 19, 1888 in St. Paul, MN USA
• Died December 13, 1970 in Calistoga, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Known in his day as a good fielding first baseman, Chick Gandil is more infamously regarded as the ringleader of the Black Sox Scandal.

As a 17-year-old, Gandil left home in Southern California to play baseball throughout the southwest United States. After several minor league seasons, he was sold by the Sacramento Sacts of the Pacific Coast League to the Chicago White Sox. He began 1910 as Jiggs Donahue's replacement as the team's regular first baseman but hit just .193 and was sent to the Montreal Royals of the Eastern League following the season.

After a little over a season in Montreal, Gandil's contract was purchased by the Washington Senators in 1912. He hit over .300 in his first two years with the club and remained the team's regular at first base for four seasons. After a year with the Cleveland Indians, he was sold back to the White Sox in 1917.

With the White Sox, Gandil put up decent numbers (despite showing no power), but his defense at first base (replacing the notoriously bad fielder Jack Fournier) proved vital as the Sox won the 1917 World Series and the 1919 American League pennant. However, behind the scenes, there was strife on the club as Gandil and a few other stars including Swede Risberg and Buck Weaver, clashed with owner Charles Comiskey about their salaries. With encouragement from notorious gambler Joseph Sullivan, Gandil allegedly enlisted several of his teammates to throw the 1919 World Series.

After apparently pocketing as much as $35,000, Gandil did not return to the White Sox in 1920. He did eventually return to Chicago for the Black Sox trial and was ultimately banned from baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

Following his baseball days, Gandil returned to California and became a plumber. He denied all guilt in the Black Sox scandal up until he died at age 83 from emphysema and heart disease.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 1917

Further Reading

• Daniel Ginsburg: "Chick Gandil", in Jacob Pomrenke, ed.: Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 67-70. ISBN 978-1-933599-95-3

External Links

• Chick Gandil at the SABR Bio Project
• Chicago Black Sox Pre-War Vintage Baseball Cards blacksoxfan.com - cards of Chick Gandil and other Black Sox players.