Chick Gandil - Definition and Overview

Arnold "Chick" Gandil (19 January 1887 - 13 December 1970) was an American baseball player. He is best known as the ringleader of the players involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

Arnold Gandil was born in 1887 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Swiss immigrants Christian and Louise Gandil.

In the fall of 1919, Chicago White Sox first baseman Chick Gandil approached his friend, Joseph Sullivan (a professional gambler), with the idea to fix the World Series. Sullivan, after consulting with his gambling acquaintances, assured Gandil that the fix was on, and that $100,000 in total would be paid to the players. In addition to serving as the contact for the gamblers, Gandil was also responsible for recruiting and paying the players involved in the fix.

Gandil received $35,000 for his role in throwing the World Series - nearly nine times his 1919 salary of $4,000.

In 1920, Gandil was banned for life from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, along with seven other White Sox players.