Joe Jackson, Plaintiff: Star outfielder for the Chicago White Sox. Indicted for conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series but acquitted at trial in August 1921. Banned for life from professional baseball by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis immediately thereafter. Testified in support of lawsuit as principal plaintiff’s witness at civil trial.
Charles Comiskey, Defendant: Owner of the Chicago White Sox, the corporation sued by Joe Jackson for breach of contract. Comiskey was a star first baseman in the 1880s and ’90s who later moved into the executive ranks and became a charter club owner of the American League in 1901. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Testified as both a defense fact witness and a hostile plaintiff’s witness at civil trial.
Elbert Allen: Shorthand stenographer who recorded the grand jury testimony of Joe Jackson and Lefty Williams. Testified as defense witness at civil trial.
Alfred Austrian: Corporation counsel for the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. Interrogated Eddie Cicotte, Joe Jackson, and Lefty Williams about their World Series fix involvement in his office and then arranged for their testimony before the grand jury in 1920. Testified as defense witness at civil trial.
Henry Brigham: Foreman of the Cook County (Illinois) grand jury that indicted the Black Sox players in 1920. Testified as defense witness at civil trial.
Bill Burns: Gambler from Texas and former major-league pitcher. Indicted for conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series, but he turned state’s evidence and became a star witness for the prosecution in the 1921 Black Sox criminal trial. Deposed for civil trial.
Eddie Cicotte: Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who lost two games in the 1919 World Series. Indicted for conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series but acquitted at trial in August 1921. Banned for life from professional baseball by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Deposed for civil trial.
John J. Cornell: Cashier with Chatham Bank & Trust Company in Savannah, Georgia. Deposed for civil trial.
Charles W. Dunkley: Sports editor for the Associated Press in Chicago. Testified about Jackson’s World Series performance as plaintiff’s witness at civil trial.
Red Faber: Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who won three games in the 1917 World Series. Did not pitch in the 1919 World Series due to illness and injury.
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. Testified as defense witness at civil trial.
Happy Felsch: Outfielder for the Chicago White Sox. Indicted for conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series but acquitted at trial in August 1921. Banned for life from professional baseball by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1921. Cited for perjury by court during testimony as a plaintiff’s witness at civil trial. Decades later, Felsch became a primary source for Eliot Asinof’s book Eight Men Out.
Hugh Fullerton: Sportswriter for the Chicago Herald and Examiner who wrote articles about the fix rumors immediately following the 1919 World Series. Testified as defense witness at civil trial.
Harry Grabiner: Secretary of the Chicago White Sox who traveled to Savannah, Georgia, to sign Joe Jackson to a contract before the 1920 season. Testified as both a plaintiff and defense witness at civil trial.
James C. Hamilton: Sports writer for the Associated Press in Chicago who covered the 1919 World Series. Verified Jackson’s World Series stats as plaintiff’s witness at civil trial.
John Heydler: President of the National League and a member of the three-man National Commission that oversaw baseball before the hiring of commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in the fall of 1920. Testified as a defense witness at civil trial.
J.R. Hunter: Owner of Hunter’s Secret Service, a Chicago detective agency hired by Charles Comiskey to investigate suspected Black Sox players following the 1919 World Series. Testified as defense witness at civil trial.
Katie Jackson: Wife of Joe Jackson. Deposed about the signing of her husband’s 1920 White Sox contract in Savannah, Georgia.
Fred Luderus: Former first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Testified as plaintiff’s expert witness on the caliber of Joe Jackson’s play in the 1919 World Series.
Billy Maharg: Gambler from Philadelphia, and former professional boxer and baseball player. Gave a September 1920 newspaper interview that helped expose the World Series fix and led to Eddie Cicotte’s appearance before Chicago grand jury.
Unindicted co-conspirator and prosecution witness at 1921 Black Sox criminal trial. Deposed for civil trial.
Charles A. McDonald: Chief Justice of Chicago Criminal Courts in 1920. Empaneled the grand jury that investigated the 1919 World Series scandal. Prosecution witness at 1921 Black Sox trial. Testfied as defense witness at civil trial.
Edward McNamara: Bookkeeper at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago where Joe Jackson lived during the 1919 World Series. Testified as a defense witness at civil trial.
Walter J. Smith: Shorthand stenographer who recorded Eddie Cicotte’s grand jury testimony. Testified as defense witness at civil trial.
J.V. Steinle: Marquette University chemistry professor who testified as the court’s expert witness on the chemical composition of writings on contested documents.
John F. Tyrrell: Insurance company executive who testified as defense handwriting expert.
W.W. Way: Business college professor who testified as plaintiff’s handwriting expert.
Claude “Lefty” Williams: Pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who lost three games in the 1919 World Series. Indicted for conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series but acquitted at 1921 criminal trial. Banned for life from professional baseball by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Deposed for civil trial.