Clear Buck Weaver

April 14, 2019

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2013

The SABR Black Sox Scandal Committee will host a panel discussion to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Eight Men Out,” which was written by Eliot Asinof and first published in 1963, at the SABR 43 Convention in August. We’ve learned a great deal about the Black Sox Scandal in the last half-century, and we’ll go over some of that new information and how it affects our understanding of the story popularized by Asinof’s landmark book, which introduced so many of us to the fixed 1919 World Series.

The panelists will include:

• Dr. David Fletcher, founder and president of the Chicago Baseball Museum
• Bill Lamb, a retired New Jersey prosecutor and author of “Black Sox in the Courtroom: The Grand Jury, Criminal Trial and Civil Litigation”
• Moderator: Jacob Pomrenke, chair of the SABR Black Sox Scandal Committee
• And our special guest of honor: Patricia Anderson, niece and surrogate daughter of Buck Weaver. She and her sister, the late Bette Scanlon, were raised by Buck and Helen Weaver in Chicago for 16 years after their father died in 1931.

The panel will be August 2 in Philadelphia, PA. Any baseball fan is welcome to attend by registering for SABR 43 at SABR.org/convention.

2010

While contemplating the qualities that make a great leader and specific leaders in general, several people began to come to mind. Many of the great leaders of all time were not necessarily “positive leaders.” Some were famous; others were infamous. Leaders come in all shapes in sizes: Some are loud and aggressive; others say very little and let their actions be their example. Although level of fame does not necessarily dictate the effectiveness of a leader, it does help in making them more universal—thus having the greatest impact on the masses. The lesser known leaders have to make their impact on a much smaller, but no less important scale. Some leaders we know through history’s recollections; others we may have known personally. George “Buck” Weaver is not a household word and may never get the credit he truly deserves, yet nonetheless exhibited some of the most important qualities of leadership.

2009

Two Chicago attorneys have joined the ranks of those trying to clear “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s name.

Paul Duffy, who represents the fledgling Chicago Baseball Museum organization, and Daniel Voelker, who has sat on the group’s board of directors, take exception with assertions made about Jackson in the 1963 book by the late Eliot Asinof, “Eight Men Out.” The book, later made into a popular film of the same name, is about the eight White Sox players suspected of fixing the 1919 World Series.

Chicago BaseBall Museum Board Members & Attorneys Daniel J. Voelker and Paul A. Duffy question the accuracy of Eliot Asinof’s book, Eight Men Out (8MO), released in 1963, writing that the late Asinof’s notes indicate “his story was largely fiction.” The Asinof account has been accepted by many as true, but examination of Asinof’s notes shows the truth lies elsewhere.

The notorious Black Sox scandal of 1919 occurred when a group of White Sox players threw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for a promised payoff by gamblers set to bet on the fix. Eight players were consequently banned from baseball for life. George “Buck” Weaver never should have been one of them.

“For years, George (Buck) Weaver tried to get reinstated to baseball following a scandal in which Chicago White Sox players agreed to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

“Now, nearly 50 years after his death, Weaver’s niece is leading the effort to clear his name. ‘It’s time to be fair andgive the man his due,’ Patricia Anderson said about the man she considered her surrogate father. ‘I feel he got such a raw deal.’ Weaver, who grew up in Pennsylvania, made his major league debut with the White Sox in 1912. He became one of the most popular players on the South Side, known for his smile and the dirty uniform that accompanied his energetic play…

“Anderson, her sister and cousin started pushing for Weaver’s reinstatement in the 1970s. The campaign got a renewed boost last year when a devoted baseball fan, David Fletcher, bankrolled an Internet site – elaineg24.sg-host.com – and the hiring of a public relations firm.

“Supporters of the ‘Clear Buck’ campaign – who include Eliot Asinof, author of Eight Men Out, a book about the scandal – say he was guilty only of hearing about the scheme and not speaking out.”

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