“Though they are hopeless and heartless, the White Sox have a hero. He is George Weaver, who plays and fights at third base. Day after day Weaver has done his work and smiled. In spite of the certain fate that closed about the hopes of the Sox, Weaver smiled and scrapped. One by one his mates gave up. Weaver continued to grin and fought harder….Weaver’s smile never faded. His spirit never waned….The Reds have beaten the spirit out of the Sox all but Weaver. Buck’s spirit is untouched. He was ready to die fighting. Buck is Chicago’s one big hero; long may he fight and smile.“
Ross Tenney, Cincinnati Post, October 10, 1919
For nearly 100 years, the story of the infamous Black Sox has been an integral, and extremely sad element of baseball lore. Among the eight banned players, much hype and endless support has been proclaimed for the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson, a Hall of Fame-worthy player who was banned as part of the fix. But one other accused player really took it on the teeth, forever removed from the game for no other reason than to serve as a scapegoat for a precedent which theretofore did not exist.
If anyone among the eight has served his time and deserves reinstatement, it’s not Joe Jackson. It’s Buck Weaver.
To be continued…
Radbourn's Revenant 