Charles "Chick" Gandil
Many speculate that Chick Gandil, the once first baseman of the Chicago White Sox was the mastermind behind the entire fixing of the series. He was in charge of recruiting and distributing the payments to the players that decided to get in on the fix. He promised each of the eight players $5,000, but it is said that Chick himself received $35,000 for role; nearly nine times his current salary of $4,000 a season. He had demanded a higher salary earlier but was refused, this shows that he was playing baseball for the money and his priorities were not in place at the time.
Edward "Eddie" Cicotte
Many refer to Eddie Cicotte as the inventor of the "knuckleball" (the only pitch in baseball that has no spin when being thrown). He was one of the best pitchers in the game during his time with the Chicago White Sox, but it is said that he, along with his other teammates were grossly underpaid by their team owner Charles Comiskey. Altough he was against the idea of throwing the series, he finally decided to join in when he knew he was not going to recieve the bonus that he had been promised earlier. He pitched in three games during the series and his performance was visibly below average. He was the first of the eight point shavers on the White Sox to sign a confession letter regarding his involvement.
Oscar "Happy" Felsch
Happy Felsch, the center fielder for the White Sox during the series was widely regarded as one of the best hitters of his time. He was among the top ten in many of the major hitting categories, and it is said that he could have been much better. Like many of his teammates, Happy was reluctant to the plan at first but the money he was promised was far too much for him to pass up. He admitted to receiving $5,000 for his role, which was nearly twice his salary in the 1919 season where he was only scheduled to make $2,750. His involvement was noticeable during the series as he hit poorly, and made fielding errors in key situations.
Joesph "Shoeless Joe" Jackson
Shoeless Joe was by far one of the most popular players in baseball at the time, and many young kids saw him as their idol at the time. He got his nickname when playing in a game in South Carolina, he was suffering from blisters from his new pair of cleats and decided to go to his next at-bat in only his socks. Unlike the others, Shoeless Joe's involvement in the fix was not as visibly obvious. He had a World Series record 12 hits and committed zero fielding errors. In his testimony to a Grand Jury, he stated that he tried not to make his involvement obvious. He made the routine plays in the field but tried to make fielding errors whenever possible.
Fred McMullin
Fred McMullin was never able to really make a name for himself in professional baseball. He was a utility infielder for the White Sox during the 1919 season and it is a stretch to believe that his minimal amount of playing time had anything to do with the White Sox losing the series against the Reds. But, he was still promised $5,000. He had overheard conversations between players about the fix and threatened to report it unless he got a cut of the profits.
Charles "Swede" Risberg
Swede Risberg had only been playing professional baseball for three years when he was asked to join in on the fixing. He had recently received much glory for his spectacular play and he looked for sure to be the next big superstar in professional baseball. He was a leader in the fixing and his role was apparent both on and off the field. He recruited other players to join in on the fixing and when he actually played in the series, he went 2 for 25 at the plate and made a World Series record eight fielding errors.
George "Buck" Weaver
Maybe the most interesting thing about former White Sox third basemen Buck Weaver, was that although he was connected to the fix and was banned from organized baseball for life just like the other Black Sox members, his play during series (.324 batting average, 11 hits, 0 fielding errors) showed no signs that he was ever involved. Many today still question whether Buck Weaver was really involved in the fixing and wonder if his punishment was fair. Many will say that he fought hard day after day while playing third base and they just can't see him doing something like this. Officials say the Buck Weaver attended a meeting where they discussed the fixing but decided not to take part in the activities. They banned him for failure to report the meeting.
Claude "Lefty" Williams
Lefty Williams, a once dominate pitcher for the White Sox might have been the biggest contributor to the Sox losing the series against. Unlike the other players, Chick Gandil offered Lefty $10,000, which was a amount much too large for him to pass up on. He only received half of what was promised ($5,000) which was nearly double his yearly salary ($2,600). His role in the fix was extremely obvious as he is still to this day, the only pitcher to ever lose three World Series starts. His ERA (Earned Run Average) over the three starts was 6.63.