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Eddie Cicotte
Pitcher
Batted: BothThrew: Right
debut
September 3, 1905, for the Detroit Tigers
Last appearance
September 26, 1920, for the Chicago White Sox
Career statistics
Win-Loss Record	208-149
Earned run average	2.38
Strikeouts	1,374
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Detroit Tigers (1905) Boston Red Sox (1908-1912) Chicago White Sox (1912-1920)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1917) Led AL in wins in 1917 and 1919 Led AL in ERA in 1917 with 1.53

Edward Victor Cicotte (Template:Pron-en, later /ˈsiːkɒt/ (June 19, 1884 – May 5, 1969), nicknamed "Knuckles", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his time with the Chicago White Sox. He was one of eight players permanently ineligible for professional baseball for his alleged participation in the Black Sox scandal in the 1919 World Series, in which the favored White Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds in eight games.

Biography

Cicotte was the son of Ambrose Cicotte (1843-1894) and Archange Mary Drouillard (1843-1909), both of mainly French-Canadian extraction. His father's early death is said to have pushed Cicotte to excel and be very protective of his family. He married Rose Ellen Freer (1885-1958), daughter of Russell John Freer (1852-1932) and Annie Cecile Thornton (1863-1928), both of whom would later live with the Cicottes. They had two daughters, Rose (born 1906) and Virginia (1916-1992), and one son, Edward Jr. (1919-1992).

Career

Cicotte was a starting pitcher and a knuckleball specialist who won 208 games and lost 149 over the course of a 14-year career pitching for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and White Sox. At the time of his lifetime ban, he was considered one of the premier pitchers in the American League.

A Detroit native, Cicotte played baseball in Georgia in 1905, where he was a teammate of Ty Cobb. Both players were purchased by the Tigers, and Cicotte made his big-league debut on September 3, 1905. Pitching in three games for Detroit, Cicotte compiled a 1-1 record with a 3.50 ERA.

Cicotte didn't return to the major leagues again until 1908, when he resurfaced with the Red Sox. After he compiled a 41-48 record in a Boston uniform, the Red Sox sold him to the White Sox on July 22, 1912.

Cicotte celebrated a breakout year in 1913, going 18-12 on the season with an ERA of 1.58. He went on to lead the league in winning percentage in 1916. But his best year was 1917, when he won 28 games and led the league in wins, ERA, and innings pitched. On April 14 he threw a no hitter against the St. Louis Browns. That year, the White Sox went to the World Series, defeating the New York Giants 4 games to 2. Cicotte won Game 1, lost Game 3, and pitched six innings of relief in Game 5 for a no-decision.

Injuries reduced Cicotte to a 12-19 record in 1918, but in 1919, he rebounded to win 29 games and once again lead the league in wins, winning percentage, and innings pitched, as well as in complete games. His 1919 salary was $6,000, but he had a provision for a $10,000 bonus if he won 30 games. Legend has it that as the season drew to a close, owner Charles Comiskey ordered manager Kid Gleason to bench Cicotte, denying him a chance at a 30-win season and the bonus money. Some have speculated this was his motivation for participating in the fix, although the facts do not appear to support this conclusion. (See Black Sox scandal.)

Scandal

However, the book Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof and the movie based on the book does record that Cicotte, despite being grossly underpaid for a pitcher of his ability, resisted repeated attempts by Chick Gandil to get him to throw the series until just days before the World Series opened when it became clear that Comiskey would never pay him even part of the promised bonus. The fact that the offer price for the fix exactly matched the promised bonus, lends credibility to this version of events.

In the 1919 World Series against the Reds, Cicotte pitched in three games, winning one but pitching ineffectively and losing the other two.

Cicotte was the first of the eight players to come forward, signing a confession and a waiver of immunity. He later recanted this confession and was acquitted of all charges at trial by jury. Despite this, Cicotte and his alleged co-conspirators were subsequently made permanently ineligible for baseball by Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Major League Baseball's new commissioner, recently hired to restore the integrity of the game in the wake of the 1919 scandal.

His baseball career over, Cicotte returned to Detroit, where he worked for the Ford Motor Company and other miscellaneous jobs, including a berry farmer, until his death in Detroit at age 84. He also served as a Game Warden in the Michigan Department of Wildlife Resources.

Aftermath

In the 1988 film Eight Men Out, about the Black Sox scandal, Cicotte is portrayed by actor David Strathairn.

Portrayed by actor Steve Eastin in the 1989 film Field of Dreams.

Cicotte's grandnephew Al Cicotte (1929-1982) would later pitch in the major leagues, compiling a lifetime 10-13 record with six different teams, 1957-1962.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions

References

1. "From the time he joined the Indians in 1908 through the season of 1920, Jack Graney faced Cicotte many times. He knew him well. He often told stories about Eddie Sigh-COT-ee. Some were humorous, others deadly serious, and all of them touched with sadness because Jack Graney had liked and admired Cicotte. But in the movie version of Eight Men Out, Cicotte was called SEE-cot. Why? Because in the 1950s Al Cicotte pitched in the major leagues. Not wanting to be associated with his infamous relative, Al pronounced his name SEE-cot. That was the pronunciation picked up by the film makers.
2. Cicotte is pronounced "See Kot". I am Ron Cicotte. Eddies was my great uncle(my grandfather's brother). The previous reference is clarified by the author, Dick Stodghill in a subsequent blog post.Stodghill, Dick (May 16, 2009). "Hopefully Clearing Up a Mystery". p. 1. Retrieved 2010-02-06. {{cite news}}: Check |authorlink= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); External link in |authorlink= (help)

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs

• American League ERA champions
• American League wins champions
• Boston Red Sox players
• Chicago White Sox players
• Detroit Tigers players
• Knuckleball pitchers
• Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter
• Major League Baseball pitchers
• Major League Baseball players from Michigan
• People from Detroit, Michigan
• Augusta Tourists players
• Des Moines Champs players
• Indianapolis Indians players
• Lincoln Treeplanters players
• 1884 births
• 1969 deaths