Hal Chase - Corruption

Corruption

Chase faced allegations of wrongdoing as early as 1910, when his manager, George Stallings, claimed that Chase was "laying down" in games. This claim was later made by Stallings' successor as manager of the Highlanders, Frank Chance. Yet, during this era, gambling was so rampant that whenever a player was not at his best, particularly in a big city such as New York, there were claims of players laying down, whether it was true or not. Stallings' claims may have resulted from a feud between him and Chase. While Chance allegedly made the same claim, he later told management that Chase was giving his all, but his abilities were in a state of decline.

Midway through the 1918 season, Chase allegedly paid pitcher Jimmy Ring $50 ($773 today) to throw a game against the Giants. Mathewson got wind of it and suspended Chase for the rest of the season. Mathewson brought formal charges against Chase for fixing games, but National League president John Heydler acquitted him. Heydler had told sportswriter Fred Lieb in private that he believed Chase had bet on baseball, but did not have enough evidence to convict him.

After the end of the season, an unknown individual sent Heydler a copy of a $500 ($6,702 today) check that Chase received from a gambler for throwing a game in 1918 — the same year that he had acquitted Chase for throwing games. Armed with this evidence, Heydler ordered Giants owner Charles Stoneham to release Chase. Since no American League team would sign him (on the advice of Detroit Tigers manager Hughie Jennings), Chase was now effectively blackballed from the major leagues.