in the Case of State of Illinois v Edward Cicotte, et al.
(February 12, 1921)
The following is an excerpt from a petition filed in the Criminal Court of Cook County arguing the innocence of Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver. The petition was drafted by Benedict J. Short, attorney for the two players.
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Your petitioners further state that they are not advised in and by said fifth count of said indictment as to the identity of certain of their co-defendants with whom they are alleged to have conspired and these defendants severally say, as follows, to wit:
That petitioner, the said Weaver, is acquainted with the said William Burns, but that he had had no business transactions or personal relations with the said William Burns; that he knows the said Hal Chase, but that he has not seen the said Chase for a period of about five years and during said time has had no communications, either directly or indirectly, with the said Chase and that he has during said time had no business transactions or personal relations with the said Chase; that he has been introduced to several different people whose surnames were Sullivan and Brown and show first names he does not recall and alleges that he is unable to state whether he knows anybody by the name of Joseph J. Sullivan or by the name of Rachel Brown' that he does not know the person named in said indictment as Abe Attel and never met the said Abe Attel, or had nay communications, either directly or indirectly, and that he has had no business transactions or personal relations with the said Abe Attel; and your petitioner, the said Joseph Jackson, says that he is acquainted with the said William Burns, mentioned in said indictment, and that he last saw with said William Burns in October of 1919 in the lobby of the Sinton Hotel in at Cincinnati, Ohio, but that tat that time he merely greeted him and that neither at that time not an any other time has he had any business transactions or personal relations with the said William Burns'; that he know the said Hal Chase, but has not seen or hear from the said Hal chase for a period of about five years and during said time he has had no business transactions or personal relations with the said Hal Chase; that he does not know, never saw or never had any business transactions or personal relations, directly or indirectly with one Joseph J. Sullivan, whom your said petitioner is informed lives in Boston, Massachusetts, or with one Rachel Brown, whose address is unknown to your petitioner, and that he does not know and never saw and never had any business transactions or personal relations, either directly or indirectly with on Abe Attel; and your petitioner, the said Williams, says that he has met the said William Burns and know him as a ball player, but that he has never had any business transactions or personal relations at any time with the said William Burns; that he last saw the said Hal Chase in the year, A.D. 1913, and since that time has had no communications either directly or indirectly, or any business transactions or personal relations, either directly or indirectly with the said Hal Chase and that he does not know and to the best of his knowledge that he never saw or had any business transactions or personal relations with one Abe Attel; that he met and was introduced to one by the name of Sullivan and one by the name of Brown during the latter part of September, A.D. 1919, but that he does not know their Christian names and does not know if they are the same persons mentioned in said indictment.
All of your petitioners further say that they are not informed in and by said indictment who offered the bribe, present and reward, mentioned in said fifth count and are not informed as to the person or persons by whom said bribe, present and reward was to be taken, accepted and received, except that said indictment charges that they , themselves, your petitioners, together with said ball players offered and gave a bribe, present and reward to themselves.
Your petitioners further say that they are not informed by said fifth count of said indictment in what particulars they and each of them and the other of their co-defendant baseball players intended to play unskillfully and not in accordance with their best skill and ability and they are not informed by said count in said indictment that said series of games was ever played, but that they know of their own knowledge that said series of games was played, but that they are uninformed as to what overt acts were done committed by them in the playing of the games of said series in pursuance of said alleged conspiracy; that they are uninformed as to that particular games and what particular plays of each game were purposely and willfully erroneously and improperly executed by them or any of them and that they are not informed by said indictment that the outcome of said games could or might have been any different in result than they actually were.
And your petitioners further allege and show to the courts that they are entirely innocent of the charges in said fifth count alleged against them in this: That they did not conspire, confederate or agree together, or with any of the persons mentioned in said count and joined as co-defendants with them, to play unskillfully in said series or to execute plays improperly or to play not in accordance with their best skill and ability or to refuse to play their parts as baseball players in said baseball games of said series or to be unsuccessful in the winning of said games or to fail to win said games or to injure and destroy the business and reputation of said American League Baseball Club of Chicago.
And your petitioners further state that they have at no time here-to-ore made any statement or representation, oral or written under oath or otherwise, certain newspaper reports to the contrary notwithstanding, as to two of your petitioners, in or by which they, or either or any of them, stated that they had not played in said games with their best skill and ability but on the contrary, your petitioners allege that they have at all time heretofore, whether under oath or otherwise, asserted and stated that in the playing of said series and in the games of said series they at all times exerted themselves to the utmost and played with their best skill and ability and for the purpose, if possible, of winning each and every game of said series; that your petitioner, the said Weaver, played the position of third baseman in said series and that he had a batting average of .324 and a fielding average of 1000 while during the playing season of the year 1919, his batting average was .296 while his fielding average for said playing season at said position of third baseman was .963, and as a contrast your petitioner shows that one Groh played the positions of third baseman for the Cincinnati Club and that during said series his batting average was .175 while his fielding average .931 and that his batting average was .971, and your petitioner, the said Jackson, shows that during said series his batting average was .375 and that his fielding average was 1000 and that during the playing season of the year 1919 his batting average was .351 and his fielding average was .967, and as a contrast to said averages during said periods his opponent on said Cincinnati Club was one Duncan, and that said Duncan during said series had a batting average of .269 and a fielding average of 1000 and that during the playing season of the year 1919 he had a batting average of .244 and a fielding average of .982, and your petitioner, Williams shows to the court that he is a pitcher on said American League Baseball Club of Chicago and that during said games he allowed but four hits to a game and that the average number of hits in the average baseball game is none less than eight hits and our petitioners show, as further contrast, to said averages, that there were certain other players who played with said Chicago Club during said series and during the playing season of the year 1919, who have not been indicted with your petitioners and who are not charged with conspiracy to execute plays unskilfully and that the averages of said players, are as follows: E. Collins, second baseman, batting average during said series .226, fielding average .963 and during the playing season for the year 1919, batting average .319 and fielding average .974, R. Shalk, catcher, batting average during said series .304, fielding average .978, batting average during the playing season for the year 1919 .282 and fielding average .981; J. Collins, right fielder, batting average during said series .250 and fielding average 1000 and batting average during the season for the year 1919 .279 and fielding average .957; Ed. Murphy, utility man and pinch-hitter, batting average during the said series .000 and batting average for the season of the year 1919 .486; Harry Liebold, right fielder, batting average for the series .056 and fielding average 1000 and batting average for the season of 1919 .302 and fielding average .928.
Your petitioners, therefore show that on the whole their batting and fielding averages during said series were better and of a higher percentage than their batting and fielding averages during the playing season of 1919 and that such averages during such series were better than the averages of their opponents playing the same positions and that such averages on the whole were better and higher than the batting and fielding averages made by the members of the Chicago League Club who have not been indicted and who are not names as co-defendants with your petitioners.
WHEREFORE, your petitions pray this court that the People of the State of Illinois be required to furnish to your petitioners a Bill of Particulars, setting out in detail and with certainty and without ambiguity the terms and conditions of the contract or contracts mentioned in said fifth count of said indictment; the nature and scope of the employment of your petitioners during said series and the name or names of their employers at the time said series was played or scheduled to be played, what supervision and control, if any, over them was to be exercised by the American League Baseball Club of Chicago during said series and after the expiration of their contracts for the playing season, that is to say, after to-wit, September 28th, A.D. 1919; when, where and in what manner the said William Burns, the said Hal Chase and the said Joseph J. Sullivan, the said Rachel Brown and the said Abe Attel, conspired together or with any of their co-defendants named in said indictment to injure and destroy the business and reputation of the American League Baseball Club of Chicago; what bribe, present and reward was offered and given, and by whom and to whom and when, where and how such bribe, present and reward was offered and given and by whom it was accepted and received; when, where and in what manner you petitioners and either or any of them, did not execute plays with their best skill and ability and in what games and what particular plays of each game did your petitioners not play with their best skill and ability and your petitioners further pray that the said People of the State of Illinois be required to set out particularly and specifically the overt acts, if any, which were done and performed by your petitioners, or any or either of them in pursuance of said alleged conspiracy and that they set out particularly in what manner and by what means the several games of said series, which were lost by said Chicago Club, could have been won by said Chicago Club, and the players thereof, and that your petitioners be furnished with such other and further information as will enable them to know particularly what is the nature of the charge against them so that they may be able to properly prepare their defense.
And your petitioners will ever pray.