IN THE GRAND TRADITION OFEIGHT MEN OUT . . .the untold story of baseball’s ORIGINAL SCANDALDid the Chicago Cubs throw the WorldSeries in 1918—and get away with it?Who were the players involved—and why did they do it?Were gambling and corruption more widespread across the leagues thanpreviously believed?Were the players and teams “cursed” by their actions?Finally, is it time to rewrite baseball history?With exclusive access to surprising new evidence, Sporting News reporterSean Deveney details a scandal at the core of baseball’s greatestfolklore—in a golden era as exciting and controversial as our sports worldtoday. This inside look at the pivotal year of 1918 proves that baseballhas always been a game overrun with colorful characters, intense humandrama, and explosive controversy."The Original Curse is not just about baseball. It is a sweeping portrait of America at war in 1918. . . . In the end, the proper question is not, ‘How could a player from that era fix the World Series?’ It’s, ‘How could he not?’” —Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports, from theIntroduction"Sean Deveney plays connect-the-dots in this intriguing account of a possible conspiracy to throw the 1918 World Series. Thoroughly researched and well written, The Original Curse is a must-read for baseball fans and anyone who loves a good mystery. Is Max Flack the Shoeless Joe of the 1918 Cubs? Deveney lays out the case and let's readers decide if the fix was in." —Paul Sullivan, Cubs beat writer, Chicago Tribune"This book gives the reader a fun and honest look at baseball as it used to be— the good guys, the gamblers, the cheaters, the drunks, the inept leaders. But, more than that, it puts those characters into the context of Chicago, Boston and America at the time of World War I, and you wind up with a unique way to explain