IGHT MEN OUT

In view of recent emphasis on hanky panky on the sports scene, this definitive account of the eight White Sox stars who threw the 1919 Series for all-too-little gamblers' gold is as timely as a toy at Christmas. With dogged devotion the author has researched every facet- from hearsay to court records- of the gaudiest scandal organized sport has ever seen. The event was tragedy of almost classic purity. The players, morally obtuse but forced into greed by the cynical exploitation of Comiskey, the cheap and hypocritical Sox owner, were cheated by the gamblers. The gamblers lost control of the action, let the odds fall, and their ""profit"" shrank. The leagues, their officials and their ""commission"" in historical retrospect appear to be characterized by venality, pettiness and a predilection for nonsense. The players come off much the best. A highly moral book- proving that, at times, rime doesn't pay.