Swede Risberg

Buck Weaver (l) and Swede Risberg (r) at the 1921 trial

Charles August "Swede" Risberg (October 13, 1894 - October 13, 1975) was an Major League Baseball shortstop. He is best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.^[1]

Background

Charles Risberg was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He started playing semipro and minor league ball as a teenager and quickly got a reputation as a good defensive utility man. In 1916, his contract was purchased by the American League's Chicago White Sox.

Major League Baseball

Risberg made his debut on Apri 11, 1917 for the White Sox. He was a below-average hitter, but due to his superb defensive abilities, he won the full-time job at shortstop, and Buck Weaver was forced to move to third base. Late in the season, though, Risberg went into a terrible slump, and he therefore only pinch hit twice when the Sox beat the New York Giants in the 1917 World Series. The next season, Risberg returned to California to work in a shipyard as part of the war effort. Although his job was termed essential and enabled him to avoid the draft, it consisted largely of playing baseball, as he batted .308 for the shipyard ballclub.

Risberg returned to the Sox for the pennant-winning 1919 season and in September received good press in the Atlanta Constitution, which labeled him a "miracle man" who had "blossomed out as a wonder" after making four plays that were "phenomenal." Chicago was heavy favorites in that year's World Series versus the Cincinnati Reds. However, a group of players, including Risberg, decided to intentionally lose the series in exchange for monetary payments from a network of gamblers. As one of the ringleaders, Risberg went 2 for 25 at the plate and made a Series-record eight errors.

Risberg received $15,000 for his role in the fix. After the 1920 season, he and seven teammates were banned from organized baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.^{[2] [3]}

Later years

Risberg continued to play semi-pro baseball after his banishment. He came to Minnesota in 1922 with a team called the Mesaba Range Black Sox, and he went on to play for Rochester, Minnesota in 1923, 1924 and 1926. Risberg also played for Scobey Montana in 1925, Watertown, South Dakota in 1926 and 1927, Virden, Manitoba in 1929, Jamestown North Dakota in 1929 and 1930, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1931 and 1932.

Risberg later worked on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. According to an interview with his daughter-in-law in Red Bluff, California, he eventually ran a tavern and lumber business in the northwest United States. During his playing days, he had been "spiked" by Ty Cobb. The injury never properly healed, and he eventually had to have his leg amputated. At the end of his life, he was living with his son and daughter-in-law and remained an avid baseball fan.

Risberg died in Red Bluff, California, in 1975, on his 81st birthday. He was the last living player of the Black Sox.

See also

• Chicago White Sox all-time roster

References

Sources

• Asinof, Eliot Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series (Holt Paperbacks. 2000)
• Muchlinski, Alan After the Black Sox: The Swede Risberg Story (AuthorHouse. 2005)

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• SABR Biography