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Battlefields: The Chicago White Sox and the Great War
Not yet published
Expected 19 Feb 26A fascinating examination of how World War I impacted the Chicago White Sox and led to the infamous Black Sox scandal.
All sixteen clubs in Major League Baseball faced challenges and obstacles during World War I, the Chicago White Sox more so than many. Though owner Charles Comiskey supported military preparedness throughout the American League in 1917, the team was soon losing players to the war effort and floundering, despite winning the first wartime World Series that fall.
In Battlefields, Jim Leeke provides the first detailed examination of how World War I affected the team. Leeke recounts how, during the 1918 season, stars suddenly abandoned their team for jobs and spots on company baseball teams in essential industries, while others enlisted and still more were lost to the military draft. During the war-shortened season, Comiskey and the White Sox struggled to keep a competitive team on the field, fans in the seats, and black ink in the account books amid soaring prices and wartime taxes.
The White Sox emerged from the war in good shape, ready again to capture the first postwar American League pennant. But, as Leeke deftly shows, the problems and divisions that simmered during 1918 ultimately led to the infamous “Black Sox” scandal and the club's fall into disgrace. Battlefields charts the Chicago club's dual rise and fall in captivating detail.
All sixteen clubs in Major League Baseball faced challenges and obstacles during World War I, the Chicago White Sox more so than many. Though owner Charles Comiskey supported military preparedness throughout the American League in 1917, the team was soon losing players to the war effort and floundering, despite winning the first wartime World Series that fall.
In Battlefields, Jim Leeke provides the first detailed examination of how World War I affected the team. Leeke recounts how, during the 1918 season, stars suddenly abandoned their team for jobs and spots on company baseball teams in essential industries, while others enlisted and still more were lost to the military draft. During the war-shortened season, Comiskey and the White Sox struggled to keep a competitive team on the field, fans in the seats, and black ink in the account books amid soaring prices and wartime taxes.
The White Sox emerged from the war in good shape, ready again to capture the first postwar American League pennant. But, as Leeke deftly shows, the problems and divisions that simmered during 1918 ultimately led to the infamous “Black Sox” scandal and the club's fall into disgrace. Battlefields charts the Chicago club's dual rise and fall in captivating detail.
280 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication February 19, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Battlefields by Jim Leeke offers a fascinating and well researched look at how World War I reshaped the Chicago White Sox and quietly set the stage for the infamous Black Sox scandal. Leeke does an excellent job explaining how the war disrupted Major League Baseball as a whole, and the long lasting effects it would have. Players left suddenly for military service or higher paying industrial jobs, the season was shortened, attendance dropped, and they struggled to keep the team competitive and financially afloat amid rising costs and wartime taxes. I found myself thoroughly engaged throughout the entire book, Leeke brings history to life on every page.
Overall, Battlefields is an engaging and thoughtful read for baseball fans and history lovers alike.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC
Overall, Battlefields is an engaging and thoughtful read for baseball fans and history lovers alike.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC
Displaying 1 of 1 review