October 3, 1919. News on Wilson's condition breaks. White Sox win game three.

If you read about it today, you'll be left with the impression that the public was kept completely in the dark about President Wilson's condition.

But as you can see from headlines of the time, this simply wasn't the case.

The Cheyenne State Leader lead with Wilson's condition, although the World Series had pride of place as well.  Shocking news came out of Mexico as well in this morning edition newspaper.

By the end of the day on October 3, the papers were reporting Wilson's condition as "grave".  Grave meant, and everyone knew it, near death.

The Wyoming State Tribune reported on Wilson's troubling condition and baseball, but also noted that it had snowed 3" in Casper.

Indeed, his family had been summoned, which was usually done in anticipation of death.

Baseball and Wilson's condition were the big headlines, but a terrible train accident at Orin Junction had occurred as well.

And of course, a request for a visit by a major foreign dignitary had to be refused.

Even the morning papers hadn't been optimistic.

And all this was occurring in a week where the news was already tense.  The Versailles Treaty was in trouble in the Senate, and race riots were occurring in the South and Midwest.

Pennsylvania Avenue, October 3, 1919.

Baseball was also occurring, of course, and while we now know what was happening, people following the game, except for a few savvy reporters who were suspicious, did not.  Adding to the delusion that all was well, the White Sox beat the Reds on their home ground of Chicago in game three of the 1919 World Series.

Honest player, Dick Kerr.

Game 3 may be emblematic of how messed up the White Sox were as a team.  The game was pitched by rookie Dickie Kerr, who was not in the plot.  This contributed to the plot.  Adding to that, however, most of the plotters hadn't been paid and when you don't pay people in a plot, they loose their allegiance to it.  Kerr played a great game and even those in the plot played good ones.

A former baseball player, Bill Burns, who had some still unclear role in the plot, suffered due to the honest play and change of hearts, temporary though they may have been, in this game, as he bet all he had figuring the fix was in.  It left him broke, a fate he deserved.