Editor's note: On Sept. 2, ESPN writer Bill Connelly's book "Forward Progress: The Definitive Guide to the Future of College Football" will be released. This edited excerpt looks at whether the sport needs central leadership like professional leagues.
In 1920, professional baseball was in crisis. The Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox -- star outfielder "Shoeless Joe" Jackson; co-aces Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams; four other starters (first baseman Chick Gandil, shortstop Swede Risberg, third baseman Buck Weaver, and outfielder Happy Felsch); and a key backup infielder (Fred McMullin) -- were indicted and accused of throwing the 1919 World Series, had, along with allegations of other fixed games, shaken the sport to its core.