The 17 Unbanned MLB Players Include 'Black Sox' Members [FULL LIST]
Major League Baseball's commissioner suddenly lifted the permanent ban on deceased Major League Baseball players, with the most celebrated being Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson.
However, altogether, 17 deceased baseball players are affected by the decision, according to the MLB release. Who are they?
"To establish clarity for the administration of the Major League Rules, the decision in this matter shall apply to individuals in the past or future who are posthumously on the permanently ineligible list," the MLB release says. "There are 17 deceased individuals disciplined since the founding of the Commissioner’s Office impacted by today’s announcement."
The players are:
- Eddie Cicotte. According to The Society for Baseball Research, Eddie Cicotte was "perhaps the first major-league pitcher to master the knuckleball." He was part of the infamous Black Sox team accused of taking bribes to throw the 1919 World Series.
- Happy Felsch. A local baseball hero in Milwaukee, Oscar Emil Felsch was also banned from baseball due to the Black Sox scandal, according to Baseball Hall.org.
- Chick Gandil. The Society for Baseball Research says that Gandil was also implicated in the Black Sox scandal and was "one of the most highly regarded first basemen in the American League."
- Joe Jackson. Jackson was banned from baseball after being implicated in the infamous Black Sox scandal, although there is conflicting evidence of his complicity.
- Fred McMullin. He was also implicated in the Black Sox scandal, according to The Society for Baseball Research.
- Swede Risberg. According to the Grand Forks Herald, Risberg was a "former Chicago White Sox player who had been banned for life by Major League Baseball after allegedly conspiring with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series."
- Buck Weaver. According to the website Clear Buck Weaver, "George Daniel 'Buck' Weaver is one of the Dead Ball era’s most renowned ballplayers. Known for his entanglement in the infamous 1919 World Series Black Sox scandal, his legacy mimics an immortal Shakespearian tragic figure."
- Lefty Williams. Williams was "considered one of the most promising left-handers in baseball," but he, too, was caught up in the Black Sox scandal, according to The Society for Baseball Research.
- Joe Gedeon. According to Ars Landa Arts Cards, Gedeon was ousted as the "9th Man Out" for allegedly having guilty knowledge of the Black Sox Scandal.
- Gene Paulette. According to the Huron Daily Tribune, Paulette "was banned indefinitely (in 1921)... for allegedly accepting a loan from Elmer Farrar of St. Louis that was tied to a gambling scheme. Paulette never was reinstated."
- Benny Kauff. In 1921, Kauff was suspended "following his indictment on charges of auto theft and possession of a stolen car," The Huron Daily Tribune reported. He was acquitted but never reinstated.
- Lee Magee. According to Fox Sports, Magee was a Chicago Cubs outfielder who, in 1920, "was released after he admitted to betting against the Cincinnati Reds while playing for them."
- Phil Douglas. According to Baseball.org, "Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis charged Douglas with writing a letter to an opposing player offering to desert the Giants in order to hurt the team’s pennant chances."
- Cozy Dolan. In 1924, Dolan "received a lifetime ban from Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for his role in an attempt to fix a game," according to Baseball History Daily."
- Jimmy O’Connell. According to the Midland Daily News, as with Dolan, he was "banned for life by Landis for offering a $500 bribe to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Heinie Sand to throw a game on Sept. 27, 1924. Sand told Phillies manager Art Fletcher, who told Landis."
- William Cox. Cox was banned for life for making “approximately 15 or 20 bets” of “from $25 to $100 per game on Philadelphia to win.” That's according to Midland Daily News.
- Pete Rose. Nicknamed Charlie Hustle, Rose was banned after an investigation "found that he had wagered on games during his tenure as Cincinnati Reds manager," according to Fox Sports.
In a news release on May 13, 2025, Major League Baseball announced that Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr., had "issued a policy decision regarding the status of individuals who have passed away while on the permanently ineligible list."
According to ESPN, the players' removal means they could be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
"This issue has never been formally addressed by Major League Baseball, but an application filed by the family of Pete Rose has made it incumbent upon the Office of the Commissioner to reach a policy decision on this unprecedented issue in the modern era as Mr. Rose is the first person banned after the tenure of Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to die while still on the ineligible list," the statement says.
"Commissioner Manfred has concluded that MLB’s policy shall be that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual."