World Series: The sports data pioneer who spotted baseball's big fix of 1919

On the night before the opening game of baseball's 1919 World Series, 46-year-old sportswriter Hugh Fullerton was worried. He suspected the series was going to be rigged.

The Cincinnati Reds were hosting the Chicago White Sox, and Fullerton was staying in the same hotel as legendary former pitcher Christy Mathewson. They talked about how they might be able to tell if a game was being fixed.

Mathewson explained the kinds of plays that could be indicative of something sinister - a misplaced throw to first base, or a pitch that was just slightly off-target.

At the time there was no such thing as sports analytics - but Fullerton kept his own detailed shorthand notes and recorded plays during games. So they agreed to monitor and highlight all instances of anything questionable.

What followed was the Black Sox Scandal - which resulted in eight Chicago players being banned from Major League Baseball for life two years later, in 1921. Fullerton's role was key.

Despite the opposition he faced during his lifetime, and baseball's reluctance to face up to the dark influences often shaping its early fate, he was a radical pioneer whose impressive early advances helped set the foundation for data's transformative effect on global sport.

Continued ….

https://www.bbc.com/sport/baseball/59078788