With over a century under its belt, Ford has collected its share of stories, and one of the more unique anecdotes involves disgraced baseball star Eddie Cicotte. Once included on baseball’s “permanently banned” list, Cicotte’s black mark lingered for 106 years until 2025, calling the unconventional chapter of Ford’s history back to top of mind. With MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred recently changing the rules, the automaker’s head archivist recently revealed the time the infamous athlete spent with the Blue Oval.
Cicotte was a Detroit native, just like Ford itself. He was one of the best pitchers in the American League for a time, too, earning the nickname “Knuckles” for his mean knuckleball. He claimed fame as in the American League in ERA and wins in 1917, and boasted the most wins and innings pitched in 1919.
However, there’s a darker side to the story of Eddie Cicotte. He was one of the “Eight Men Out” – a group of Chicago White Sox players who infamously threw the 1919 World Series. This ordeal, called the Black Box Scandal, prompted the higher-ups of the sport to ban Cicotte, Joe Jackson, and others from the sport for life. Cicotte leaned into his rogue persona, touring with other banned players, but when public interest wore off, he was forced to find another way to bring in the cash.
That’s where Ford enters the story. In 1918, during World War I, the Department of Labor penned a letter to FoMoCo, asking if the automaker could spare a position for Cicotte. Ford obliged and Cicotte spent his offseasons with The Blue Oval. After he was banned from baseball in 1919, Eddie Cicotte attempted to run a service station near Detroit, but found himself back in Ford’s fold when that effort didn’t pan out.
Under Ford, Cicotte held several positions, including several roles in plant security for over 20 years. It was a family affair, too. Cicotte’s son also worked for Ford; they were both featured in an internal publication during World War II.
Cicotte hung up his Blue Oval uniform in 1944 and retired to a strawberry farm outside of Detroit, where he worked tending the fruits until his death in 1969.
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