Time capsule item could be relic from infamous Chicago episode

A banner reading 'Cincinnati Reds 1919 Champions of the World', after the team won the 1919 World Series. The event led to the infamous Black Sox Scandal, in which members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the game in exchange for money. Photo credit (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)

By WBBM Newsradio Staff Report

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A local historical expert says three forgotten time capsules found in Tribune Tower shed light on the city's past and may even include a relic from a dark moment in Chicago sports history.

Paul Durica, the director of exhibitions for the Chicago History Museum, said the time capsules from 1919, 1923-24 and 1947 were discovered during work to convert the former home of the Chicago Tribune into a luxury residential building.

The time capsules included, understandably, many copies of the Chicago Tribune, maps, photographs and architectural renderings.

In the 1919 capsule, Durica said, “We discovered this baseball.”

But there was nothing in the time capsule indicating why the baseball was included.

He suspects it might be from the 1919 World Series, in which the White Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds and several players for the Sox were accused of throwing the series.

Durica plans to do follow up research to try to nail down the baseball’s provenance.