Chicago’s Charles Comiskey paid $123,000 for Bill Cissell, who later said, “The ballyhoo I got when Portland sold me for that sum was the greatest burden any player ever carried to the majors.” Cissell had six hits in his first 11 ML at-bats in 1928, then struggled. A poor-fielding shortstop, he was moved to second base in 1930. One writer described the double-play combo of Luke Appling and Cissell as the best “Alphonse and Gaston” act in baseball. Cissell’s misfortunes in Chicago ended with his 1932 trade to Cleveland. Without the pressure, he batted a career-high .315 that season. Years later he worked as a Comiskey Park maintenance man. He died destitute at age 45; his funeral expenses were paid by Charles Comiskey’s grandson, Chuck.
