In 1913, a managerial switch occurred for the Yankees. Frank Chance, former first baseman of the Chicago Cubs (one third of the famous double play combination along with Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker), was chosen as Yankee manager. The appointment of Chance as would spell Chase's end with the team. Chance, planning to retire in California, was lured back to the major leagues by big money from Yankee owners Farrell Devery. He was expected to jump-start what had been an anemic anemic team, as the Yankees for most of the previous seasons had been mediocre at best. Chance, from a suggestion of Yankee business manager Arthur Irwin, held spring training drills in Bermuda. In doing so, his club became the first major league baseball team to train outside the United States. Chance, a disciplinarian by nature, saw the trip as an opportunity to stamp his mark on the Yankees. The actual results of this unique event were mixed as Bermuda was not known for its baseball fields. The Yankees practiced on rock hard coral ground and this produced loud protests from some of the players. For Chance, his constitution was damaged, as the food being served was a little too exotic for him. According to some former players, ChanceÕs personality was lousy to begin with, and the food adventure did nothing to improve his temper. As a whole, the team was in a foul mood when they returned to the States. Chase soon found himself at the center of another Chance experiment. He was installed at second base. Chance, dreaming of his playing days as a first baseman, toyed with the idea of putting himself at that position and using Chase as a second sacker. According to a New York Herald report of April 16, 1913, Chase's skills at the position had not deserted him:

"Although he was supposed to be suffering from an injury sustained in practice yesterday, Hal Chase played a perfect game at second base. Examination just before the game showed that there was no splintering of a bone in his right arm as had been feared. He played a star game, making his first assist of the season in the sixth and made a lightning throw to first. Chase was altogether a show in himself. Besides his fine fielding, he scored two of the Yankees three runs, his second one, the game winning tally, being the result of his triple. All in all, Chase was the healthiest acting cripple yet seen on any diamond. "

Though Chase fielded well, this was only a five game experiment and Chance soon returned him to first base. According to famed New York sportswriter Fred Lieb, Chance suspected Chase of throwing games. This situation, while similar to the Stallings episode of 1910, would not be swept under the rug by any "investigation." Even though Chase swore he never bet against his own team, it is conceded by many that he did. Fred Lieb explained the method "Prince Hal" might have employed: "His neatest trick (I think), was to arrive at first base for a throw from another infielder just a split second too late. A third baseman, for example, must throw to the bag, whether the first baseman is there or not. Chase, playing far off the bag, probably could have gotten there in time, with his speed. But if he wanted to let one get away...maybe if he moved just a bit lazily toward first for a step or two? He would then speed up and seem to be trying hard. But it would be difficult, and it would take a suspicious minded person like Chance, to charge him with anything but an error if a well thrown peg slipped off the end of his glove." After a loss in May, Chance angrily accused Chase in front of Lieb and sportswriter Heywood Broun in the Yankee pressbox after a game: Chance: "Did you fellows see what went on out there today? Chase let those throws go right through him. He's been doing that to me every day, throwing down me and the club." Chance sprinkled in some other choice words during this tirade. After conferring with his editor, Lieb wrote nothing about the exchange with Chance. Broun, however, penned that "(Chance) said Chase was not playing up to his ability and let some games get away with loose play." Owner Frank Farrell, who read the story, screamed at Broun the next day. Farell, along with co-owner Bill Devery, were heavy gamblers themselves. They must have tolerated any extracurricular activity on Chase's part because he was the lone star their team. Aside from occasional flashes from players Birdie Cree, Russ Ford, and semi-notables like Al Orth, the Yankees were a losing team for most of Chase's tenure. The company till certainly reflected this. With Devery and Farrell dipping in to pay off their accumulated gambling debts, and few fans coming to the park, ("They weren't drawing flies," said Lieb) the pot became lighter every day. The owners needed Hal and keep the franchise afloat. If not for his "magic glove," as the writers called it, the team would have faded from public view.

The appointment of Chance as Yankee manager was certainly a huge mistake. Chance had sustained so many beanings during his playing career that he was virtually deaf in one ear. This condition, coupled with the fact that Chance knew nothing about the the dismal club he was taking over, made for a bad year with the Yankees. Over the early course of the season, Chance implored Farrell to trade Chase. This was not an easy task as Chase's salary had jumped to $8,000 a year and his bad reputation was additional baggage that turned off many teams. Chance and Chase had a shared hatred for each other. Chase mocked Chance in front of the other players, when Chance's deaf ear was turned. Chance was alerted to this by Jeff Sweeney, a catcher. Enraged, Chance told Chase: "Get out. You'll never wear that uniform again!" On that night of May 31, in one of the worst trades in Yankee history, Chase was sent to the Chicago White Sox for first baseman Babe Borton and shortstop Rollie Zeider. Zeider couldn't play because of bunions and Borton's play was unremarkable. Sportswriter Mark Roth, later a road secretary for the Yankees, wrote this immortal line: "Chance traded Chase for a bunion and an onion." Co-owner Bill Devery knew the Yankees were shortchanged with the deal. He and Chance almost engaged in a fistfight while happy White Sox owner Charles Comiskey declared in the June 5 Sporting News: "It means the pennant!" In New York, Chance was cursed by the fans and severely criticized by the newspapers. Despite their suspicions about Chase, they didn't want to see their star go. With his departure, the Yankees were bereft of big name players and a void also existed at first base, one that was not adequately filled until 1915, with the arrival of Wally Pipp. Chase's first appearance for the White Sox came in New York. On his first at bat, his old fans cheered him. He went two for four at the plate and was then booed as the game went on. Chase's most dubious moment with the Sox came on July 23, 1913. He committed four errors in one game and aroused more suspicion in the stands. Hal batted .286 for his new team but Comiskey's pennant prediction came up short as the White Sox finished the 1913 American League season in fifth place, with a 78-74 mark. Chase would find much controversy on Chicago's South Side.

In 1914, Chase found conflict playing for the overbearing Charles Comiskey and got into an argument over his contract. A feature of many of Comiskey's contracts, and of other clubs at this time, was a "ten day clause," meaning the team could terminate a player's contract within ten days. Chase jumped the White Sox and played for Buffalo of the "outlaw" Federal League. Chase's explanation of his action was as follows: "At the time, Comiskey called me into his office and asked me to have the ten-day clause stricken from my contract. I demurred at this. A contract, it seemed to me, ought to bind both parties to the agreement. If that agreement allowed him to dispose of my services with ten days notice, I didn't see why I shouldn't enjoy the same privilege." The next month, Comiskey and the White Sox took Chase to the Supreme Court. In the second inning of a Buffalo game against Pittsburgh, Chase was served with an injunction. On July 9th, the White Sox and Hal squared off in court. Long before Curt Flood challenged baseball's reserve clause, Hal Chase found himself in the midst of a historic case against baseball ownership. Whether he was motivated out of selfishness or principle in fighting his contract, the judge in the case saw his point. The ruling in the case of the Chicago White Sox versus Hal Chase, as given by Judge Herbert Bissell, is as follows:

"While the services of these baseball players are ostensibly secured by voluntary contracts, a study of this system...reveals the involuntary character of the servitude which is imposed upon players by the strength of the combination controlling the labor of practically all of the players in this country. (This makes it) necessary for the player either to take the contract prescribed...or abandon baseball as a profession and seek some other livelihood... This system of servitude...provides for the purchase, sale, barter and exchange of the services of ball players, skilled laborers, without their consent ... (the players servitude) under the operations of this plan of agreement is contrary to the spirit of American institutions (and) to the spirit of the Constitution of the United States... This court will not assist in enforcing an agreement which is part of a general plan having for its object the maintenance of a monopoly, interference with the personal liberties of a citizen, and the control of his free right to labor wherever and for whom he pleases."

Chase was clearly the winner. He had challenged a baseball owner's autonomy and won. In all, Chase appeared in only 58 games for the White Sox. He played for Buffalo for the remainder of the 1914 season and 1915 as well. He was welcomed and accepted in Buffalo, especially after he batted .347 in 1914, second in Federal League batting average. Chase also knocked out 17 homers in 1915. Rumors about Chase's gambling and suspect play continued during his time in Buffalo. The league folded after the 1915 season, as most of the Federal League owners were persuaded to buy shares in the other major league clubs. Most of the Federal League stars were auctioned off to the American and National leagues. In the early spring of 1916, Hughie Jennings of the Detroit Tigers warned other clubs against acquiring Chase:

"As a player, there is nobody who can touch Chase for holding down first base. Not only is he a superb fielder, but he is one of the most intelligent men in the game up at the plate. He is a fine hitter ... On the bases he is always dangerous because of his speed, his ability to slide well, and his brains. Once he gets second, he is beyond doubt the most troublesome customer in the league, for there is no telling when he will steal third. Yet, for all his ability, I would not have him on my club, and I do not believe any other major league manager will take a chance with him. He will not heed training rules and has a demoralizing influence on the younger players. When he was (with) the New York club instead of trying to keep his players straight, he used to lead them astray. One of his favorite stunts is to go around telling one man what another is supposed to have said about him, with the result that in a very short time he has the team pulling in all directions instead of working together. He is apt to take a dislike to the manager and work against him with the players until the whole squad is sore and will not give the sort of work that it is paid for. The Tigers would win the pennant with a player of Hal's ability on first this season, but I wouldn't risk introducing a man who had such a bad disposition. Ball players are easily influenced, especially by a star like Chase. I have a very well-behaved earnest lot of boys under my charge now, and I do not want them to be spoiled by a chronic trouble-maker."

Despite Jennings' negative assessment, Chase was picked up for the 1916 season. He found himself in the National League playing for the Cincinatti Reds. Chase signed a three-year contract for $8,333 on April 6, 1916. Gary Herrmann, Reds owner and drinking buddy of American League President Johnson, wanted Chase to jump-start the Reds lineup, as they had finished a disappointing fifth in 1915. On April 16, Chase made an impressive National League debut. He smacked a double his first at bat, stole third, and then home. He had a single later in the game. This performance signalled good things to come and the veteran star, 33 years old, led the National League in hitting with a .339 batting average. As for the rumors about his play, Chase said he was mending his ways. But Reds manager Buck Herzog privately confided that Chase was not easy to control. Christy Mathewson, a future Hall of Fame pitcher from John McGraw's New York Giants, became the Reds new manager after mid-season 1916. The public perception of Chase and Mathewson were of oil and holy water, respectively. Mathewson was an American icon, a man of virtue and a star of which not a bad word was said or written. Chase, on the other hand, was considered the scourge of baseball. He said that he to, respected Mathewson a great deal : "I consider Mathewson the ideal manager. I don't see how any player could have trouble with Matty." Mathewson, though considered a gentleman, could probably have summed up his feelings for Chase in a four letter epithet. The addition of the two stars, one on the field and one commanding in the dugout, couldn't rouse the Reds. They finished the season in a seventh place tie with the St. Louis Browns. The following year ChaseÕs batting average tailed off, though he tied for tops on the team with four home runs. A mediocre fourth place finish was Cincinnati's fate this season, as the prospects of competing on a pennant winning team remained elusive for the aging "Prince Hal." The only noteworthy news for the Reds and Chase during 1917 was the addition of pitcher Jimmy Ring to the Reds' roster. It was Ring who was involved in an incident that would damn Chase in the eyes of his manager.

During August of the 1918 season, Chase was suspended from the Reds without pay for the remainder of the season. The Red's team president did not offer an explanation of the suspension. Chase did: "Lets not beat around the bush. I'm accused of betting on ball games and trying to get a pitcher to throw a game for money." pitcher Jimmy Ring was approached by Chase during a game against the Giants. As Ring strode in from the bullpen, Chase said, "I've got money on this game, kid. There's something in it for you if you lose." Chase's words had a disconcerting effect. Ring threw his first pitch over the catcher's head, and the Giants scored the winning run. The next morning, as Ring and his girlfriend sat in the lobby of the Reds' hotel, Chase walked by and slipped him a fifty dollar bill, telling the couple to enjoy a night on the town. Ring reported the incident to Mathewson. Chase's reaction to his suspension was to sue the Reds for back pay missed and demand a formal hearing on the charges, conducted by National League president John Heydler. Mathewson was unable to testify in person since he was serving with the U.S. Army in Europe. His testimony was submitted in afadavit form. Players Jimmy Ring, Mike Regan, and Greasy Neale of the Reds testified against Chase in person, as did Pol Perritt and manager John McGraw of the Giants, who, unknown to Matthewson, would become the most interesting witness of all. This case was the first major court drama involving baseball and gambling allegations (and it certainly was dwarfed in the near future). The testimony against Chase, at least on the surface, appeared damaging. Perritt said that before a doubleheader in Cincinatti on July, 17, 1918, Chase asked him which game he was going to start. Perritt replied that he didn't know. Chase said: "I wish you'd tip me off, because if I know which game you'll pitch, and can connect with a certain party, you will have nothing to fear." Ring recited his story and then Neale took the stand. He said that Chase boasted he had won $500 after a doubleheader loss at Philadelphia in 1918. Later that season, Chase told Neale to bet $200 on the Reds since, " this is the day for the Reds to win." Chase, with a New York sportswriter appearing as his character witness, testified that he had only bet on two baseball games in his life. One being a post-season game between the Reds and Cleveland, the other when he was a spectator, presumably while watching the Giants at the Polo Grounds. The official finding of the National League president was issued on February 5, 1919. It appears following ...

"This matter comes before me on complaint of the Cincinnati club against Hal Chase, a player under contract with the club for the season of 1918. The player appeared in person with his attorneys. In substance, the player was charged with making wagers against his club on games in which he participated. In justice to Chase I feel bound to state that both the evidence and the record of the games to which reference was made fully refute this accusation. In one game in which it was intimated that Chase bet against his club the records show that in the sixth inning with two men on base and the score 2 to 0 against his team, Chase hit a home run, putting Cincinnati ahead. All available evidence has been carefully taken and considered. If the charges were proved it would follow as a matter of course that the player would forever be disqualified from participating in National League games. Any player (during my term) who is shown to have any interest in a wager on any game played in the league, whether he bets on his club or against it, or whether he takes part in the game or not, will be promptly expelled from the National League. Betting by players will not betolerated. My conclusion and finding, after full consideration of the evidence, is that it is nowhere established that the accused was interested in any pool or wager that caused any ballgame to result otherwise than on it's merits, and that player Hal H. Chase is not guilty of the charges brought against him."

Thus, Mathewson's charges were laid to rest. For the time being. President Heydler would later admit to sportswriter Fred Lieb that he suspected Mathewson was telling the truth, but that the charges could not be made to stick since Matthewson was not present. "I have no proof that will stand up in a court of law," Heydler explained. John McGraw, Mathewson's former manager, was at this time offering Chase a place on the Giants. This may explain his testimony — highly anticipated as he was expected to testify about Chase soliciting help from McGraw's players in the fixing of games. But when his time came t ospeak, McGraw said he knew nothing of such conversations. Was McGraw trying to clear the path for Chase's appearance in a Giant uniform?

McGraw's support of Chase was the precursor to an even more bizarre event. The careers of Chase, Mathewson and McGraw intertwined into something strange and almost comic. Two weeks after his trial, Chase was traded to the Giants for two players, Walter Holke and Bill Rariden. He signed a contract to play for the Giants on March 4, 1919. That same day, Mathewson, returned from the war, signed with the team as assistant manager and coach! Appreciating the irony of the situation, Chase might have been able to laugh the whole season long. Unfortunately, the twilight of his career was approaching fast. The Giants were involved in a pennant race with the Reds in 1919. Hal sprained his wrist on September 4 and was replaced in the lineup the next day. He appeared in games on the September 6th and 15th. McGraw left the team on September as Cincinnati beat the Giants to win the pennant. Mathewson piloted the club for the rest of the season. Where was Chase? He became Matthewson's first base coach! On September 25, 1919, Hal Chase made his final appearance in a major league baseball game. He pinch hit, making a double and driving in one run. Many writers have penned that Chase and Heinie Zimmerman were mysteriously dropped from the Giants roster in late September. This is not the case, as both were on the team's reserve list submitted to National League President Heydler on October 18, 1919. The final undoing of Chase's major league baseball career was revealed by sportswriter Fred Lieb, as told to him by National League President Heydler: "I was never satisfied with my earlier acquittal of Chase. I was unconvinced. Eventually, I got a photographic copy of Chase's cancelled check for five hundred dollars given him by a gambler as pay for throwing a game in 1918. I took this evidence to (Giants owner) Charles Stoneham saying: 'When I permitted Chase to play early last spring I had no real proof of Hal's throwing a game. Now I have that proof.' I handed him the affidavit and Chase's cancelled check..."Please notify your manager that Chase will not play in any future game with the Giants. Stoneham said , 'If thats the way it is, thats it.'

With Stoneham's mumbled words, Chase's career was finished. But, as with many events during Chase's career, one has to decipher the real and imagined versions. One version of Chase's banishment from baseball states that the Giants did not offer Chase a contract at all. Another has the team offering Chase a contract, but one that paid so little it would have been a foregone conclusion that Chase would reject the offer. Chase himself told a different story. " McGraw (offered a contract and) even offered me a raise. But I turned it down. There was nothing wrong with that contract. I was perfectly satisfied with the terms. But I told the New York management that my marital difficulties were growing more and more complicated, that I was sick of the East, that I had good connections in the West, and that I would be doing myself a favor by quiting the major league baseball scene." McGraw may have just been flouting baseball authority by offering Hal a contract. He certainly didn't hold Chase's reputation against him. Whatever the case, Chase had been banished and could not have played again for McGraw or anyone else. On February 29, 1920 the New York Times reported that Chase would not be attending spring training with the Giants. During the same period, all the skeletons in Chase's closet were about to tumble out. On March 23, 1920, Lee Magee, who played with Chase on the Reds, and who was dropped from the Cubs roster before the 1920 season, stated: "On Saturday, I shall make public the charges on which the National League bases its action in barring me from its circuit. I'll show documents both in my favor and against me and let the public judge if I have been fairly treated... I'm going to burn my bridges behind me and then jump off the ruins. If I'm barred I'll take quite a few noted people with me. I'll show up some people for tricks turned ever since 1906. And there will be merry music in the baseball world." On April 14, Magee filed suit against the Cubs for his 1920 salary plus $5,000 extra in lost World Series pay if the Cubs won the 1920 pennant. Chase, meanwhile, had signed to play for San Jose in California's Mission League. Magee's trial began on June 7, 1920. It lasted three days,and during those days,the depths to which Chase might have sunk during his career were revealed.

Magee's story was this... On July 23, 1918, as the Reds traveled to Boston for a doubleheader, Magee sat in the smoking car, watching out the window. Chase soon joined him. He suggested that they should make a large bet on the first game. Chase made it sound that the bet would be placed on the Reds to win. The bet was to be placed with Jim Costello, owner of a poolroom at the Oxford Hotel in Boston. Magee knew Costello and was going to place the bet himself, but Chase insisted, "No, I'll make the bet." Chase wagered $500 for both Magee and himself and the Reds won 4-2 in thirteen innings. At the end of the game Chase revealed he had bet on the Reds to lose. Magee then stopped payment on his check. The real intrigue began when Jim Costello was called to the stand. He contradicted Magee's tale. Here is a portion of Costello's colorful testimony...
Q: I wish you would describe what was said between you and Lee Magee, if anything was said, on or about July 24, 1918. A: On the evening (in question), about eight o'clock, Magee came in my place looking for me. I says, "What is it?" He says, "On tomorrow's ball game," he says "We can't talk details just now," he says, "But I will have another man tomorrow with me and we will talk it over together." I says, "What time?" He says, "Ten o'clock." The next morning about ten o'clock Magee and the other party comes in the room and we go down in the far part of my room. Q: Before you come to the next morning, what was said by Magee, as to what was to be done? A: He said it was in regard to a ball game the next day; they were going to "fix" a ball game. By "tossing" a game it means your own side loses the game — bet against his own side...The next morning at ten o'clock Magee and the other party came in my room and we go down in the corner and talk things over. Q: Who was the other party? A: I says, "What is your proposition?" Q: (Repeated) Who was the other party? A: The other party was Hal Chase. He says, "The proposition is this," he says. "How much money can you place on a ball game in Boston?" I says, "I can bet an unlimited amount." "Well, he says, "I think we can do business with you, Jim." I says, " I don't do business on ball games myself, so I will get somebody else." He says, "What will we do?" I says, "I want you to understand this in the first place: if you are going to throw a ball game, you have to bet some of your own money, because the gamblers won't bet unless you do." I says, "I have a gambler that can handle the thing for you."

I asked them how much they wanted to bet themselves. "Well," they says, "we haven't got the money with us, will you take our check?" "Yes," I says, "I will take your check," I says, "for any amount. with this agreement — if you lose that ball game according to agreement, I will give you your checks back and the amount equivalent to your check and one third of what the gamblers win." That satisfied them. So then I walked down to my safe, took out my own checkbook on the Old Colony Trust Company of Boston, and gave them each a check. They crossed out the "Old Colony Trust Company" and filled in their own banks in for five hundred dollars apiece. I took them checks and put them in my safe and took out one thousand dollars. Q: Well, then, you found out the Reds didn't lose the first game. A: Well, I had a ticker across the street and I sent the boys over to see the ticker, and they came back and reported the Reds had won the game. The next morning Chase comes and sees me. He says, "It was a tough break we had, Jim; we tried awful hard." The "tough break" Chase referred to was the the Reds victory over the Boston Braves on July 25, 1918. It extended to the thirteenth inning with the score tied 2-2. Two men were out when Magee trotted to the plate. He hit a ground ball to Boston shortstop Johnny Rawlings. It hit a stone, jumped up and knocked into RawlingÕs nose, breaking it. Unfortunately for both Magee and Chase, Edd Roush, the next batter, blasted a home run. Magee was then forced to score the winning run in front of Roush. Magee slowly crept around the bases. Roush, sensing something was awry, shouted "Run, you son of a bitch!" As for Magee's suit, it was just about thrown out of court, and the jury ruled in favor of the Cubs, deciding they had more than just cause to suspend Magee. The only purpose the trial served, if Costello told the absolute truth, was to finally reveal all the behind the scene maneuvers of Chase. In 1920, Chase played for the Mission League in California. In August, he was barred from any parks in the neighboring Pacific Coast League. He had allegedly tried to bribe Salt Lake pitcher Spider Baum, prior to a game in Los Angeles. That incident and allegations that he he tried to bribe an umpire led to Chase's banishment from parks in the Mission League as well. With this ugly postscript to his career, it seemed that Chase would quietly fade away. Such was not the case.