Eight Men Out - Champions and the Allure of Money
Abe Attell:
They say that six or seven guys. I find that hard to believe.
Arnold Rothstein:
Doesn't surprise me.
Abe Attell:
Yeah, but they're the champs.
Arnold Rothstein:
You were champ, Abe, you went down for the bucks.
Abe Attell:
This is different.
Arnold Rothstein:
Look, champ. I know guys like that. I grew up with them. I was the fat kid they wouldn't let play. "Sit down, fat boy'. That's what they'd say, "Sit down, maybe you'll learn something." Well, I learned something alright. Pretty soon, I owned the game, and those guys I grew up with come to me with their hats in their hands. Tell me, champ, all those years of puggin', how much money did you make?
Abe Attell:
The honest fights or the ones I tanked?
Arnold Rothstein:
Altogether, I must've made ten times that amount betting on you and I never took a punch.
Abe Attell:
Yeah, but I was champ. Featherweight champeen of the world!
Arnold Rothstein:
Yesterday. That was yesterday.
Abe Attell:
No A.R. you're wrong. I was champ, and can't nothin take that away.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Eight Men Out - A Conversation Among Former Athletes
Billy Maharg:
See, Bill, what did I tell ya? It's the little champ!
Abe Attell:
They don't take nickel bets here, fellas.
Bill Burns:
Abe Attell, right?
Abe Attell:
Yeah. And you...you were a ballplayer.
Bill Burns:
Bill Burns.
Abe Attell:
Sleepy" Bill Burns! Strictly bench material.
Bill Burns:
I won a few games.
Abe Attell: [To Maharg]
Well, you lost a few more. And you, my friend, didn't get that nose bobbing for apples.
Billy Maharg:
I'm a fighter, sort of.
Abe Attell:
Sort of. Let's see...Philly?
Billy Maharg:
Yeah.
Abe Attell:
Billy Maharg!
Billy Maharg:
Yeah! You've seen me fight?
Abe Attell:
Yeah, I've seen ya - you're a bum!
Billy Maharg:
Hey!
Abe Attell:
Yeah. So, what do you two birds want?
Billy Maharg:
Word is that you work for Arnold Rothstein.
Bill Burns:
We've got a proposition to make. Could mean big bucks.
Abe Attell:
Well, I'm Mr. Rothstein's ears, so let's hear it.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Eight Men Out - Uncertainty Surrounds Betting Promises
Abe Attell:
It's all out on bets.
Chick Gandil: [Shoves Attell]
That's not good enough!
Abe Attell:
Hey! Don't worry, you'll get your money soon enough.
Chick Gandil:
When?
Swede Riesberg:
And how much?
Abe Attell:
A hundred grand, like I said. Twenty after each game.
Happy Felsch:
Wait a minute, that's five games. I thought we were just dumping a few.
Abe Attell:
No, you lose the first three.
Eddie Cicotte:
Kerr's pitching the third. He's not with us.
Swede Riesberg:
So, what? We don't hit for him, he'll fold. He's a busher!
Abe Attell:
After that, we gotta play it by ear. We gotta make this look good, fellas....
Eddie Cicotte: [quietly to Gandil]
Chick, where's the money I asked for?
Chick Gandil:
Look under your pillow.
Eddie Cicotte:
What?
Chick Gandil:
Compliments of Sport Sullivan.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.