In the early years of the twentieth century, many ballplayers supplemented their paltry incomes by doing favors for gamblers. No one was more brazen in throwing games than first baseman Hal Chase. The handsome Chase was undeniably the best fielding first baseman in the major leagues, but his penchant for deliberately losing games for his gambler friends with timely errors made Chase wear out his welcome on numerous clubs. Fans often yelled, 'What's the odds, Hal?' whenever he took the field.