Shoeless Joe Jackson

Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson (July 16, 1889, in Pickens County, South Carolina – October 5, 1951, in Greenville, South Carolina) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. One of the greatest hitters of his era, he was one of eight players banished for life from professional baseball for his alleged participation in the Black Sox scandal, this being the basis for his exclusion from baseball's Hall of Fame.

Black Sox scandal

Jackson always maintained his innocence about the Black Sox scandal and insisted that he was playing with his best effort in the 1919 World Series. Supporters point out the World Series statistics show that he maintained a .375 batting average and played well in the field, throwing out five baserunners and handling thirty chances in the outfield with no errors. On the basis of these statistics, they maintain that Joe was obviously not participating in the players' conspiracy.

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Jackson's detractors counter that he seemed to have hit well only when there were no runners on base or when games were out of reach, and that he hit poorly at points when he could have most helped his team. In the five games that the White Sox lost (in the best-of-nine Series), Jackson had only one RBI, that coming on a home run in the deciding game 8. Defenders of Jackson counter that in order to only try when there was no one on base or the game was lost would mean that Jackson somehow managed to bat at an absurd level when he was actually trying.

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Also against his case is the fact that Jackson admitted under oath that he agreed to participate in the fix, and accepted $5,000 as partial payment for his cooperation (a sum he claimed to have attempted to return twice). He also admitted to complaining to other conspirators that he had not received his full share. He was advised by the lawyer of Charles Comiskey during this entire time and was encouraged to admit to the fix in a clear conflict of interest. His banishment was based primarily on these admissions. A jury, however, acquitted him of criminal charges related to the scandal, although the trial itself could also be regarded as having been fixed, key evidence having gone missing from the prosecutor's office shortly before the trial.

Related Topics:
Fix - Charles Comiskey

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Yet another fact that is often cited by anti-Jackson advocates is that the Reds hit an unusually high number of triples to left field during the series, suggesting that Jackson, generally considered a good defensive player, might not have been playing his best in the field.

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In the fifth inning of game 4 Jackson made a telling play from left field. With a Cincinnati player on second a single was hit to left field and fielded by Jackson. He then fired the ball towards home plate. Eyewitness accounts say that the ball was heading directly for home plate and would have resulted in an out had pitcher Eddie Cicotte, one of the ringleaders of the fix, not directly interfered with the throw. Because of Cicotte's actions a run scored. The White Sox would lose the game 2-0. The Official Scorer of the 1919 World Series, James C. Hamilton, testified under oath in a later civil trial between Jackson and Charles Comiskey that the throw was honest and that Cicotte jumped up, knocked it down and booted it for an error. Jackson, if indeed in on the fix, could easily have thrown off target. The fact that Cicotte took it upon himself to knock the ball down leads many to conclude that Cicotte knew Jackson was playing honest ball. Further supporting Jackson's innocence is the autobiography of Chick Gandil, another ringleader of the fix. He would admit to yelling at Cicotte to intercept the throw so that the run would score. Many believe that this play shows that both ringleaders of the fix knew Jackson to be playing honest ball and did not trust him to throw the games.

Related Topics:
Eddie Cicotte - 1919 World Series - Charles Comiskey - Chick Gandil

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The phrase "Say it ain't so, Joe" is based on a young fan's comment to Jackson at the conclusion of the Black Sox scandal (possibly apocryphal). Jackson denied that there was any such incident, and he was extensively filmed leaving the courthouse without anything of the sort occurring.

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After being banned from the majors, Jackson played extensively in semipro leagues in Georgia and South Carolina. He never played under an assumed name as the films Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out suggest. In fact he earned a healthy living as a ballplayer and also as a successful businessman after the ban. In 1929 he and his wife, Katherine, moved to Greenville, South Carolina. By the 1940s, he was working at his liquor store when former adversary Ty Cobb and sportswriter Grantland Rice entered as customers. But Jackson showed no signs of recognition. Following an impersonal transaction, Cobb finally asked, "Don't you know me, Joe?" ?Sure, I know you, Ty,? replied Jackson, ?but I wasn?t sure you wanted to speak to me. A lot of them don?t.?

Related Topics:
Field of Dreams - Eight Men Out - 1929 - Greenville, South Carolina - 1940 - Ty Cobb - Grantland Rice

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Joe Jackson suffered from heart trouble in his later years and died in Greenville in 1951. He is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park there.

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