The "Shoeless Joe Jackson: Part 2" Story

It was an ordinary day. Trying to find all the info I need to finish my story on "Shoeless Joe" Jackson which I published yesterday. "Shoeless Joe" Jackson was a deadly hitter and a fantastic fielder whose glove was called "the place where triples go to die." He made a name for himself in baseball history for his monumental skills and achievements, but his legacy remains a sad one, tainted by association with the infamous "Black Sox Scandal" of the 1919 World Series. After the White Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds, Jackson and seven of his teammates were accused of accepting $5,000 each to throw the series. Dropped balls, throwing lightly to the wrong base and intentionally doing bad at the plate were all cited as reasons for the accusations. But, "Shoeless Joe's" stats support just the opposite. During the Series Jackson had 12 hits, a series record, and a .375 batting average which led individual stats for both teams. He committed no errors and even threw out a runner at the plate. These are the stats of someone fixing games? It was often said that the Reds hit an unusually high number of triples to left field where Jackson roamed the outfield. But, according to first hand accounts, none of the triples were hit to left. In fact more triples were muffed by one of his outfield teammates, rightfielder Shano Collins, that were hit to Jackson. Collins was ironically listed as the wronged party in the indictments of the conspirators. The indictment claims that by throwing the World Series the alleged conspirators defrauded Collins of $1,784 dollars, what would have been his share had the Sox won the series. Supposedly Jackson admitted under oath that he agreed to participate in the fix, but no such quotes appear in the actual stenographic record of Jackson's grand jury appearance. Legend has it that as Jackson was leaving the courthouse during the trial, a young boy begged of him, "Say it ain't so, Joe." Years later, Jackson contended that this story was a myth. So who do you believe was telling the truth? In 1921 a Chicago jury acquitted Jackson and his seven teammates of wrong doing. Didn't matter to Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the Commissioner of Baseball. He declared all eight accused players ineligible for future Major League play, citing baseball's need to maintain a clean image as his top priority. Jackson never played in organized baseball after the 1920 season. "Shoeless Joe" remains on MLB's ineligible list which means he can never be elected to the national Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1999 the US House of Representatives passed a resolution supporting Joe and encouraging the now commissioner, Bud Selig, to review Jackson's case and hopefully reinstate him so he would again be eligible. Jackson spent most of his life proclaiming his innocence. It was reported that he twice refused $5,000 bribes, even thought it would have doubled his salary. Jackson is said to have known about the fix and tried to tell White Sox owner Charles Comiskey about it, but Comiskey refused to meet with him. Years later, the other players implicated in the scandal confirmed that Jackson was not part of the fix, but it was past history by that time. About 20 years ago I saw a movie called Eight Men Out which was based on Eliot Asinof's book of the same name that he wrote in 1963 about the Black Sox scandal. The historical inaccuracy of the book has been proven, since he failed to mention the 1920 Grand Jury records and Jackson's successful 1924 lawsuit against Comiskey to recover back pay for the 1920 and 1921 seasons. "Shoeless Joe" Jackson's legacy may have been tinted by the scandal, but he is still remembered in many ways. One of the landmarks built for him was a Memorial Ballpark which can be found in Greenville, South Carolina. The baseball field that was built in his name is called Fluor Field (formerly known as West End Field). A life-size statue of Jackson, created by South Carolina sculptor Doug Young, stands in Greenville's West End. In 2006, "Shoeless Joe" Jackson's original home was moved to a location adjacent to Fluor Field at the West End in downtown Greenville. The home was restored and opened in 2008 as the "Shoeless Joe" Jackson Museum and Baseball Library. The address is 356 Field Street, in honor of his lifetime batting average. Jackson was inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals by the Baseball Reliquary. The longest serving manager in baseball history and for whom the ballpark at 20th and Lehigh in Philadelphia was named, Connie Mack, said this, "Jackson's fall from grace is one of the real tragedies of baseball. I always thought he was more sinned against than sinning." For my readers who are real baseball fans and love stats, I have included Jackson's stats. Amazing! I still believe he will some day be vindicated, as will Pete Rose. But, that's another story for another day. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are: Babe Ruth and Jackson, "Shoeless Joe" when he played for Cleveland with Ty Cobb and Napoleon LaJoie, Jackson with his bat "Black Betsy", and his glove that he wore to play leftfield from 1915-1920.

Regular Season

Year	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	2B	3B	BB	OBP	SLG	AVG	SB
1908	5	23	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	.130	.130	.130	0
1909	5	17	3	3	0	3	0	0	1	.222	.176	.176	0
1910	20	75	15	29	1	11	2	5	8	.430	.587	.387	4
1911	147	571	126	233	7	83	45	19	56	.463	.590	.408	41
1912	154	572	121	226	3	90	44	26	54	.447	.579	.395	35
1913	148	528	109	197	7	71	39	17	80	.453	.551	.373	26
1914	122	453	61	153	3	53	22	13	41	.374	.464	.338	22
1915	128	461	63	142	5	81	20	14	52	.386	.434	.308	16
1916	155	592	91	202	3	78	40	21	46	.384	.495	.341	24
1917	146	538	91	162	5	75	20	17	57	.364	.429	.301	13
1918	17	65	9	23	1	20	2	2	8	.397	.492	.354	3
1919	139	516	79	181	7	96	31	14	60	.410	.506	.351	9
1920	146	570	105	218	12	121	42	20	56	.433	.589	.382	9
Totals	1332	4981	873	1772	54	785	307	168	519	.413	.517	.356	202

World Series

Year	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	2B	3B	BB	OBP	SLG	AVG	SB
1917	6	23	4	7	0	2	0	0	1	-	-	.304	1
1919	8	32	5	12	1	6	3	0	1	-	-	.375	0
Totals	14	55	9	19	1	8	3	0	2	-	-	.345	1

G=Game, AB=At Bat, R=Runs, H=Hits, HR=Homeruns, RBI=Runs Batted In, 2B=Doubles, 3B=Triples, BB=Base on Balls(Walks), OBP=On Base Percentage, SLG=Slugging Average, AVG=Batting Average, SB=Stolen Bases