Athletes - Shoeless Joe Jackson

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	Athletes - Shoeless Joe Jackson

Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson (July 16, 1889 – December 5, 1951) 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.

Born in Pickens County, South Carolina, he is considered to be one of the most outstanding hitters in the history of the game, to the point that Babe Ruth claimed that he modeled his hitting technique after Jackson's. Jackson is the only rookie to have batted over .400; he hit .408 for Cleveland in 1911 (although he would not be considered a rookie by today's definition). His career .356 batting average is the third highest in history, after Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby.

The nickname "Shoeless" came from when he played for his mill team before he played in the major leagues. He took his shoes off before he went to hit, and when he got to base a fan started yelling inappropriate and vulgar comments at him. One of the things he was called was a "shoeless son-of-a-bitch". The name stuck with him all the way to the major leagues.

Black Sox scandal

Jackson always maintained his innocence in the Black Sox scandal and insisted that he was playing his best 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.

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 helped his team most. 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 say 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.

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 part-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.

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.

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.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Shoeless Joe Jackson ]

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Athletes - Shoeless Joe Jackson

Black Sox scandal

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