Jackson, "Shoeless Joe" (Joseph J.)
Baseball
b. July 16, 1889, Pickens County, SC
d. Dec. 5, 1951
Because of his alleged involvement in the 1919 "Black Sox Scandal," Jackson is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, though he belongs there on the basis of his playing skills.
A left-handed hitting outfielder who threw right-handed, Jackson had brief appearances with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908 and 1909, then was traded to the Cleveland Indians and played for them briefly in 1910 before becoming a starter the following season.
A graceful outfielder with a strong throwing arm, Jackson was an exceptional hitter who never won a batting title even though he hit over .370 four times. In 1911, his first full season with Cleveland, he batted .408, yet finished second to Ty Cobb, who hit .420.
Jackson led the league with 226 hits and 26 triples in 1912, when he batted .395 and was the league leader with 197 hits, 39 doubles, and a .551 slugging percentage in 1913, when he hit .373.
After slipping to .338 in 1914, Jackson was traded to the Chicago White Sox during the 1915 season and he again led in triples with 21 in 1916. He hit .301 in the 1917 regular season and .304 in the World Series, scoring 4 runs and driving in 2 in Chicago's six-game victory over the New York Giants.
Jackson's wartime work in a shipyard limited him to just 17 games in 1918. When he returned the following season, many of the White Sox were disgruntled with owner Charles Comiskey because of their low salaries. They won the pennant again, with Jackson batting .351, but they lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in eight games (at that time, the Series was a best-five-of-nine affair).
In 1920, Jackson hit .382 with a league-leading 20 triples. After the season, a grand jury investigated charges that eight of the White Sox, including Jackson, had been bribed to throw the World Series the previous year. They were indicted but acquitted of all charges. However, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned them all from baseball.
If Jackson was in on the fix, he evidently reneged, because he batted .375 and made several outstanding defensive plays in the Series. And it's doubtful that he ever received any money. He returned to his South Carolina home and operated a liquor store for the rest of his life.