Shoeless Joe Jackson

Joseph W. Jackson hit .356 over 13 major league seasons, one of the highest career batting averages in baseball history. He was functionally illiterate, having never attended school. He swung a bat he called "Black Betsy" with a swing so fluid that Babe Ruth said he modeled his own after it. In 1921, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned him from baseball for his involvement in the conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series. The ban stood for more than a century, until Commissioner Rob Manfred lifted it posthumously in May 2025.

Brandon Mill

Jackson was born on July 16, 1887, in Pickens County, South Carolina, and grew up in Brandon Mill, a textile village outside Greenville. He went to work in the cotton mills at age six or seven and never attended school. He played baseball on the mill teams that were the social center of Southern textile communities, and his talent was obvious from the start.

He acquired the nickname "Shoeless Joe" during a minor league game in Greenville when he played in his stocking feet because a new pair of cleats had given him blisters. A fan noticed and shouted the name, and it stuck for life.

Cleveland

Connie Mack purchased Jackson's contract in 1908, but Jackson was deeply uncomfortable in Philadelphia. He was a rural Southerner in a Northern city, unable to read street signs or restaurant menus, and he went home repeatedly. Mack gave up on him and traded him to the Cleveland Naps in 1910.

Jackson hit .408 in his first full season in 1911, the highest batting average by a rookie in American League history. He finished second in the batting race to Ty Cobb, who hit .419. He followed with .395 in 1912 and .373 in 1913. His combination of batting average, power, and throwing arm from left field made him one of the most complete players in the game. Cobb, who was not generous with praise, called Jackson the greatest natural hitter he ever saw.

Chicago

Cleveland traded Jackson to the Chicago White Sox in August 1915. He hit .341 in 1916 and .301 in 1917 as the White Sox won the pennant and beat the New York Giants in the World Series. Jackson hit .304 in that Series and was part of a roster that many observers considered the best team in baseball.

The 1919 White Sox were heavy favorites to beat the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. Eight players, including Jackson, conspired with gamblers to lose the Series deliberately. The conspiracy was organized primarily by first baseman Chick Gandil and pitcher Eddie Cicotte. Jackson's level of involvement has been debated for a century. He accepted $5,000 of the promised $20,000 payment. He hit .375 in the Series with the only home run by either team, drove in six runs, and committed no errors. His defenders have argued that his performance proves he played to win. His critics have noted that he took the money and did not report the conspiracy.

The Ban

A grand jury investigated the fix in September 1920. Jackson and seven teammates were indicted. In the criminal trial in 1921, all eight were acquitted after less than three hours of deliberation. The acquittal did not save them. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned all eight players from organized baseball for life, declaring that regardless of the verdict, any player who sat in a meeting with gamblers and did not immediately inform his club had forfeited his place in the game.

Jackson moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he ran a dry cleaning business for about a decade before returning to Greenville in 1932, where he operated a restaurant and a liquor store. He played semipro baseball in the region for several years after his ban. He applied for reinstatement multiple times and was denied each time.

After Jackson

Jackson died on December 5, 1951, in Greenville, South Carolina, at age 64. His .356 career batting average remains among the highest in baseball history. For decades, periodic campaigns to reinstate him and make him eligible for the Hall of Fame generated public sympathy and editorial support but no change in his status. In May 2025, Commissioner Rob Manfred ruled that a person's time on MLB's permanently ineligible list ends upon death, posthumously reinstating Jackson and making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration by the Historical Overview Committee.