Shoeless Joe Jackson For anyone who knows anything about baseball, the 1919 World Series brings to mind many things. “The Black Sox Scandal of 1919 started out as a few gamblers trying to get rich, and turned into one of the biggest, and easily the darkest, event in baseball history” (Everstine 4). This great sports scandal involved many, but the most memorable and most known for it was Joe Jackson. The aftermath of the great World Series Scandal left many people questioning the character of Joe Jackson and whether or not he should have relations thereafter with baseball.
There is still question today whether or not to let Joe into the Hall of Fame. Many people still question whether or not, Joe Jackson was involved in “The Black Sox Scandal of 1919. “”The scandal even left its own legacy that is still inciting arguments among fans today: the fate of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson” (Everstine 3). As the word was being spread to “bet on the Reds”, (Everstine 3), an astronomical amount of money was needed to make the payoff to all involved, including the baseball players of the White Sox who were participating in the scandal. Before the beginning of the game on that scandalous day, Joe Jackson begged the owner of the White Sox; Charles Comiskey to listen to him in regards to the fix of the game that was about to happen.
The evidence was proven that Jackson had even asked to be benched for the series to avoid any suspicion of his involvement in the fix. Unfortunately, Comiskey did not listen to Jackson. “Heavy betting was taking place” (Everstine 3). The game was played, after being fixed; the White Sox lost, even though there were seventeen other players on the team that attempted to do their best. Despite their best efforts, the “fix was successful” (Everstine 3).
“As many fans sat in the stands and watched the game, they were not able to tell that the game had been fixed and thrown for the benefit of the Reds and the gamblers” (Everstine 3). Joe Jackson knew of the fix.Jackson did not take the financial padding that was offered to him.In the sixth game, “Jackson made two hits and nailed a Cincinnati runner at the plate with a perfect throw” (Gies and Shoemaker 58).”In fact, the Black Sox on the whole actually made a better showing in the games than the Clean Sox” (Seymour 333).Joe had gone into the game to play his heart out and he did.”Joe Jackson led both teams with a .375 batting average, making twelve hitsstill a record for an eight-game series, and” (Seymour 333).Jackson definitely was the star of the Series; he hit phenomenally, and had the only home run in the series.He also had a very good series in respect to his fielding abilities.In an interview with Furman Bisher, Jackson told of his accounts with the 1919 World Series games.I went out and played my heart out against Cincinnati.I set a record that still stands for the most hits in a Series, though it has been tied, I think.I made thirteen hits, but after all the trouble came out they took one away from me.Maurice Rath went over in the hole and knocked down a hot grounder, but he couldnt make a throw on it.They scored it a hit then, but changed it later (Bisher 1).Joe tells it as he sees it.He had the best performance by any world series player ever.However, after he was convicted of participating in the “Black Sox” scandal baseball officials revoked his controversial, but record breaking thirteenth hit.”And Shoeless Joe Jackson, indisputably one of the greatest ballplayers whoever lived set a World Series record by making twelve hits” (Gies and Shoemaker 59).”Perhaps it just isnt easy for a good ballplayer to play badly” (Gies and Shoemaker 59).Before the first ball was ever thrown in the 1919 World Series, rumors were spreading that the game was fixed.”Cicotte and Jackson, the first to crack, confessed the day after Mahargs story broke” (Seymour 302).”Jackson told of moving slowly after balls hit to him, making throws that fell short, and deliberately striking out with runners in …..scoring position” (Seymour 303).Joe, however, did not see it this way.”In his Grand Jury testimony, Joe
