Joe jackson Essay Example For Students

Joe jackson Essay Imagine your fate and future resting in the hands of one man’s judgment. This was actually reality for Shoeless Joe Jackson. Many argue that he was one of the best ever to play the game of baseball and was the greatest natural hitter of all-time. Yet, surprisingly, you will not find him among the familiar faces at the Hall of Fame. He was permanently banned from baseball, as well as seven others, for allegedly helping to throw the 1919 World Series. Joseph Jefferson Jackson was born on July 16, 1888 in Pickins County, South Carolina. He was the oldest of eight children and grew up the son of a cotton mill worker. He began working in the mill at age thirteen and never learned how to read or write. He played baseball in his spare time, and his exceptional skills landed him in the minor leagues by the age of eighteen. He first entered professional baseball in 1908 with Greenville in the Carolina Association. It was during this same year that he received the nickname â€Å"Shoeless† Joe after he had just bought a new pair of spikes. They wore blisters on his feet and they hurt so badly that he just played in his stocking feet. Although he played only one game without the spikes, he was known as â€Å"Shoeless Joe† from then on (McGee 1). Shoeless Joe made his major league debut later that year, in 1908, with the Philadelphia Athletics. He only played there a short time before being transferred to the Cleveland Indians. Finally, in 1915 he was sold to Charles Comiskey and the Chicago White Sox. It was here that he played his last few years of professional baseball and his life would be forever changed. From the years 1917 to 1919 the Chicago White Sox were by far the dominant team in baseball. It is speculated that they could have â€Å"gone on to become one of the greatest teams in history† (Schwalbe 2). However, despite having the most talented team around, Charles Comiskey paid his players considerably less than any other winning team (Durst 2). Due to the oppression they were under, the player’s morale began to decrease as their need for money increased. They considered going on strike, but were talked out of it by their manager, â€Å"Kid† Gleason. They remained desperate until first baseman Chick Gandil met with a notorious gambler named â€Å"Sport† Sullivan. The White Sox were far ahead in the standings and were headed to the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Gandil told Sullivan that he knew the Series could be fixed, especially due to the present conditions. He wanted $80,000, which Sullivan agreed to. Gandil had difficulties at first, but he ostensibly persuaded teammates Eddie Cicotte, Claude â€Å"Lefty† Williams, Buck Weaver, Fred McMullen, â€Å"Happy† Felsch, Swede Risberg, and Joe Jackson into joining him in the fix (Schwalbe 4). The scandal began to rise to great proportions as the rumors began to spread. One of the biggest professional gamblers became involved, Arnold Rothstein, as well as gamblers â€Å"Sleepy Bill† Burns and Billy Maharg. Other gamblers started laying down unusual bets, as the greed for money heightened. Comiskey and Gleason heard the rumors of the fix, but refused to believe them (Schwalbe 6). Slowly, signs began to show that something was not right. In a best-of-nine series, the White Sox lost the first, second, fourth, fifth, and eighth games. The World Series Championship went to the Reds and left Comiskey furious. He supposedly said the involved players would never play for him again.Nevertheless, the 1920 season went under way, and the White Sox were in hot co ntention for the pennant and had record profits at the box office. Finally, in September of 1920, a Cook County grand jury looked into allegations that the 1919 World Series had been thrown. Cicotte was called into court and was the first to admit to the scandal, followed by Shoeless Joe. Illinois had no law about fixing games, and the eight players were acquitted of the charges brought against them for defrauding the public and injuring the business of Charles Comiskey and the American League (Schwalbe 9). To Kill A Mockingbird: Man Versus Society EssayBaseball great Ted William’s is trying to get Joe Jackson’s name to be placed on the Hall of Fame ballot and have even given the Hall a legal memorandumin support of that request. Cooperstown should now act. It’s time, and it’s the right thing to do. Ted regrets the times when the Redsoxs used to travel to South Carolina and he did not go to see Joe and talk baseball, talk hitting from one of the most pure hitters ever to hold a bat. A person must make his own opinion of the events taken place in 1919. They have to take into account the whole of the story, not just bits and peace Realizing that although the Scandal of the 1919 World Series was a disappointment to the integrity of major league baseball, it is a comforting feeling to know that despite the temptation of bribe money, not all of the players involved intended or attempted to throw any of the series games. Having absolutely no evidence to back the charges against Shoeless Joe Jacksons role or lack of role in the scandal, indicates that justice should prevail and he should be given his rightful place in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bibliography: