Shoeless Joe Essay -- essays research papers

Imagine your fate and future resting in the hands of cardinal mans judgment. This was actually reality for Shoeless Joe Jackson. Many argue that he was unmatchable of the best ever to play the game of baseball and was the sterling(prenominal) 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 septenary others, for allegedly helping to throw the 1919 World Series.Joe 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 fiber 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 analogous year that he received th e nickname Shoeless Joe after he had just bought a new pair of spikes. They wore blisters on his feet and they hurt so gravely that he just played in his stocking feet. Although he played only one game without the spikes, he was known as 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 earlier 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 vivification 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 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 (Durs t 2). receivable to the oppression they were under, the players morale began to decrease as their need for money increased. They considered going on strike, but were talked out of it by their manager, Kid Gleason. They remained fearsome until first baseman Chick Gandil met with a notorious gambler named Sport Sullivan. The White So... ...t up and protect his own reputation. Comiskeys lawyer acted as Joes lawyer also, although he was really only trying to protect Comiskey. In modern day, Joe would have had his own lawyer from the beginning and Landis would have been convicted of contempt of court since he went against the courts ruling and banished the eight players for life. Joe would not have had to prove his innocence. Instead, someone would have had to prove him guilty. Clearly, this could not have been achieved. There is no differentiate that he did anything wrong, and his statistics clearly support the opposite. Alongside, his performance in the 1919 World Series, Joes care er batting average of .356 is the third best of all-time (CMG 1). On excrete of this, he led the league in triples eight times and held the throwing record for distance. It is a shame he was never inducted into the Hall of Fame because of one mans judgment to ban him from the game. Part of Joes last words were Im going to meet the greatest umpire of all and he knows Im innocent. (McCroskey 1). He passed away on December 5, 1951, and will remain, although often disparaged and misunderstood, one of our national pastimes greatest legends.