by David Fleitz

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by David Fleitz

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Now that the Chicago White Sox are in the World Series (for only the second time since the 1919 Black Sox scandal) Shoeless Joe Jackson has resurfaced in the news once again.  The CBS Evening News did a piece on him on Saturday, and newspapers have written about the "curse of Shoeless Joe" that has kept the White Sox from winning the championship since the crooked Series came to light.

In fact, the 86-year-old scandal was the lead story on the MSNBC show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, last Friday.  Keith interviewed Gene Carney, who writes a blog called "Notes from the Shadows of Cooperstown."

Gene, who gave a positive review to my book Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson, only had about four minutes to state his case, but he suggests (in an upcoming book) that the scandal was blown completely out of proportion.  Much of what we know about the controversy, from Eight Men Out, Field of Dreams, and other sources, is mistaken, in Gene's view.

I'll have to read his book when it comes out, but he does not seem to be convinced of Joe Jackson's complicity.  So, I wrote an e-mail to Keith Olbermann, and we'll see what happens from there.

The e-mail is reprinted below, in its entirety.

Dear Keith,

I am the author of the award-winning biography Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson (McFarland, 2001) and I saw the piece you did on Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox scandal on Friday night’s show.

Unfortunately, your guest Gene Carney left the impression that the 1919 Black Sox Scandal never happened at all, and that Joe Jackson and seven other White Sox were banned from the game for life for no good reason.

I can only speak to Joe Jackson’s involvement, but the following facts are indisputable:

1. In his grand jury testimony of September 29, 1920, Joe admitted that he agreed to help throw the 1919 World Series for $20,000, a sum three times his annual salary.
2. He testified that he received an envelope with $5,000 in fifties and hundreds after the fourth game of the Series.   He deposited this money in his hometown bank in December of 1919.  Why would the fixers give Joe any money if he was not involved?
3. He batted .375 in the Series, but did not drive in a run in any of the first five games.
4. He hit the only home run of the Series, but not until the White Sox were behind 5-0 in the final game.
5. He testified that he played to win, but several teammates (including pitchers Red Faber and Dick Kerr) insisted that Joe and center fielder Happy Felsch played out of position many times, letting fly balls drop in for hits.

The posthumous rehabilitation of Shoeless Joe has become a cottage industry since the release of the movie Field of Dreams, but facts are facts.  Joe was, in my view, a good man who made a huge mistake, but he participated in the 1919 Series scandal, and he does not belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame for that reason.

Love your show.  Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

David Fleitz