Shoeless Joseph Jefferson Jackson Essay - 919 Words

Born on July 16, 1887 in Pickens County, South Carolina, â€Å"Shoeless† Joseph Jefferson Jackson is frequently regarded as one of the best baseball players of all time. Joes career as a baseball player was punctuated with a (then) all time high batting average of .356 (currently the third highest batting average on record); â€Å"Shoeless Joes† influence was so substantial that baseball legend Babe Ruth â€Å"... copied [â€Å"Shoeless† Joe] Jacksons style because [he] thought [â€Å"Shoeless† Joe] was the greatest hitter [He] had ever seen...†. Though his name was obscured by the â€Å"Black Socks† scandal of 1920, Joe Jackson managed to surmount his inferior circumstances, chief among which were poverty and illiteracy, to be considered a Baseball Legend. Due to†¦show more content†¦By 1905, his experience playing baseball in the Mills would earn the eighteen year old Joe enough of a name to be hired by the Green-ville Spinners of the Carolina Association. After a brief stint with the Spinners, Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics drafted â€Å"Shoeless† to play on his team. It wasnt until 1911 when Joe Jackson signed with the pelicans that he completed his first full season, setting a record .408 batting average for any other rookie to date. â€Å"Shoeless† Joes need to support his family with what little money he could scrounge through various means opened a career opportunity for him to excel in baseball. Shoeless Joe traversed a long way from the vicinity of poverty, evolving into a famous figure in the field of baseball. Quite clearly, â€Å"Shoeless† Joes involvement with the Mill Baseball teams allowed him to acquire an interest in baseball in the first place. However, to pursue both wealth and his interests, Jackson needed to make sacrifices, in this instance, he sacrificed literacy. Later on in his life, â€Å"Shoeless† â€Å"...[Reckoned he would] live up [in the no rth] all the time† â€Å"If all [his] business interests were not down South...†(Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball, 68). Jacksons illiteracy proved to be a mild inhibition, which â€Å"Shoeless† Joe would attempt to mask by â€Å"reading† his menus and ordering based on what other people in the restaurant ordered. ThisShow MoreRelated Supporting Ban on Pete Rose from Baseball Hall of Fame Essay2232 Words   |  9 PagesWilliams, outfielders Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch, first baseman Chick Gandil, shortstop Swede Risberg, third baseman Buck Weaver and reserve infielder Fred McMullin were all charged with conspiring to fix the outcome of the Fall Classic against the Cincinnati Reds (history of the world series-1919). Joseph Jefferson Jackson, also known as Shoeless Joe, was a valued player for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians, and for the Chicago White Sox. Shoeless Joe was well known for hisRead MoreBaseball Is America s Pastime2072 Words   |  9 Pageswouldn’t even pay for their uniforms to be cleaned, there came along the Black Sox (Lipsyte 25). The first baseman for the White Sox was C. Arnold â€Å"Chick† Gandil and he was the first to meet with anyone about fixing the series (History). He met with Joseph â€Å"Sport† Sullivan and finally agreed to the plan of throwing the championship in exchange for $100,000 (History). All he needed now was the men on the field to agree with this crooked plan. In order for this to work, he would need a pitcher and EddieRead MoreThe Infamous Civil War Prison Andersonville Essay3949 Words   |  16 Pageshandkerchief. Their next stop was Jackson, where they joined Forrests main force. Here James McCree, a citizen U nionist, sent a dispatch to the Federal command on the Tennessee River suggesting that Forrest, and his prisoners might be intercepted on their way south after leaving Jackson. Forrest suspected McCree, arrested him, and would have hanged him except for the intervention of certain Jackson citizens, who felt McCree might be innocent. After a few days at Jackson, the prisoners were moved on