Joe Jackson and the Black Sox Scandal

Joe Jackson and the Black Sox Scandal

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 t...

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...ty years since his incident. That incident does not seem as bad a spitting in someone’s face. "Joe was banned for life by Judge Landis, and his life is over so give the man his due place in baseball history" (Everstine 4). "He went on to say that many Hall of Fame players also support Joe’s induction into the Hall" (Everstine4). The preceding was stated by Ted Williams, a baseball great and also a member of the Hall of Fame. "Eighty years after the World series that resulted in Shoeless Joe Jackson’s lifetime ban from baseball, the House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for him to be honored" (AP B4). Shoeless Joe was indicted by a Federal Jury, and even they think he deserves the credit he is due. By passing this resolution, the House took its first step towards making the famous Shoeless Joe a Hall of Fame inductee. "Although throwing ball games was not a crime in Illinois, Landis said, Jackson’s confession barred him . . ." (Seymour 331). Even though the law stated that these players had actually committed a crime, Judge Landis saw it as dishonorable and disrespectful to all of baseball, so he punished the accused harshly.