Harkin, DeMint Go to Bat for Shoeless Joe Jackson

HARKIN, DEMINT GO TO BAT FOR SHOELESS JOE JACKSON

Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) today sponsored a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Joseph Jefferson ‘Shoeless Joe' Jackson should be appropriately honored for his outstanding baseball accomplishments.

"Baseball fans young and old all across the country know the story of Shoeless Joe and recognize him as a legend who gave his all to baseball. He was truly one of the greatest players of all time," said Harkin. "Shoeless Joe's record as a star player on the baseball field is unquestionable. His efforts helped make baseball America's favorite past-time. It is long past due that Shoeless Joe be recognized for giving his all to the game."

Joe Jackson batted .408 in his rookie year, a feat which has never been equaled. He has the third highest batting average of all time, behind only Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby. Over a 10-year period, he never hit below .300. His fielding skills in the outfield are also legendary. His glove was named "the place where triples go to die." Babe Ruth once said of Shoeless Joe, "I copied Jackson's style because I thought he was the greatest hitter I had ever seen, the greatest natural hitter I ever saw. He's the guy who made me a hitter."

In 1920, "Shoeless Joe" and seven other members of the Chicago Black Sox were accused of accepting bribes to throw the 1919 World Series against Cincinnati Reds. A Chicago jury acquitted Shoeless Joe of any wrongdoing in the 1919 Chicago Black Sox World Series scandal. However, without any hearings or investigations Major League Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis proceeded to ban Shoeless Joe Jackson from playing baseball for the rest of his life.

After Harkin first sponsored a resolution in 1999, Baseball Commissioner Alan "Bud" Selig agreed to review the Shoeless Joe case to consider whether or not the baseball player can be reinstated to baseball thereby paving the way for Jackson's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, it has been six years since that investigation began, with no resolution.

"Tomorrow, the Chicago White Sox will make their first appearance in the World Series since 1959," said Harkin. "It was Shoeless Joe who led the White Sox to their last World Series Championship in 1917. I urge Commissioner Selig to step up to the plate and finally recognize Shoeless Joe for his outstanding accomplishments in baseball."

The story of Shoeless Joe was portrayed in the movie "Field of Dreams," which was filmed primarily in Dyersville, Iowa. The movie has drawn many Iowans to embrace the story of Shoeless Joe.

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate that Joseph Jefferson ``Shoeless Joe'' Jackson should be appropriately honored for his outstanding baseball accomplishments.

Whereas Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, a native of Greenville, South Carolina, and a local legend, began his professional career and received his nickname while playing baseball for the Greenville Spinners in 1908;

Whereas "Shoeless Joe" Jackson moved to the Philadelphia Athletics for his major league debut in 1908, to the Cleveland Naps in 1910, and to the Chicago White Sox in 1915;

Whereas "Shoeless Joe" Jackson's accomplishments throughout his 13-year career in professional baseball were outstanding—he was 1 of only 7 Major League Baseball players to ever top the coveted mark of a .400 batting average for a season, and he earned a lifetime batting average of .356, the third highest of all time;

Whereas "Shoeless Joe" Jackson's career record makes him 1 of our Nation's top baseball players of all time;

Whereas in 1919, the infamous "Black Sox" scandal erupted when an employee of a New York gambler allegedly bribed 8 players of the Chicago White Sox, including Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, to lose the first and second games of the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds;

Whereas in September 1920, a criminal court acquitted "Shoeless Joe" Jackson of the charge that he conspired to lose the 1919 World Series;

Whereas despite the acquittal, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball's first commissioner, banned "Shoeless Joe" Jackson from playing Major League Baseball for life without conducting any investigation of Jackson's alleged activities, issuing a summary punishment that fell far short of due process standards;

Whereas the evidence shows that Jackson did not deliberately misplay during the 1919 World Series in an attempt to make his team lose the World Series;

Whereas during the 1919 World Series, Jackson's play was outstanding—his batting average was .375 (the highest of any player from either team), he set a World Series record with 12 hits, he committed no errors, and he hit the only home run of the series;

Whereas because of his lifetime ban from Major League Baseball, "Shoeless Joe" Jackson has been excluded from consideration for admission to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame;

Whereas "Shoeless Joe" Jackson died in 1951, after fully serving his lifetime ban from baseball, and 85 years have elapsed since the 1919 World Series scandal erupted;

Whereas Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig took an important first step toward restoring the reputation of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson by agreeing to investigate whether he was involved in a conspiracy to alter the outcome of the 1919 World Series and whether he should be eligible for inclusion in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame;

Whereas it has been 6 years since Commissioner Selig initiated his investigation of "Shoeless Joe", but there has been no resolution;

Whereas the Chicago White Sox are the 2005 American League Champions, and will compete in the World Series for the first time since 1959;

Whereas "Shoeless Joe" Jackson helped lead the Chicago White Sox to their last World Series Championship in 1917; and

Whereas it is appropriate for Major League Baseball to remove the taint upon the memory of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson and honor his outstanding baseball accomplishments: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson should be appropriately honored for his outstanding baseball accomplishments.

http://harkin.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=247583