| Birth: | Jul. 16, 1888
Greenville
Greenville County
South Carolina | | Death: | Dec. 5, 1951
Greenville
Greenville County
South Carolina | 
Professional Baseball Player, he was banned forever from the game for his role in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. He obtained his nickname in 1909 while playing for the Greenville Spinners when he removed his new, tight-fitting shoes (which were causing blisters) to run around the bases in his socks during a game. Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1902 he became a cotton textile worker with Brandon Mills, sweeping the floors where his father and brother worked. He soon joined the company baseball team in what was called the Textile League. Mill life was rough and workforce turnover frequent, when mill owners discovered that forming a baseball team helped them keep their workers by forming a community spirit. A natural player, by 1904, Joe was one of the best-known players in the Textile League. In 1908, Joe left the mills to become a professional baseball player with the Greenville Spinners, and that same year, he married his long-term sweetheart, Katie Wynn. In his first season, he batted .350, and was clearly recognized as one of the best players in the league. In 1910, the Philadelphia Athletics bought his contract, and the next year, he was traded to Cleveland. In 1915, he moved to the Chicago White Sox. In 1919, he discovered that seven players had gotten together to throw the World Series, and Jackson was offered $20,000 to join them. Jackson refused, but the Gamblers used his name as being in on the fix to lure other bettors. When Jackson realized the problems this would bring him, he went to Coach Comiskey, told him of the fix, and asked to be benched for the entire series, but his request was denied. As a result, when he played, he turned in a blemish-free performance, scoring five runs and driving in six more. His game average was .375 and he had 12 hits during the World Series, setting a new record for hits. He also fielded 30 balls without an error. When the scandal was revealed, a grand jury was held in 1920, and Joe was called before it. Comiskey denied knowledge of the fix (to do so would tarnish his reputation, since he did nothing to stop it), and Joe was indicted. Although the resulting trial jury found him innocent of taking a bribe, the baseball commissioner, Judge Landis, banned all of the Black Sox players from professional baseball for life. After the 1919 ban on baseball, Jackson returned to Greenville, SC, where he became a successful shopkeeper, running a dry cleaning store and later a liquor store, until his death in 1951 of a heart attack. Although banned from professional baseball, Joe continued to play ball for free, for local teams, until 1933, when he stopped due to age. According to an interview given by Joe, the famous question asked him by a kid after the Grand Jury hearing "Say it ain't so, Joe" was never spoken, and was apparently made up by a newspaper reporter. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
Cause of death: Heart Attack
Search Amazon for Joseph Jackson | | | Burial:
Woodlawn Memorial Park
Greenville
Greenville County
South Carolina, USA
Plot: Section V |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Jan 01, 2001
Find A Grave Memorial# 1743 |
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There's only 4 words for you Joe...........BASEBALL HALL OF FAME!!! Rest in peace, the greatest of the greats! Larry D.
-Anonymous
Added: Nov. 16, 2009 |
I believe you must be playing on the "Field of dreams" in Heaven.. See you there..Love..
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Mikki
Added: Nov. 13, 2009 |
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Oscar from Italy
Added: Nov. 2, 2009 |
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(4.6 after 185 votes)
