Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball

by Harvey Frommer

Another peek at baseball's good old days—or, in this case, bad old days—by veteran sports-historian Harvey Frommer. Frommer paints Shoeless Joe as a baseball natural ("Joe Jackson hit the ball harder than any man ever to play baseball"-Ty Cobb), an illiterate hick (his table untemsils consisted of knife and fingers), and an innocent man snared by the greatest scandal in baseball history.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, History, Nonfiction, Biography, Crime

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the movies Field Of Dreams and 8 Men Out, Joseph Jefferson Jackson's legend as baseball's
lost prince has transcended the game he played. Many know him as the star who let his public down, who took a bribe to throw our greatest sports classic with 7 other teammates. Shoeless Joe Jackson
maybe the greatest player not in the Hall of Fame, barred from entering baseball's Valhalla.

Jackson entered this world in 1887 in Pickens County, South Carolina and he found work as a mill
hand where the one talent he was blessed with skill at playing baseball was recognized with factory
teams. He was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics and debuted in 1908. Jackson liked playing for
Connie Mack but heartily disliked a lot of his teammates who were college educated and made the
illiterate country boy the butt of many a prank.

While still on cotton mill teams Jackson played one game without his baseball spikes because the
shoes were new and they gave him blisters. A fan noticed and he was Shoeless Joe Jackson from
then on. He hated the nickname and as a result when he made the big leagues he wore the fanciest
dress shoes possible as an act of rebellion.

Jackson was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1911 and in those years recorded some of the highest
batting averages around including one year at .408. The trouble was that Ty Cobb was at his prime
and averaging higher. This was in the midst of Cobb's nine consecutive batting titles.

Jackson had one real blessing his wife Katie Wynn. For you romantics this book describes a love
story the poets could have written sonnets about. Katie Wynn Jackson who could read and write
stood by her man through the good and lean years. I was moved by her steadfastness.

jackson was then traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1916 and the team's notorious skinflint owner
Charles Comiskey. Comiskey was a man who lavished on the fans, nothing was too good for the
sportswriters who covered the team. But the players had the lowest average salaries in the major
leagues. Jackson probably felt like he was working in the mills again.

Nevertheless the White Sox won a pennant and World Series in 1917. Come 1919 and they won
again and were favored to win the World Series. But some gamblers including the notorious Arnold
Rothstein thought to fix the series and bet on the underdog Cincinnati Reds. 8 players as the legend goes took bribes.

Not quite so, each of the Black Sox 8 had a story and we are concerned with Jackson. $5000.00
was passed to him and the poor guy spent a lot of time between games looking for someone to
give it back to. During the Series he played well and sure didn't look like he was throwing games.

In 1920 the story broke and the 8 players suspended. Though none were convicted in a court of
law the new baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis barred the 8 for life. Their sin was
failing to report the attempted fix in the first place.

Jackson while he still had the skills played semi-pro baseball, sometimes under aliases. Eventually
he retired and bought a liquor store in Greenville, South Carolina. He died in 1951. His wife Katie
stood by him to the very end.

Jackson's story has the elements of Greek tragedy. But I like the romantic story of Joe and Katie
Jackson best. I think you will too.

[Daniel Evensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no need to hide it: this book is a shameless hagiography.

Harvey Frommer presents Shoeless Joe Jackson in the most positive light possible in this book. Jackson is shown here as an intelligent-but-uneducated youngster from the sticks, a kid who was caught up in a world that was simply too complicated and cold-hearted for him. Jackson's exploits on the field are presented as the stuff of legend, as the man who could do no wrong if given the proper playing time and treatment.

The true Shoeless Joe Jackson was a much more complicated character than this book shows, as you probably already know. Frommer takes Jackson's full confessions (which are printed in the appendix) at face value, believing that Jackson's statistical record in the 1919 World Series absolves him of any suspicion of crime - despite the obvious fact that Jackson accepted money for his role in the fix. Jackson's oft-rumored marital indiscretions while with the Cleveland Naps are also glossed over here, passed off with a mere sentence or two and a wave of Frommer's hand.

Frommer does a good job with his source material. Those familiar with other books on Jackson and the Black Sox will recognize many of the familiar stories and historical quandaries. The only difference here is Frommer's obvious infatuation with Jackson the Legend, Jackson the Hero, Jackson the Ineffable.

I should note that this book was published in 1992, only a few years removed from the Shoeless Joe focus caused by Field of Dreams, The Natural, and other books and movies that had recently been released. I'm not certain that this book sold as well as Frommer would have liked.

It's not bad, but it's not great history. There are better books on the subject; however, this book won't lead you far off the trail. If you go in with your eyes wide open, you'll do just fine.

[Rodger Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a bit of detail about Joe Jackson's life, but the book is not an especially thorough history of his life. I've read many superior baseball biographies. Likewise, while Frommer addresses the 1919 Black Sox scandal, there are better books on that topic. The blurbs on the back cover are telling -- F. Lee Bailey and Larry King, rather than scholars of baseball history. The book includes a transcript of Jackson's grand jury testimony in a useful appendix.

Basically, I read this book a chapter at a time. I'd read a .book, then read a chapter of this. Granted, this wasn't entirely fair to the author. There are 10 chapters (and that Appendix), which explains why this was on my active bookshelf for four months.

[Eric Mayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early history of Joe Jackson was interesting. I learned some things about him I never knew. The sections dealing with the “fix” was just a rehashing of what I have mostly heard already. The Grand Jury testimony of Jackson was the most intriguing to me. I had never read that. Jackson contradicts himself. He says early on that he agreed to be in on the fix, then later in the testimony he says he told them (the conspirators) that he would not participate in it. He never answered the question of any attempt by him to alert any ownership or management of the team of what was taking place. He just testifies that he told the conspirators that he would not go through with it.

[Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is simply a baseball story that just doesn't go away!
Joe Jackson in his Grand Jury testimony stated that he played to win... simple as that... in fact he led all hitters in hits and made some great fielding plays. But, he also stated that he did accept a bribe and ket the money. Thus the catch-22.
Even though all of the players involved were declared NOT-GUILTY in a court of law.... they were all banished from baseball for life by those tthat ruled baseball at that time.
Besides the scandal Frommer does a great job in bringing the baseball times and players to life that played from 1900-1920.

A must read for any baseball fan.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

I believe this book to have been created by a cut and paste computer program. There is just no way an actual person would have strung together these random, stand-alone paragraphs. There is that famous line by Chekhov, "If there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it has to have been fired by the last act." In this book, there is a gun hanging on the wall in about every third paragraph and none of them ever get fired.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read from the world of baseball in the early 1900's though at times it was a dry read. It shed some light on the whole throwing of the 1919 World Series and what role if any Shoeless Joe Jackson played in it. Makes me want to watch "Field of Dreams" again :)

[Tom Thaller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Older book (1992) but still relevant. Very readable with lots of good insights as to how and why these players, especially Jackson, got involved in betting scandal.

[Mark Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly standard account of Joe and his career. It does have the nice added touch of reprinting Joe's grand jury testimony.

[Jeffrey Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvey Frommer makes an excellent analysis of what happened to "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, the Black Sox scandal of 1919 and front office dealings with Charles Comiskey, the Chicago White Sox owner. Keeping the narrative in the context of its time, he presents a good look at who Joe Jackson was, his storied career, and how he was slighted by the powers-that-be in 1919. As a bonus, Jackson's Grand Jury testimony is included as an appendix, which allows the readers to read the transcription to determine for themselves whether Frommer's narrative is an accurate one. It was an enjoyable, albeit brief, read. Unfortunately, Jackson's wife seems to have disappeared from the narrative, while she is a central figure in the Grand Jury testimony. That is one of the things that makes this a four-star instead of a five-star rating.

[Ralph · Rating 3 out of 5]

No "Eight Men Out," but a good, quick read about an interesting period in baseball history.

[Mike Kriesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling case is made for shoeless joe.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Goes beyond 8 Men Out.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sports books are bizarre. Joe Jackson should be in the Hall of Fame. Chuckles Commiskey covered his ass and Jackson and seven others took fall for the crooked practices in baseball during this era.