[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 112 (Tuesday, August 3, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H6952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RESTORING THE HONOR OF JOSEPH JEFFERSON ``SHOELESS JOE'' JACKSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, this is a true story. In 1908, a textile 
mill worker from Greenville, South Carolina, who learned to play 
baseball on mill teams, made his minor league baseball debut for the 
Greenville Spinners. He could not read or write, but he could sure play 
the game. His name was Joseph Jefferson Jackson. And in my town and in 
my State and in baseball circles around the world, he is a legend.
  During a game in his first year in the minor leagues, Joseph 
Jackson's feet began to hurt because of his shoes, so he took them off. 
He then proceeded to hit a triple, sliding into third. One of the fans 
in the crowd heckled him, saying he was a shoeless son of a gun. The 
nickname ``Shoeless'' stuck.
  Shoeless Joe Jackson had one of the most mythical careers in baseball 
history.

                              {time}  2245

  He is mentioned among the greats: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank 
Aaron, Lou Gehrig. His 356 lifetime batting average achieved over a 13-
year career is third only behind Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby.
  In 1911, in his first major league season with Cleveland, Shoeless 
Joe batted 408, the highest batting average ever by a rookie. Traded to 
the Chicago White Sox in 1915, he led the team to victory in the 1917 
World Series against the New York Giants.
  Yet, while his name is mentioned among the greats, Joe Jackson is not 
with them in the baseball Hall of Fame. After the infamous 1919 Black 
Sox scandal, Jackson was suspended for life from the league by the 
commissioner of baseball.
  Madam Speaker, this was a bad call. In 1919, a New York gambler 
allegedly bribed eight players of the Chicago White Sox, including 
Shoeless Joe, to throw the first and second game of the 1919 World 
Series. When the news came out the following year, the case was brought 
to criminal court.
  A number of individuals, including local sportswriters and White Sox 
owner Charles Comisky, all testified to Jackson's innocence. After the 
trial he was acquitted. However, the new commissioner of baseball, 
Judge Kennesaw Landis, decided to ban all the players who were 
allegedly involved without even conducting an investigation.
  If Commissioner Landis had taken some time to review the evidence, I 
believe he would have found that Shoeless Joe played no part in 
throwing the Series. It was obvious by the way he played.
  In the 1919 World Series, Shoeless Joe Jackson batted 375, the 
highest of any player on either team. He set a World Series record with 
12 hits. His fielding was flawless. He had six of the White Sox's 17 
RBIs, and he hit the only homerun of the series.
  A number of people from Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa to the great Ted 
Williams have called for Commissioner Bud Selig to review the judgment 
made in haste 80 years ago. I would like to add the names of every 
Member of this House to that list.
  Shoeless Joe was undoubtedly one of the greatest to play America's 
favorite pastime. He worked his way up through the textile mills of 
South Carolina and lived the American dream. He loved the game of 
baseball. The time has come for the commissioner to review the record 
and give Joe Jackson his rightful place of honor.
  When the heros of today, McGuire, Sosa, Ripken, Griffey, and when the 
heroes of tomorrow who are still dreaming their dreams on little league 
fields and school playgrounds, when they all come to Cooperstown to be 
enshrined with the other greats in the baseball Hall of Fame, they 
deserve to be alongside one of the greatest players who ever played the 
game.
  I think they would all want Shoeless Joe there with them. The people 
from my district and people from all over the country have been working 
for years to have Jackson's good name cleared and his honor restored.
  I want to do whatever I can to give him the honor that he is due and 
to honor the people who have been inspired by his memory to rebuild and 
revitalize his hometown, West Greenville, to honor his name.
  On behalf of the people of my district who have worked so hard to 
uphold the memory and the honor of Shoeless Joe Jackson and along with 
the entire South Carolina Congressional Delegation, last Friday I 
introduced a resolution calling for Shoeless Joe to be appropriately 
honored. I believe this resolution is an opportunity to pay respect to 
one of the all-time great players of America's great national pastime.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to restore the name 
of Shoeless Joe.

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