[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22869]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        ``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, as my colleagues know, I have introduced a 
resolution in the House honoring ``Shoeless'' Joe Jackson for his 
baseball accomplishments. I know most baseball fans are familiar with 
his story. It has been portrayed in recent movies, including Field of 
Dreams and Eight Men Out. Most sporting shows and magazines, including 
Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Fox News, have done stories on it.
  The people of my district are very familiar with Shoeless Joe, since 
he grew up playing baseball in the mill leagues of Greenville, South 
Carolina, and he spent the last years of his life there as well.
  Throughout his life, he never tired of teaching kids to play the game 
he loved. There is even a baseball park named after him in Greenville, 
where kids play today.
  For those unfamiliar with Shoeless Joe, let me briefly outline his 
legendary accomplishments. Of his hitting, Babe Ruth once said, ``I 
decided to pick out the greatest hitter to watch and study and Jackson 
was good enough for me.'' 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 Roger Hornsby. Over a 10-
year period, he never hit below .300. His fielding skills in the 
outfield were legendary. His glove was named ``the place where triples 
go to die.''
  My colleagues probably also know that Shoeless Joe Jackson is famous, 
or infamous, for allegedly taking part in the fix of the 1919 World 
Series. In that series, a group of New York gamblers bribed a number of 
players on the Chicago White Sox team to throw the series to 
Cincinnati. When the news came out in 1920, the new commissioner of 
baseball, Commissioner Landis, acted swiftly. In a summary judgment, 
without an investigation, the commissioner banned eight players on the 
White Sox team from ever playing baseball again. Shoeless Joe was 
included in the ban.
  I am not going to debate whether or not the commissioner's verdict 
was the right thing to do. Jackson was acquitted of participating in 
the fix twice, once in 1920 by a friendly Chicago jury and once in 1924 
by an impartial jury in Milwaukee. In fact, the jurors in Milwaukee 
were asked in a special interrogatory whether Shoeless Joe conspired or 
participated to fix a Series. The jury answered with an emphatic no.
  I am also not going to debate if Jackson was given money. According 
to the story, Shoeless Joe's roommate Lefty Williams left $5,000 for 
Jackson on his bed. Whatever the debate, there are four things that are 
very clear. First, Shoeless Joe tried to give the money back before the 
Series started, but was rebuffed.
  Second, Shoeless Joe tried to inform the owners of the White Sox of 
the fix, but the owner refused to see him.
  Third, Shoeless Joe offered to sit out the Series but was again 
rebuffed.
  Fourth, and most notably, Shoeless Joe played to win. He led all 
players by hitting .375, and he had the only home run of the Series. 
His fielding was flawless, throwing out five men at home plate. He set 
a World Series record with 12 hits and combined with Buck Weaver, the 
other player who was unfairly punished, for 23 hits, a record which has 
stood for 60 years.
  I have no doubt of Shoeless Joe's innocence. While it is to his 
discredit that he took the money, he did nothing for the money. In the 
end, he came clean the only way he could, with his bat and glove.
  In July, Ted Williams, Tommy LaSorda, and Bob Feller filed a petition 
with Commissioner Selig. That petition does not ask major league 
baseball to exonerate Shoeless Joe or to endorse his candidacy. To 
quote,

       Those issues are moot at this point as he served a very 
     difficult sentence over a long period of time. The 
     commissioner of baseball is merely asked to acknowledge that 
     Shoeless Joe has fully paid his debt to society and the game, 
     that he satisfied the sentence of the first commissioner with 
     dignity and humility and without rancor. Because he has 
     fulfilled his sentence, baseball has no further call or 
     jurisdiction over Shoeless Joe.

  I rise in strong support of this petition. It provides major league 
baseball with a graceful and dignified way to finally let the issue 
rest and let Shoeless Joe receive the honor he has long deserved.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, on his death bed, Shoeless Joe said, ``I am 
about to meet the biggest umpire of them all and He knows I am 
innocent.''
  Fifty years after his death, it is time for baseball to restore the 
honor of this good man. I invite all of my colleagues to join me in 
cosponsoring House Resolution 269 honoring Shoeless Joe for his 
outstanding accomplishments in baseball. Let us do our part.

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