Frequently Asked Questions about
Joe Jackson and the Virtual Hall of Fame
Background on the Virtual Hall of Fame
I have been researching Joe Jackson for over twelve years now and after having seen the movie Field of Dreams, I too heard a voice which said
"Build it and they will come......". At the time I did not know what it was I was supposed to build, I did however know that it had to do with
Joe Jackson. This was around 1989, the voice lay silent for several years, until the advent of the graphical web browser and the HTML programming language.
The voice once again spoke and said "Build it and they will come.....", so in the spring of 1994 I began to write software for a screen saver which featured
Joe Jackson and thought that would pacify the voice, it did not. The voice continued to speak to me until the fall of 1994 when it became apparent that a World Wide
Website was what I was supposed to build and so in January of 1995 we put up the first Shoeless Joe Jackson Home Page and the rest is history. The voice said "Build it and they will come"
.........and you have and I thank you and the Shoeless Joe Jackson Society thanks you.
--Mike Nola 1996
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Joe Jackson
How did Joe get the nickname "Shoeless"??
Back in 1908 Joe was playing for a team in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina and he had bought a new pair of spikes. He had worn the spikes one day and the next day his team was playing the Anderson, South Carolina
team. The new pair of spikes had rubbed blisters on Joe's feet, so he wanted to sit this game out, however his team was short some players and Joe had to play. Joe tried to play in the new spikes but they hurt his
feet real bad. During one inning Joe took the spikes off and played in just his socks, he came up to bat and hit a triple and as he was pulling up at third an Anderson fan hollered "You shoeless son of a gun you!" It was the
only day Joe played in his stockinged feet, but the name stuck forever. Joe did not like this handle he carried all his life, but that is how the world knew him......"Shoeless" Joe Jackson.
Speaking of shoes.....what size shoe did Joe wear??
Joe wore a size 10 1/2 shoe.
Where are all the Joe Jackson points of interests in Greenville and their corresponding map locations??
See the map below for all the main Joe Jackson points of interest. You can click on the blue pins below for more information about that point of interest.
Why did we chose blackbetsy.com??
We chose the name blackbetsy.com as our domain name because we are authorized by the Estate of Joe Jackson to sell a remake of his famous black baseball bat "Black Betsy"
and we thought the name appropriate.
How do I join the Shoeless Joe Jackson Society??
There are two ways to join the Society; 1. You can go the the Shoeless Joe Jackson Society On-Line Registration form to register your membership or
2. You may send us your name and address via the U.S. Postal Service and we will enter you into our database. See the Shoeless Joe Jackson Society letter.
When did Joe Jackson die and what was the cause of death??
Joe died on December 5th 1951 at home in Greenville, South Carolina. His death certificate dated December 9, 1951 lists the cause of death as "coronary thrombosis" caused by "arteriosclerosis" and "cirrhosis of the liver."
Where is Joe Jackson buried??
Joe is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park which is located on Wade Hampton Blvd. in Greenville SC. His grave is in Section V plot 333. Refer to the images listed below to help understand our instructions on how to find Joe's grave once you're there. Turn into the main entrance to Woodlawn off Wade Hampton Blvd. Proceed towards the large monument (follow the red line on the General purpose map below ). It is best to park about a quarter of the way into the circle around the monument. Proceed to the right and Joe's grave is about 64 steps from the edge of the road where you park. We have denoted the appx. location with a red circle on our map. This will get you in the general location of Joe's grave and it's usually easy to spot because of all the baseball's left on his grave by fans. There is usually a baseball bat as well. If you have difficulty with these instructions, we suggest you go to the offices of the Woodlawn Memorial Park and they can direct you to his site. The office used to give out literature on Joe to visitors, but they may no longer be doing this, but it can't hurt to ask.
Joe Jackson obituary column from 1951 Article courtesy of the Jack Connell Collection.
What is the relationship between the Virtual Hall of Fame and The Shoeless Joe Jackson Society??
The Shoeless Joe Jackson Virtual Hall of Fame is the Official web site of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Society.
We have the latest information about Joe and the movement to persuade Major League Baseball to remove him from their ineligible list.
What players are on Major League Baseball's ineligible list??
There are 19 players listed in the table below that are on Major League Baseball's ineligible list. This list is to the best of our knowledge all the players that have ever
had a run in with MLB and were banished for it.
| Player | Year Banned | Offense |
| Bill Burns | 1921 | Involvement in the Black Sox Scandal |
| Eddie Cicotte | 1921 | Involvement in the Black Sox Scandal |
| Cozy Dolan | 1924 | Alleged by Jimmy O'Connell to have been behind attempt to fix a game in 1924 |
| Phil Douglas | 1922 | Wrote a letter to Les Mann offering to desert the Giants, if rewarded, so that he wouldn't have to help John McGraw win the pennant (he was mad at McGraw for chewing him out) |
| Jean Dubuc | 1922 | Involved with Hal Chase in fixing of games during the 1919 season |
| Happy Felsch | 1921 | Involvement in Black Sox Scandal |
| Chick Gandil | 1921 | Involvement in Black Sox Scandal |
| Joe Gedeon | 1921 | Friend of Swede Risberg, knew about the Black Sox Scandal and placed bets for Risberg |
| Joe Jackson | 1921 | Supposed involvement in Black Sox Scandal |
| Benny Kauff | 1920's | Alleged to be involved in game fixing, but was actually banned by Landis after being charged in New York with auto theft and receiving stolen property, sued Landis for reinstatement after his acquittal on those charges, but lost |
| Fred McMullin | 1921 | Involvement in Black Sox Scandal |
| Lee Magee | 1919?? | Confessed to having helped Hal Chase fix games in 1918 |
| Jimmy O'Connell | 1924 | Told Philadelphia infielder Heinie Sand before a game in 1924 that "it will be worth $500.00 to you if you don't bear down on us too hard today." |
| Gene Paulette | 1919?? | Accepted gifts from St. Louis gambler Carl Zork (Zork was also involved in the Black Sox Scandal) |
| Swede Risberg | 1921 | Involvement in Black Sox Scandal |
| Buck Weaver | 1921 | Supposed involvement in the Black Sox Scandal |
| Lefty Williams | 1921 | Involvement in Black Sox Scandal |
| Heinie Zimmerman | 1919?? | Involved with Hal Chase in game fixing during the 1919 season |
| Pete Rose | 1989 | Official ruling: Conduct detrimental to baseball. Unofficial ruling: He had a gambling problem |
What were the salaries for the players in 1919 and 1920??
Listed below are the salaries for some of the eight men associated with the Black Sox Scandal. It should be noted that the highest paid player on the team, Eddie Collins earned a salary of $15,000.00 during this time......well above any other player on the White Sox team.
| Player | 1919 Salary | 1920 Salary | % Increase |
| Buck Weaver | $6,000.00 | $7,250.00 (2 yrs.+) | 21% |
| Joe Jackson | $6,000.00 | $8,000.00 (3 yrs.) | 33% |
| Eddie Cicotte | $5,000.00 | $10,000.00 | 100% |
| Lefty Williams | $3,000.00 | $6,000.00+ | 100% |
| Happy Felsch | $3,750.00 | $7,000.00 | 87% |
| Swede Risberg | $2,500.00 | $3,200.00 | 30% |
| Fred McMullin | $2,750.00 | $3,600.00 | 31% |
What are good books to read about Joe Jackson??
See Books About Joe Jackson. We recommend "Say it ain't so, Joe" by Donald Gropman and
"Growing Up With 'Shoeless Joe'" by Joe Thompson as sources of information about Joe.
We recommend "Eight Men Out" by Eliot Asinof as a source for information about the 1919 World Series.
The best overall book on the scandal to date is "Burying the Black Sox" by Gene Carney. Carney did his research into the subject and this book is the result of that research. The book gives us a background on the fix and subsequent attempt by White Sox owner Charles Comiskey to sweep the fix under the carpet.
What was Joe's uniform number??
Numbers were not worn on the uniforms during Joe's major league days. Numbers began to appear on major league uniforms in the late 1920's and early 1930's. While playing in Greenville in the early 1930's, Joe did wear the number "5" and we have seen
one photo of Joe while he was with the Woodside team in 1937 wearing number "12".
What was the wording of Judge Landis' ruling against the eight men??
Judge Landis' official wording was as follows......it never mentions that Joe would be banned for life....it says he will never play professional baseball....which he never did.....he served his sentence without incident, he never protested or held any ill will against baseball or Judge Landis.
" Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ball game; no
player that undertakes or promises to throw a ball game; no player that sits in
a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and
means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his
club about it, will ever play professional baseball."
" Of course, I don't know that any of these men will apply for reinstatement,
but if they do, the above are at least a few of the rules that will be
enforced. Just keep in mind, regardless of the verdict of juries, baseball is
entirely competent to protect itself against crooks, both inside and outside the
game."
When was Joe Jackson's last game in the Majors, who did he face his last at bat, etc., etc...??
Joe Jackson's last game in the Majors came on September 27, 1920 against the Detroit Tigers. The White Sox won the game 2 - 0 with Joe Jackson driving in the winning run. Joe's last at bat occurred
in the 6th inning of the game.....he faced Hooks Dauss in his last at bat and got a single, which scored Buck Weaver from third. Joe went 1 for 3 for the day. See our Joe's Last Box Score for more information.
Where did the name Black Sox come from??
Contrary to popular belief, the name Black Sox was not given to the 1919 White Sox because of the 1919 World Series scandal. The name was given to them because they played in dirty uniforms because their owner Charles Comiskey used to charge the players .25 cents for cleaning their uniforms. The players refused to pay to have their uniforms cleaned and chose instead to play in dirty uniforms, hence the name Black Sox.
What are the dates of birth and death for Joe's mother and father??
Where is Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park Located??
The Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park is approximately 2 1/2 miles from downtown
Greenville, SC. Take Academy Street out of downtown and continue over Pendleton Street where
Academy St. becomes Easley Bridge Road. Continue straight until you see Judson Baptist
Church. Look for West Avenue, directly across from the church. Take West Avenue and it will lead
you to the ballpark. For more information see Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Ball Park
When did Joe's wife Katie die??
Katie Wynn Jackson died on April 18th 1959 and is buried along side her husband at Woodlawn Memorial Park.
What is the address for the Commissioner of Baseball??
Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
245 Park Ave., 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-7800
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