Why can't "Shoeless" Joe Jackson ever be inducted into Cooperstown?

Question

Along with Pete Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson is one of the only players in Major League history to be banned from baseball. The reasons for his banishment are still pretty mysterious. I think the banishment rules should be modified wherein they are banned for the rest of his life. Jackson died in 1951. I highly doubt his widow, if he had one when he died, is still alive and any subsequent ancestors wouldn't be able to profit from his HOF induction because it has been too long. Some of his accomplishments as a player have still not been surpassed. I think that's worthy of consideration for HOF induction by the Veterans Committee.

Answer 1

No shirt, no shoes, no service.

Answer 2

Jackson's ineligibility with respect to MLB is PERMANENT. Not "lifetime" -- PERMANENT. He can be reinstated when "permanent" expires.

The Hall considers Jackson ineligible for consideration due to his ineligibility with MLB.

Which really is not important. Jackson was a candidate back when the Hall was founded. He received FOUR votes over a span of seven elections. That's all -- FOUR votes. Many of those early voters were men who had covered the 1919 World Series and witnessed the perfidy first-hand. History has rendered its judgement of Jackson and to overturn that, at this distant remove in time and without the first-hand knowledge that those early voters had, would be a monumental disservice to those voters, the Hall, Major League Baseball, and baseball as a sport.

Finally, there is no mystery about the expulsions of Jackson, Cicotte, Williams, Felsch, Gandil, Weaver, Risberg, and McMullin -- they all were complicit in the throw, they knew what was going on (most of them were clearly culpable from their on-field play), and for MLB that was more than enough, as Rule 21 makes clear.

There were and are rules, the the Eight chose to break them. Bad decisions can bring bad consequences.

ps. Jackson was a functional illiterate. That doesn't mean he was stupid (and, estimating from the quality of writing by many contributors to this site, it's probably a good thing that such causality doesn't exist). He just didn't know how to read or write very well. He had at least average intelligence and he did know what was going on.

I really despise this "he was so dumb he didn't understand" approach to rationalize away his participation. Making him out to be a moron is somehow ennobling of his stature? Who the hell needs supporters like that?

Stupid is NOT the new smart. Stupid is stupid.

Answer 3

Well, betting against your team and throwing the World Series to make money is probably a good reason to be banned from baseball. Look up the 1919 WS with the Chicago White Sox.

Answer 4

Here's the thing. When Shoeless Joe accepted money for throwing the series, several things need to be taken into consideration. He didn't really know what was going on. All reports say that he was kind of an idiot. The banishment for life rule did not exist when he accepted the money, that aspect did not exist until after their trial, when the first commissioner, Kennesaw Mountain Landis decreed it to be. In my opinion Shoeless Joe should be allowed in due to the fact that the banishment for life aspect did not exist when the rule infraction occurred. Also, Joe signed his confession, but the man was illiterate, there's no way he understood it.

Answer 5

He should be. He didn't throw the World Series, and he and the rest of the 1919 White Sox, were acquitted in court. Jackson was a career .356 hitter. They should induct him into the Hall of Fame.

Answer 6

What? Are you nuts? The guy took bribes to throw a World Series....and you want him in the HOF ? Get serious. No wonder this country is going downhill.

Answer 7

I was just thinking about this and I completely agree with you. He has the stats, most notably a .356 career average and a . 517 slugging mark.
And for all you people who think he threw the 1919 world series he hit .375 and fielded flawlessly during the classic.
SO THERE!

Hope i helped.

Answer 8

Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1888 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century. He is remembered for his performance on the field, and for his association with the Black Sox Scandal, when members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox participated in a conspiracy to fix the World Series. As a result of Jackson's association with the scandal, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Major League Baseball's first commissioner banned Jackson from playing after the 1920 season.[1]

Jackson played for three different Major League teams during his twelve-year career. He spent 1908-09 as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics; 1910 through the first part of the 1915 with the Cleveland Naps/Indians;[2] and the remainder of the 1915 season through 1920 with the Chicago White Sox.

Jackson, who played left field for most of his career, currently has the third highest career batting average. In 1911, Jackson hit for a .408 average. That average is still the sixth highest single-season total since 1901, which marked the beginning of the modern era for the sport. His average that year set the record for highest batting average in a single season by a rookie.[3] Babe Ruth claimed that he modeled his hitting technique after Jackson's.[4]

Jackson still holds the White Sox franchise records for triples in a season and career batting average,[5] In 1999, he ranked Number 35 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

And here are his stats

G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG
1,332 4,981 1,772 307 168 54 873 785 519 158 .356 .423 .517

Answer 9

wll in a way he made a shame of the game himself and his team for his actions on throwing the world series away for a lil sum of money!!

Answer 10

Wow JB, way to copy and paste word for word from wikipedia. You sure showed a wealth of sports knowledge on that one.

Answer 11

i grew up on the street he grew up on.theirs a little monument to him at the local baseball field named after him.if someone is great in sports then they should be included in Cooperstown.theirs been PLENTY of sports hero's who've messed up one way or the other. and i don't think it was actually proven he did wrong ,he was great !!he was one of a kind