Shoeless - by David L Fleitz (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson was one of baseball's greatest hitters and most colorful players. Born in rural South Carolina, Jackson never went to school and never learned to read or write. He went to work in a textile mill when he was around six years old, and got his start in baseball playing for a mill team at the age of 13, earning $2.50 a game. He emerged as a star and a favorite of fans with his hitting and throwing abilities, and moved into professional ball, where he received his nickname "Shoeless" because the blisters on his feet forced him to play in his stockings. He then made his move to the major leagues, signing with the Philadelphia Athletics and rising to fame with Cleveland and then with the Chicago White Sox.

His brilliant career was cut short due to his involvement in the scandal surrounding the 1919 World Series, when he was banished from the game he loved. This acclaimed biography, now revised with substantial information from a quarter century's continued research, chronicles Jackson's life from his poor beginnings to his life after baseball, his death on December 5, 1951, and his posthumous reinstatement to baseball's good graces in 2025.

Review Quotes

From the previous edition: Finalist, Larry Ritter Book Award--SABR; Finalist, Dave Moore Award--Elysian Fields Quarterly; Outstanding Sports Book of the Year--Hickory (N.C.) Metro Sports Commission; Booklist Top Ten Title; "undeniably one of America's most remarkable hitters. The 80-year controversy over the scandal and Joe's fiercely loyal fans should provide interest in this new life of Jackson"--Library Journal; "provocative...carefully examines Jackson's life in order to distinguish reality from myth...a fine biography that clears up many of the misconceptions regarding one of baseball's most enduring controversies"--Booklist; "well-written and carefully documented...informative and useful"--Nineteenth Century Notes; "well-researched and excellent narrative"--Nine; "wonderful"--SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter; "very informative"--The SABR Bulletin; "astute detail...an eloquent and credible picture of Shoeless Joe and his place in baseball history"--Boston Sunday Globe; "excellent...definitive...crisply written prose"--Baltimore Chronicle; "excellent"--Elysian Fields Quarterly; "examines in great detail many of the tales associated with Jackson"--Baseball America; "thoroughly researched...well-organized, tightly written, informative"--The Blade (Toledo, Ohio); "a rich bibliography and copious notes indicates thorough research"--Sports Collectors Digest; "thoughtful examination...a masterpiece of clarity and succinctness...thorough...balanced"--Ohioana Quarterly.

About the Author

David L. Fleitz is a web developer and baseball writer from Troy, Michigan. A longtime SABR member, he has written twelve books on baseball history, including biographies of Napoleon Lajoie, Louis Sockalexis, and Cap Anson.