Major League Baseball ends lifetime bans for Pete Rose, 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson

[Roricka]

23. A little shoeless joe history

Very briefly, some support for Jackson. If you study this, you'll learn quite a few things in Shoeless's favor are fairly well established.
1. He played like the superstar he was in the 1919 world series (the stats are remarkable and include records that stood for years)
2. He said he didn't want the $5,000 that was left in his room and reported the bribe to his superior at the White Sox (owner Comiskey, a notorious skinflint, acted to suppress news of what was occurring until blame could be shifted to the players, especially Jackson.)
3. Although it is true that spending the money was ethically dubious, Jackson was encouraged to do so by crooks and there were never recriminations because of Jackson's series performance.
4. He was formally acquited of felony conspiracy in a court of law.
5. He was functionally illiterate and lied to by people who had an interest in Joe Jackson being the ultimate fall-guy.