SHOELESS JOE JACKSON

Born in eighty seven in Brandon mills

A mill town in the South Carolina hills

Joseph Jefferson Jackson was named

But as shoeless Joe he would be famed

 

Joe started as a pitcher on the mound

In the minor league on the mill ground  

But Joe didn’t last to long at pitching

Though his speed had batters twitching

 

One day on the Brandon mill league team

He threw so hard he made a man scream

Because he had broken the catchers arm

They put him in the outfield out of harm

 

Then he often played first base after that

"Black Betsy." Joe named his favorite bat

His nickname "shoeless" came after playing

In socks because his feet were blistering

 

He batted as a left hander when at the plate

But threw right handed at an alarming rate

Over six feet tall and two hundred pound

He was incredibly quick across the ground

 

A deadly hitter and a great outfielder who

Is known more now for the lack of a shoe

He named his glove and you can guess why

Calling it "the place where triples go to die,"

 

His career began in nineteen-oh-eight

Well as a professional then at any rate

It was with the Athletics in Philadelphia

But he only played ten games while here

 

Traded to Cleveland Naps after three years

Joe left Philly to explore new frontiers

Here he showed just how he was able

Slugging his way to lead the league table

 

With the Naps Joe burst onto the scene

They became the Indians in nineteen fifteen

With the Naps Joe came into his prime

But after four years it was trading time

 

In august of fifteen Jackson was traded

To move to Chicago, he was persuaded

With the Sox he continued his great career

And the White Sox were the team to fear

 

In nineteen seventeen Jackson and Chicago

Won the biggest honor baseball can bestow

And Chicago accomplished their greatest feat

Winning the series as the Giants they beat

Two years later they found themselves again

Competing in a World Series title campaign

This time pitted against the reds of Cincinnati

There was no glory this time for Black Betsy

 

During the following year of nineteen twenty

While batting well and still scoring plenty

Jackson was suspended from the league

After the fixing the World Series intrigue

 

During the long running trial in Chicago

One fan asked of Jackson “Say it ain’t so”

The jury acquitted the black sox and Joe

Jackson and the others were free to go

 

But Landis the commissioner of baseball

Wasn’t impressed with this decision at all

Going against the ruling he gave a life ban

All eight men, Jackson and every man

 

If Joe was in on the fix it was hard to tell

He fielded and batted exceptionally well

Ranked third in the all-time batting list 

A very sad day when he was dismissed

 

Black Betsy, raised over half a million

When Joe legendary bat, sold at auction

More money than Joe saw in all his days

Playing for owners with grasping ways

 

He never played pro baseball ever again

But his great achievements still remain

So home to South Carolina with his wife 

To run a store there for the rest of his life