“I always thought Shoeless Joe was innocent,” says Granville Burgess, triumphantly, from Tortuga Island, “and I wrote a book to say so. Justified!”
As one of Shoeless Joe Jackson’s most tireless and single-minded defenders, Burgess, an Emmy-winning playwright and novelist, has reason to celebrate, and to gloat a bit.
This week, Major League Baseball made a historic decision to posthumously remove Shoeless Joe Jackson from its list of individuals banned from participating in professional baseball. The ban applies to individuals guilty of serious violations of the game’s integrity.
Announced by Commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday, the policy change asserts that lifetime bans conclude upon a person’s death, as deceased individuals no longer pose a threat to the game’s integrity.
Shoeless Joe Jackson was banned in 1921 for his alleged involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, a game-fixing conspiracy in which eight Chicago White Sox players were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series in exchange for money from gamblers. Indeed, no evidence has ever been introduced to demonstrate Shoeless Joe’s guilt, and the facts prove his innocence, most notably his strong performance during the series — for someone allegedly losing a game, he certainly played well! Now, with this reinstatement, Jackson becomes eligible for consideration by the Hall of Fame’s Classic Baseball Era Committee in December 2027, potentially leading to his induction in 2028, which is the ultimate goal of those arguing his case.
Burgess has long been a passionate advocate for reexamining the legacy of Shoeless Joe Jackson. In 2019, renowned media entrepreneur Steve Acunto’s Chickadee Prince Books published The Last At-Bat of Shoeless Joe, Burgess’s historical fiction novel that imagines Jackson living in obscurity in 1950s Greenville, South Carolina, mentoring a young mill-town baseball prospect. In the novel, Burgess explores themes of redemption and the enduring impact of past scandals. The book sold briskly right from the start.
Burgess’s connection to Jackson is deeply personal; growing up in Greenville, he was unaware that the legendary player had once lived there. This discovery fueled his desire to shed light on Jackson’s story and challenge the long-standing perceptions surrounding his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
“It is indisputable,” Burgess said in 2019, “that Joe Jackson played his heart out in that World Series: no errors, the only home run, a .375 batting average, and 12 hits, which stood as the record until 1964.”
In a compelling open letter published in Audere Magazine, Burgess addressed Manfred, drawing a poignant comparison between the league’s handling of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal and Jackson’s century-long banishment. “Jackson was banished for life,” Burgess wrote then. “His life is over, and thus should be his banishment.”
Beyond his novel, Burgess has actively engaged in public discourse to advocate for Jackson’s reinstatement and recognition. He has participated in interviews and discussions, including on NPR and in numerous public appearances, where he has emphasized the need to revisit historical judgments with a more nuanced perspective.
Today was the first step; now comes the campaign to put Shoeless Joe in the Hall of Fame, where he belongs.