Dear Editor,

Recently Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated one of the greatest baseball players of all time ” Shoeless” Joe Jackson along with seven of his teammates who were personally barred from this board by then commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1921 for their alleged involvement in the fixing of the 1919 World Series in order that his team the Chicago White Sox would lose to the Cincinnati Reds which they did.

However, this permanent banishment from Major League Baseball was done by baseball’s first commissioner Landis despite Jackson as well as his teammates being acquitted by a Chicago grand jury previously. Thus Landis a former United States District judge completely disrespected the jury verdict and arbitrarily ruled to permanently ban Jackson and his teammates from Major League Baseball apparently in order to reveal his toughness and tolerance regarding such matters but totally disregarding the jury’s verdict which should always be paramount in such matters and our democratic society.

Mr. Jackson who ranks third all-time with a .356 batting average behind only hall of Famers Ty Cobb .367 and Rogers Hornsby .358 respectively collected 12 hits in the seven game 1919 World Series a record for hits in a World Series said steward until 1964 batted .375 and committed no fielding errors in the World Series in question. It was reported at the time that Mister Jackson’s performance on the field was indeed quite laudatory and essentially disproving all allegations which were also refuted in a court of law that he was somehow complicit in the defeat of his team the White Sox, in the World Series.

Mr. Jackson who not could not read or write played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1908 to 1909 the Cleveland Naps from 1910 to 1916 and the Chicago White Sox from 1917 to 1920 added over .300 in all eleven of his thirteen seasons in the major leagues and was highly respected by baseball greats Ty Cobb who referred to Mr. Jackson as the finest natural hitter in the history of the game and Babe Ruth stated that he copied Jackson’s style and thought that he(Jackson) was the greatest hitter he had ever seen.

It is now finally time that Mister Jackson who passed away in 1951 and undoubtedly is one of the greatest players in baseball history and also was aquitted of all charges against him, should finally be recognized for his on the field greatness with election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In closing Commissioner Landis in making the decision to permanently ban Jackson and his White Sox teammates was primarily motivated to prove to all that he would not tolerate dishonesty on such a high level in the game of baseball but in so doing deprived Jackson and his teammates of their livelihoods and repeatedly tarnished their reputations for the remainder of their lives and consider that Landis himself was by no means without fault for during his longtime tenure as baseball commissioner Landis denied African American athletes from playing Major League Baseball. However, despite this Landis has been a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame since 1944.

Richard Hord

Martins Ferry