‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson born on this date

Jun 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; General view of a Chicago White Sox cap and equipment in the dugout before a game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks to a tweet by @SoxNerd  we all should know today (July 16) is the date that all-time Chicago White Sox great ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson was born.

Jackson was born on July 16, 1887 in Pickens County, SC according information provided by baseball-reference.com. He died on Dec. 5, 1951 at the age of 64 in Greenville, SC.

Though Jackson was caught up in the “Black Sox Scandal” of the 1919 World Series, he is still one of the greatest players White Sox history, no matter if he’s banned from baseball and not enshrined in the Hall of Fame for that reason.

Jackson played in the Majors from 1908-1920, but with the White Sox from 1915-20.

In his six seasons with the White Sox, Jackson played in 648 regular season games, batting .340 with an on-base percentage of .441 and a slugging percentage of .542.

He hit 30 home runs with the White Sox, along with 79 triples, 139 doubles and tallied 426 RBIs. In 1916 with the White Sox, Jackson had 21 triples and 293 total bases. In 1920 he had 20 triples, that being his final season before the banishment from baseball with seven other White Sox players.

For his entire career (13 seasons) Jackson batted .356 with 307 doubles, 168 triples and 54 home runs.

In the two seasons he played in the World Series (1917, ’19) Jackson batted .345 combined with eight RBIs and one home run. The White Sox won the 1917 championship.

In the 1919 World Series he batted .375 in eight games.

I’ll always believe that Jackson should be in the Hall of Fame, and hopefully one day he’ll finally get that honor he deserves.