Shoeless Joe Jackson and eight other White Sox players were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against Cincinnati, and were thrown out of baseball forever, even though they were acquitted of criminal charges.
For 10 years afterward, Jackson, one of the best baseballers ever, played semipro around the country under various assumed names.
When he returned to his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, he managed local teams for several years, occasionally pinch-hitting into his 50s.
One admirer recalled seeing him, at age 56 and after the first of several heart attacks, smash a ball against a center-field fence 415 feet away.
Jackson’s wife, Katie, finally taught him to read, and they opened a liquor store that made them prosperous.
In 1951, Jackson died, surrounded by family, shoeless no more.
