Shoeless Joe Jackson

[mdh88]

Should Shoeless Joe Jackson be made eligible to be in the MLB Hall of Fame?

[andymuenz]

Shoeless Joe Jackson should have his ban lifted and be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Despite his admission of guilt, there is still enough of a question as to whether he did participate in the fix.

According to the Wikipedia article on Joe Jackson,

"In recent years, evidence has come to light that casts doubt on Jackson's role in the fix. For instance, Jackson initially refused to take a payment of $5,000, only to have Lefty Williams toss it on the floor of his hotel room. Jackson then tried to tell White Sox owner Charles Comiskey about the fix, but Comiskey refused to meet with him. Also, before Jackson's grand jury testimony, team attorney Alfred Austrian coached Jackson's testimony in a manner that would be considered highly unethical even by the standards of the time, and would probably be considered criminal by today's standards. For instance, Austrian got Jackson to admit a role in the fix by pouring a large amount of whiskey down Jackson's throat. He also got the nearly illiterate Jackson to sign a waiver of immunity. Years later, the other seven players implicated in the scandal confirmed that Jackson was never at any of the meetings. Williams, for example, said that they only mentioned Jackson's name to give their plot more credibility."

Given these questions about the entire situation, Shoeless Joe should be allowed back into baseball and voted into the Hall of Fame.
_________________
-Andy