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 Joe Jackson Photo Gallery
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“Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s Incredible Three-Year Span, 1911-13!

“You know, he was such a remarkable hitter, it was almost impossible for him to swing without meeting the ball solidly.” -1919 White Sox pitcher, Dickie Kerr, speaking of teammate, Joe Jackson. 

Last December 5 was the 68th anniversary of Joe Jackson’s passing at age 64. Let’s use the occasion to recall the career of one of the greatest natural hitters the game has ever seen, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. Here are some excerpts from an article I wrote a few years ago, highlighting his fabulous rookie year of 1911, and his incredible three-year run from 1911-’13.

Shoeless Joe Jackson is usually remembered for his great years with the White Sox from 1915 to 1920 and for his remarkable .356 career batting average, which is still the third-highest all-time. And, of course, his role in the Black Sox scandal is still hotly debated 100 years later. Plus it’s well known that Babe Ruth modeled his hitting technique after Jackson’s.

In his 13-year career (1908-1920), cut short by the life-time ban rendered by Judge Landis, Joe played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1908-1909), Cleveland Naps (1910-1915), and the White Sox (1915-1920). In addition to his .356 batting average, he compiled 1772 hits, 873 runs, 307 doubles, 168 triples, 792 RBIs, 202 stolen bases, a .423 on-base percentage, and a .517 slugging average.  His 170 OPS+ places him among the most elite hitters in the history of the game (100 being the major league average). In 14 post-season games, Joe hit .345 with one home run and eight RBIs. For those who like the new Sabermetrics, he also compiled a remarkable career 62.2 WAR.

In the featured photo, we see a beautiful colorization of Shoeless Joe Jackson from his time in Cleveland by our resident baseball artist, Don Stokes.

But few realize that Joe Jackson had some truly remarkable years earlier in his career with the Cleveland Naps. His rookie year of 1911 is “off the charts” for a rookie, and his three-season totals from 1911-1913 are arguably one of the best three-year spans in baseball history. Let’s take a look at just what Jackson accomplished:

1911

Joe Jackson’s stats from 1911 would be amazing even if he wasn’t a rookie. He compiled 233 hits, with 126 runs, 45 doubles, 19 triples, 83 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases. His phenomenal .408 batting average set a record for rookies that still stands and we can safely say will never be broken. Incredibly, It was only good enough for second in the league behind Ty Cobb’s .420. It’s still the sixth-highest single-season total since 1901. His .468 on-base percentage led the league, and he posted a .590 slugging average. Truly a remarkable season. 

1912

It’s hard to imagine how one could improve on a season like that, but he came close in 1912. That year Jackson’s batting average “slumped” to.395, but he led the American League in hits (226), triples (26), and total bases (331). He also collected 44 doubles, 90 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, a .458 on-base percentage, and a .579 slugging percentage.

1913

Jackson’s phenomenal run was not finished. The next year, 1913, may have been the best of the three. His 197 hits, 39 doubles, and .551 slugging percentage all led the American League. He hit .373 for the year, with 71 RBIs, 17 triples, 26 stolen bases, 291 total bases, and a .460 on-base percentage. Jackson struck out only 26 times in 623 at-bats. 

Totals from the Three-year Span, 1911-’13

Over this three-year span, from 1911 to 1913, Joe Jackson’s batting average was .392, with an average per year of 218 hits, 118 runs scored, 42 doubles, 21 triples, 81 RBI, 34 stolen bases, and a phenomenal 192 OPS+. It would be hard to come up with a better three-year span.

In 1999, he ranked number 35 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The fans voted him as the 12th-best outfielder of all-time. He also currently ranks 33rd on the all-time list for non-pitchers according to the win shares formula developed by Bill James.

The “Shoeless Joe” Nickname

Jackson once told his own version of how he acquired his famous nickname. It happened during a “mill game” while he was playing with the Spinners. One day he was wearing a pair of ill-fitting new baseball spikes. The fit was so bad, they caused a bad case of blisters. The next day he was still in discomfort. He couldn’t even put on his old spikes.

Since the team was short on players, his manager wanted Jackson in the lineup despite the blisters. He consented to play, but his feet still hurt so much that he had to take his shoes off before taking his turn at-bat. He went to the plate in his stocking feet. As fate would have it, Jackson hit a triple. The bleachers were close to the field, and as he ran for third, a fan noticed his socking feet and yelled, “You shoeless sonofagun you!” 

Joe Jackson never played in socks again, but the nickname – one of the most famous in all of baseball history – stuck with him for the rest of his life.

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Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: Joe Jackson colorizations by Don Stokes; All others from Google search

Statistical information from Baseball-Reference.com

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