This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/7/2013
The history of American baseball carries with it a rich tapestry of seemingly immortal characters, some remembered for their achievements and others for their failures. But the case of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson is unique, because whether he is a hero or villain is left to the eye of the beholder! One of the premier hitters of his day, Jackson's .356 lifetime batting average is third only to Cobb and Hornsby. Jackson's career statistics would likely rival any of the greatest players in baseball history if not for his lifetime ban by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who banished Jackson and 7 of his teammates for their participation in the "Black Sox" game-fixing of the 1919 World Series. While the role of the other players was well-established, Jackson's participation, or lack thereof, is still questioned to this day. Shoeless Joe proclaimed his innocence until his death in 1951, and evidence has surfaced to support his claim. Jackson reportedly refused a $5,000 bribe on two separate occasions, about equal to his yearly salary. Years later, the other seven players involved in the scandal confirmed that Jackson was never at any of the meetings and that his name was included only to make the conspiracy seem more viable. Jackson's performance during the Series is further evidence, batting .375 with 12 hits, a Series record, while committing no errors and throwing out a runner trying to score. But that was over 90 years ago, and the only truth we know for sure is that baseball lost one of its most popular stars to a scandal that nearly destroyed the great American pastime. Ironically produced in that fateful year of 1919 through 1921, the 124-card W514 series was released and featured all of the greatest players of the era. The cards were distributed in strips, giving the ability of someone with a steady hand to produce a perfectly shaped specimen. Clearly not as easy as it sounds, there has never been even a single GEM MINT specimen from the entire series, with just 38 specimens or about 2% of all cards achieving PSA 9 MINT status. One of those cards is this incredible specimen of the famous, infamous Shoeless Joe Jackson, the one and only Jackson card to register at PSA 9. Perfectly centered with precise artistry and bold color that has withstood nearly a century of age, this beauty boasts GEM MINT upper corners and a pristine reverse save for a faint inverse image of the deeply imprinted obverse. An absolutely immaculate card that has no equal and a true museum-quality piece!