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“How Did “Shoeless” Joe Jackson Get His Nickname?
“You shoeless sonofagun you!” –A fan yelling at 20-year old Greenville Spinner outfielder, Joseph Jackson, who was playing that day in his stocking feet.
…And the rest, as they say, is history. The name stuck, and the young outfielder soon became known to posterity as “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.
One of our readers, Sean Moore, recently sent us this neat poster of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, in which Joe is depicted swinging a bat in – you guessed it – his bare feet. Not only is Joe “Shoeless”…but he’s also “Sockless!”
I guess capitalism was alive and well even back in the 1910s. Here we see Joe “cashing in” on his well-known nickname with an endorsement for Selz Shoes. As the ad says, “When he wears ‘em, Joe Jackson wears Selz shoes;” and then the hilarious subtext, “Make your feet glad,” illustrated with two laughing “glad feet.” In the bottom right, there’s something about “oranges,” and “Jackson, California.” Not sure what all that has to do with shoes or feet, but there must be some connection.
Joe Jackson began his professional baseball career with the Carolina Association’s Greenville Spinners in 1908. In his first and only year with the Spinners, he hit .350, showed power, and played stellar defense. It was obvious even in these early days that he was destined for stardom.
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 on his feet.The next day he was still in considerable 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.
After one season with the Spinners, the Philadelphia Athletics bought his contract for $325. He played there one season and was traded to Cleveland. He was a star and fan-favorite in both cities. He was traded to the White Sox in 1915.
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credit: Poster sent by Sean Moore
Information: Excerpts edited from The Chicago History Files website: http://www.chicagohs.org/
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