(LOT 300)
1939 "Shoeless Joe" Jackson In His Liquor Store PSA Type 1 Encapsulated International News Photo - Measures Approx. 6-1/2" x 8-1/2"
SHOELESS JOE!!!... This 1939 PSA Type 1 image portrays the immortal "Shoeless Joe" Jackson at the front counter of his Greenville, South Carolina liquor store some 19 years after he played his final MLB game in September 1920. Jackson's banishment from professional baseball at the hands of Commissioner Judge Mountain Landis is one of baseball's most tragic occurrences, with Shoeless Joe banned forever along with seven other "Black Sox" players for allegedly accepting money to "throw" the 1919 World Series. After playing and managing several semi-pro teams for nearly 20 years in Georgia and South Carolina, Jackson eventually moved back to Greenville, South Carolina in 1933, where he had played minor league baseball some 25+ years ago for the Greenville club in the Carolina Association. It was in Greenville where Jackson and his beloved wife eventually opened "Joe Jackson's Liquor Store", running this business until a heart attack claimed his life on December 5, 1951 at the age of 64.

This ultra-scarce 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" PSA Type 1 photo reveals a stoic Jackson at the age of 52, standing by his cash register with an abundance of liquor bottles serving as a perfect backdrop. Crystal-clear clarity, perfect contrast and excellent centering are the highlights of this somewhat melancholy image that has eluded any obtrusive flaws. The verso reflects a significant caption (affixed directly over the International News Photos credit stamp) detailing the tragic events of Joe Jackson and his co-conspirators accepting bribes from gamblers to throw games against Cincinnati in the 1919 Fall Classic. One of the saddest and legendary stories affiliated with Jackson's liquor store was when the iconic Ty Cobb and prestigious sportswriter Grantland Rice entered the store. Inexplicably, Jackson showed no signs whatsoever of recognizing Cobb, and after Tyrus made his purchase, he blurted out: "Don't you know me, Joe?" Jackson replied in an almost shameful manner: "Sure I know you Ty, but I wasn't sure you wanted to know me... A lot of them don't."
MIN BID $200
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