Greenville native Shoeless Joe Jackson has been banned from Major League Baseball since 1921. That ban will continue indefinitely, according to a letter MLB commissioner Rob Manfred sent to Arlene Marcley, curator of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum.
When Manfred took office in January, Marcley reinvigorated her support of Jackson's reinstatement with a formal petition and a series of letters to the league office. Manfred responded to Marcley's persistent efforts in July, although not with her desired result.
In his letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Greenville News on Monday night, Manfred denied the request to remove Joe Jackson from the MLB ineligible list, which restricts him from consideration for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Manfred cited the stance of former commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, who asserted that "the Jackson case is now best given to historical analysis and debate as opposed to a present day review with an eye to reinstatement."
Giamatti said that in 1989.
"I agree with that determination," Manfred wrote, "and conclude that it would not be appropriate for me to re-open this matter."
The first MLB commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, barred Jackson and seven of his Chicago White Sox teammates for allegedly conspiring to fix the 1919 World Series. As part of the "Black Sox" scandal, Jackson was accused of accepting a $5,000 bribe to commit errors and throw games.
A jury acquitted Jackson of those charges in a Chicago court. Nevertheless, his lifetime ban has endured 64 years after his death in 1951.
"I just decided enough is enough," said Marcley, who has sent another letter to Manfred appealing for him to reevaluate his stance. "I'm certainly not going to give up, but quite honestly, I don't know what personally I can do."
Eight commissioners have come and gone since Landis vacated the office. Players likeMickey Mantle and Willie Mays and owners like George Steinbrenner and Marge Schott have been banned, reconsidered and reinstated.
According to a report from The CincinnatiEnquirer, Manfred plans to decide on the reinstatement of former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose by the end of the year. Rose was banned in 1989 for gambling on baseball, an offense he denied until 2004.
Considering Jackson's acquittal and the decades that have passed since his death, Marcley said she cannot understand the league's inflexible reluctance to pardon Jackson.
"I really think he's going to do a lot for baseball, except clear Joe Jackson's name," Marcley said of Manfred. "So, I can't help but be disappointed. I know his fans will be disappointed too."
