The Untold Story of When "Shoeless" Joe Sued His Team

The story of baseball's Black Sox scandal, when a group of ballplayers conspired with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series, has been the subject of countless books and articles—not to mention at least two Hollywood movies. But what's now largely forgotten is a subsequent civil trial when one of those ballplayers, the famed "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, dragged his former team to court.

However, that trial is forgotten no more with the recent publication of the unabridged court transcripts, once believed to be lost to time. The transcripts, edited by historians Jacob Pomrenke and David Fletcher, show how Jackson sued the Chicago White Sox for back pay and actually won in front of a jury, only to have the judge hearing the case nullify the verdict and then convict Jackson of perjury.

Pomrenke and Fletcher join this episode of our weekly podcast, On The Merits, to talk about why Jackson went to court, how the trial went so wrong for him, and how they came across the long-lost transcripts. They also talk about the relevance of the Black Sox scandal today, when sports gambling is more pervasive than it's ever been.

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