Shoeless Joe In The News
Shoeless Joe Jackson’s will could change his legacy from a baseball bad boy to someone who helped cure heart disease and cancer if two charities were allowed to sell his signature, lawyers for the organizations told the state Supreme Court in Columbia, S.C.
The illiterate Jackson’s rare signature on the will could be worth more than $100,000, according to some estimates.
Joseph Jefferson “Shoeless Joe” Jackson died in 1951. He had fought allegations that he and seven other Chicago White Sox teammates threw the 1919 World Series.
The American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association argued that his will, with its “Joe Jackson” signature, should be theirs because Jackson’s wife, Katie, named them as her beneficiaries.
A Circuit Court judge ruled in August 1995 that the original will was government property.
Doctors and American League MVP Juan Gonzalez will decide today if he’ll need a thumb operation for a strained ligament that could sideline him for the start of the regular season. He was hurt when he slipped while playing winter ball in Puerto Rico on Jan. 28.
Texas relief pitcher Jeff Russell retired, ending a 12-year career during which he recorded the most saves and appearances in Rangers’ history.
Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, accused by General Motors Corp. of faking sales at her Chevrolet-Geo dealership, has sold the dealership.