His name forever will be associated with the messiest episode in baseball history. His lifetime ban and exclusion from Hall of Fame consideration are viewed by many as a travesty of justice. But there's one thing nobody can take away from Shoeless Joe Jackson: his reputation as the greatest natural hitter in the game's long history.

Ty Cobb thought he was. An impressed Babe Ruth copied his batting style. Other contemporaries such as Tris Speaker Nap Lajoie and Eddie Collins marveled at the slashing line drives that whipped off his oversized bat that he affectionately dubbed "Black Betsy". Jackson who earned his nickname Shoeless Joe as a minor leaguer when he played a game in his stocking feet because of a blister helped the White Sox to a championship in 1917. But his exact role in the 1919 Black Sox scandal will never be known. There's no doubt the unrefined country kid from the hills of Carolina perhaps caught up unwittingly in something he did not fully understand enjoyed an outstanding World Series against Cincinnati (.375 a record 12 hits no errors) while teammates were helping the Reds to victory. One of eight White Sox players banned for life by then-commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis Jackson never played another big-league gamea punishment right or wrong that continued long after his 1951 death.

Part of the legend of Joe Jackson is that he was illiterate and could not even sign his name. In fact Jackson could sign but he was very reluctant to do so and rarely signed except when absolutely necessary usually on legal documents. This did not stop autograph seekers from requesting Jackson's signature by mail and the handful of surviving examples of his autograph from those rare occasions where he obliged are among the most coveted and valuable objects in the field of sports autographs. This exceedingly rare genuine specimen applied in bold blue fountain pen ink to an irregularly shaped 2x3.25"clipping bears all the strength of its original careful application. It has been encapsulated by PSA/DNA and labeled with their NM 7 assessment of its vitality.