COLUMN: 'Shoeless Joe' tributes abound in hometown

Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. The first part was published Jan. 15.

“Shoeless Joe” Jackson's hometown of Greenville has recently made efforts to honor his life and spirit.

Wife Judy, our Scottie Molly and I recently drove down to Greenville in search of the spirit of Shoeless Joe.

A fine ballpark at Brandon Mills, called Fluor Field — formerly known as West End Field — is dedicated to Jackson and is right across the street from the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library. Some signs at the town limits proclaim Greenville as "The Home of Shoeless Joe Jackson." A life-sized statue of a bat-swinging Jackson — with shoes on — by South Carolina sculptor Doug Young was unveiled at the corner of South Main and Augusta streets in the West End shopping district at Shoeless Joe Jackson Plaza in 2002.

Shoeless Joe's original single-floor, brick home was moved from its former location at 119 E. Wilburn St., to a location adjacent to Fluor Field in 2006. The home was restored and opened in June 2008 as the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library. It has a gift shop with T-shirts, hats, computer mouse pads, refrigerator magnets, coffee cups, photos, etc. The museum's address is 356 Field St.; the "356" is in honor of his lifetime batting average.

As Jackson was functionally illiterate, many of his signatures were actually made by his wife, Katie. Authentic Jackson autographs are therefore highly sought after by baseball collectors. In 1990 one of his autographs is said to have sold for $23,500.

After our visit to the museum, we drove out to Woodland Memorial Park on U.S. Highway 29 (Wade Hampton Boulevard) to see Joe and Katie's graves — the museum will give you a map. After looking on the wrong side for a while, we found Joe and Katie's graves. There were 31 baseballs stacked on the grave of Shoeless Joe, left by fans. I noticed that Joe's middle initial on his headstone was incorrect, it reading "Joseph W." rather than "Joseph J." Joe's middle name was Jefferson, and I'm surprised no one has corrected this.

Following our visit to the grave site we also went in search of his life-sized statue, located at the corner of South Main and Augusta streets, about two blocks after you cross the Reedy River Bridge.

Downtown Greenville has much to commend it even if you have no interest in baseball or Shoeless Joe, and Saturday, Jan. 7, was a fine occasion for a day trip. There were hundreds of pedestrians, many with dogs on leashes, strolling along South Main Street, an area of pubs, restaurants and shops. There is even a Mast General Store, which Judy checked out. We got lunch at a Mexican restaurant, the Guadalajara on Main, and ate al fresco.

Greenville has made the South Main area a real draw, with plenty of greenery and many statues. I think this is something like Statesville promoters are trying to achieve and I would suggest they take a trip to downtown Greenville if they haven’t already. I noticed that the parking in downtown Greenville is on a diagonal.

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For more on Shoeless Joe, I suggest you go to the "Shoeless" Joe Jackson Official Website, www.shoelessjoejackson.org. You might also want to read the 1963 book "Eight Men Out," by Eliot Asinof, or view the film of the same name, written and directed by John Sayles, based on Asinof's book. Actor D. B. Sweeney portrayed Jackson in "Eight Men Out."

Also you might want to see the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams" or read the 1982 W.P. Kinsella novel, "Shoeless Joe," on which the film was based. You may remember the line in the movie in which James Earl Jones, as Terrence Mann, tells Kevin Costner's character Ray Kinsella, "They will come." Since the flick "Field of Dreams" debuted, a reported 65,000 people have trekked to the field where the movie was filmed near Dyersville, Iowa, to stand on the "Field of Dreams" and play a game of "catch."

You might consider making a pilgrimage to the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library, which is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free. To inquire about private tours, email requests to info@shoelessjoejackson.org, or telephone (864) 235-6280. Also, see the museum's website. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 4755, Greenville, SC, 29608.

Want to Go?

From Statesville:

Take I-40 West

Take exit 123A for U.S. 321 S

Merge onto US-321 S for 32 miles

Take the ramp to Kings Mountain

Merge onto I-85 S

Take exit 51 to merge onto I-385 N toward Greenville

Continue onto E North Street

Take a slight right onto Beattie Place

Take the 1st left onto N Church Street

Turn right onto Augusta Street