Seth Udinski, FISM News
A rare signed photo of the late MLB star “Shoeless” Joe Jackson sold this past week for a record amount – $1.47 million. Christie’s and Hunt Auctions in New York made the record sale at a sports memorabilia auction. This transaction sets a new record for most expensive sports photograph ever sold.
A signed photo of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson — one of the rarest pieces of baseball memorabilia EVER — just sold for a small fortune at auction. https://t.co/T8d374fYdE
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 8, 2021
The photograph, autographed by Jackson, was taken by photographer Frank W. Smith in 1911. Christie’s and Hunt Auctions claims that this is the only known autographed photo of the controversial MLB star that still exists today. Mike Heffner, president and partner at Lelands Auctions, said Jackson’s signature adds huge value to the photo:
Just his signature on a slip of paper is worth $50,000 to $100,000.
This will only add to the mystique of Jackson’s star-crossed legacy. He was one of the most talented stars of the dead-ball era and was on his way to a certain Hall of Fame induction until the notorious “Black Sox Scandal” of 1919. Jackson was a member of the Chicago White Sox team that was the clear favorite to win the 1919 World Series against the inferior Cincinnati Reds. Jackson and seven other players, including star pitcher Eddie Cicotte, conspired with gamblers to purposefully lose the series. Sure enough, the Sox lost the best of nine World Series in eight games.
After the truth came out several years later, all eight players involved received a lifetime banishment from baseball, barring them from entry into the Hall of Fame.
A further level of intrigue in the story, which also impacts the famous 1911 photograph, was that Jackson was illiterate. Some baseball historians speculate that the gamblers took advantage of Jackson and, had he been able to read, he would have never agreed to throwing the series. Jackson could not sign his own name, so his wife often signed for him. It is highly likely that Jackson’s wife penned the signature on the 1911 photo since Jackson himself could not.