Fourteen-year-old Joe Wade Anders wore his baseball uniform — minus shoes — for the dedication in Greenville, S.C., of a life-size statue of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Anders was selected because his grandfather, Joe Anders, was one of Shoeless Joe's closest friends. The elder Anders, now 81, met Shoeless Joe when he was 15. Jackson liked the shy teen and helped him improve his game.
"We played on the same field, lived on the same street, worked in the same plant, were members of the same church and both married Kates," Anders said.
The bronze statue depicts Jackson in his prime, watching the flight of the baseball after hitting it with Black Betsy, his famous bat. The 450-pound statue by sculptor Doug Young contains bricks from the old Comiskey Field surrounding its base. Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was among the speakers at Saturday's dedication ceremony, which was attended by some 500 people.
Rep. Jim DeMint, also in attendance, said he received a telephone call Friday evening from Bud Selig. The MLB commissioner told DeMint to tell the crowd that he was still reviewing Jackson's case for reinstatement, a process that began about three years ago.
Jackson, a lifetime .356 hitter, was banned from baseball after he and seven other Chicago White Sox players were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series.