Greenville's Shoeless Joe Jackson Statue ...continued

In this photo the veil is removed revealing the Shoeless Joe Jackson Plaza Statue and Fountain in its completed form for the public to see for the first time. This day has been a long time coming and everyone present witnessed a something that for Greenville represents what a city can do to recognize its past and symbolize for all of us what we can become.

Fifty-one years after Joe Jackson died, he is forever memorialized in bronze in his hometown. In his stance here, Joe is looking in the direction of the Brandon Mill ballpark which is approximately two miles away, where he played as a youth in the textile leagues.

After the unveiling, baseball fans gathered around for a close look at the statue's details and seek autographs by Tommy Lasorda and others with connections to Shoeless Joe, Ted Williams and the game of baseball.

In the article "Shoeless Joe Jackson: It's Time to Open The Door," first printed in 1998 (source unkown) Ted Williams commented, "I'm not going to bore you with numbers. You can look them up as well as I can, maybe better. But I can tell you that anyone I talked to who saw Jackson play was just amazed at what he could do. Eddie Collins --a great guy and great friend -- was with Jackson on the White Sox. Collins told me, Ted, you're the closest thing I ever saw to Joe Jackson. All I could think about when I saw Ted Williams was Joe Jackson."

"Joe Jackson's not alive anymore. He served his sentence, and it's time for the commissioner's office to reinstate him; baseball to acknowledge his debt is paid; and the Hall of Fame Committee on Veterans to list him as a nominee. It's time, and it's the right thing to do."