“God knows I gave my best in baseball at all times and no man on earth can truthfully judge me otherwise.”
— Joe Jackson
“When I was up there at the plate, my purpose was to get on base anyway I could, whether by hitting or by getting hit.”
— Joe Jackson
“What a hell of a league this is. Ah hit .387, .408, and .395 the last three years and Ah ain’t won nothin’ yet!”
— Joe Jackson
“I felt I was duty-bound under contract to stick with Cleveland, and I can truthfully say, in all my playing days there and everywhere, I never shirked a duty to baseball.”
— Joe Jackson
“I ain’t afraid to tell the world that it don’t take school stuff to help a fella play ball.”
— Joe Jackson
“Jackson’s fall from grace is one of the real tragedies of baseball. I always thought he was more sinned against than sinning.”
— Connie Mack
“I copied Jackson’s style because I thought he was the greatest hitter I had ever seen, the greatest natural hitter I ever saw. He’s the guy who made me a hitter.”
— Babe Ruth
“Everything he hit was really blessed. He could break bones with his shots. Blindfold me and I could still tell you when Joe hit the ball. It had a special crack.”
— Ernie Shore