Shoeless Joe Jackson may have been the greatest baseball player who ever lived. His feats on the field despite having a career cut short are legendary and his exploits off the field are worthy of a Hollywood film. He was illiterate, jumped from his first team because he was homesick, was constantly the subject of jokes and yet he is still the most talked about baseball enigma of all time, as iconic to this day as he was 107 years ago when this picture was snapped of him taking a swing at spring training. In the entire photographic history of Jackson's life, there are only a handful of images that actually show him taking swings as most are posed images for photographers. In our opinion, this new discovery is the best ever taken! Full of youth and life, Jackson leans into a pitch and is about to swing with his front foot just leaving the ground and his arms are coiled ready to strike. This is from a local Cleveland photographer and was found in 2014 in the archives of a local newspaper, pulled and saved as the best from the stack and now offered here for the first time ever to the general public. The identification of Jackson graces the reverse as well as the negative number for the newspapers files, this is crystal clear to the point that under magnification the threads of his socks and laces of his famous shoes can be easily seen. This photo was sent to PSA and authenticated as a "Type 1" and was encapsulated, but our consignor wanted to be able to feel the photo in his hands and freed it from it's plastic tomb. It is still fully authenticated and if the new owner wishes, we can send it back in for encapsulation at no additional cost. Without a doubt one of the finest images of Jackson that exists, and one of the most important photographs ever offered by RMY Auctions in our entire seven years of selling thousands of vintage photographs! Aside from a small corner crease at the lower right, this is a nearly perfect image that remains as fresh and beautiful today as it was when it was developed in 1913! PSA/DNA Certification Verification 84130959

Size: 3.75x4.75
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 9/10