Selig to Review Shoeless Joe File

DES MOINES, Iowa — Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is “reviewing the entire file” of banned baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Friday.

Harkin wrote to Selig in March, asking the commissioner to reinstate Jackson to baseball, a move that would make him eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Harkin became interested in the 75-year-old case after the movie “Field of Dreams,” in which Jackson is a central character, was filmed in his state. He asked Selig look at the records again.

Friday, Selig released the response to Harkin’s request.

“I certainly understand your thoughts relative to Shoeless Joe Jackson and I am reviewing the entire file,” Selig said in a letter to Harkin. “It is a very tragic story and I certainly will try to be objective, as well as fair, in reviewing the entire file.”

In New York, a spokesman for the commissioner could not confirm that Selig was conducting an official review.

In 1920, Jackson and seven other members of the Chicago White Sox were charged with accepting bribes to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Jackson was banned from baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, even though a Chicago jury later acquitted Jackson of wrongdoing. Despite that acquittal, Jackson was never reinstated.

“I hope to meet with the baseball commissioner to discuss this issue,” Harkin said. “The reinstatement of Shoeless Joe would benefit major league baseball, baseball fans and all Americans who appreciate a sense of fair play.”

In his letter, Selig said the review likely would be lengthy because of the amount of time that has elapsed since the incident.

Jackson, who died in 1951, spent 13 years in the major leagues and batted .356, the third highest in baseball history.