SOLD Ultra RARE 1918 Chicago White Sox Program - Shoeless Joe Jackson
 

I've searched EVERY major auction house, not one to be found in their past history. I personally have NEVER seen one from 1918 until this one, the rarity is off the charts.

Robert Edward Auctions, nothing:
https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...searchin=title

Goldin, nothing:
https://goldinauctions.com/auctionresults.aspx

Heritage, nothing:
https://www.ha.com/c/search-results....hiveTab-071515

SCP, nothing:
https://catalog.scpauctions.com/auctionresults.aspx

Memory Lane, nothing:
https://memorylaneinc.com/site/lots/...tledescription

Hunt, nothing:
https://huntauctions.com/live/search_result_closed.cfm

Huggins&Scott, nothing:
https://hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/history.pl

Black Sox era Chicago Home programs whether it's 1917, 1918, or 1919 are so rare, and the reason for this adds to the story. Comiskey was said to use the cheapest paper for these programs, so they really didn't last. That's said to be a main reason for their scarcity. This one here is in amazing condition. I've owned a 1919 regular season, a 1919 WS, and a 1920 regular season and none were in this good of condition, most in poor. This I would say is in VERY GOOD. Kudos to whoever stored and preserved this for over 100 years!

Compare pricing on a 1919 WS Chicago Program to a Cincinnati one, it's insane. And again it's due to the rarity of home Chicago ones.

Here is a great read from FORBES Magazine:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidse.../#4851835d47f8

https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1...ription-071515

Now while what I have here is not a 1919 WS Program, but a 1918 Regular Season Program, again I have NEVER seen a single 1918 Program come to auction. 1918 & 1919 were the only two seasons that featured ALL of the 8 Men Out on the team. Gandil left the team and retired after the 1919 WS so did not play with the rest in 1920. Making the 1918 even more unique.

Aside from the cheapness of Comiskey, 1918 was smack dab in the middle of World War 1 and the Worldwide Pandemic Spanish Flu:
https://baseballhall.org/discover/19...spare-baseball


This program also should be in the hands of a serious Shoeless Joe Jackson collector. Why you say? He's not even listed in the lineups. Very true, and why is this you ask?....

"The White Sox were rocked by the entry of the United States into World War I. Several Chicago players enlisted in the military, while others were drafted in the early months of 1918. Joe, as a married man, was granted a deferment by his hometown draft board in Greenville, but after he played 17 games with the White Sox the board reversed its decision and ordered him to report for induction.15 Instead, Jackson found employment at a Delaware shipyard, where he helped build battleships and played ball in a hastily assembled factory circuit, the Bethlehem Steel League. Jackson was the first prominent player to avoid the draft by opting for war work, for which he was severely criticized in the sporting press, especially in Chicago.

When two of Jackson’s close friends, pitcher Lefty Williams and reserve catcher Byrd Lynn, followed him into the shipyards, owner Charles Comiskey swore he would not let any of them return to his team. “There is no room on my club for players who wish to evade the army draft by entering the employ of ship concerns!” he fumed.16 But after a sixth-place finish and the war’s end, he changed his tune. Jackson won the factory league batting title with a .393 average and helped lead the Harlan & Hollingsworth team to the championship among shipyards on the Atlantic coast, but the controversy permanently damaged his relationships with the Chicago sportswriters. With little leverage, Jackson signed a new one-year contract for $6,000 — the same salary he had been receiving since 1914 — and returned to the White Sox."


Thus this really is a piece of the Shoeless Joe story, and the lead up to the Fix of 1919.


This program (fully scored) dates to a game on July 4th, 1918 vs. Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers. July 4th during WWI, you know their was some patriotism felt that day!

Eddie Cicotte would come on in relief to get the win.

5 of the other 8 Men Out are featured in the lineup. (Jackson, Williams and Felsch were all playing ball for shipyard teams for the War effort.)

Cobb would go 5 for 6!!!!!!

The 1918 baseball season would also be shortened due to the War, thus another reason for the scarcity of 1918 programs. Less games, less programs.

There is however an Ad in the program for Louisville Slugger bats featuring a picture of Shoeless Joe Jackson, so he is in the program. But just an amazing piece of history and must have for any Shoeless Joe, Black Sox, Program, Cobb, or any Baseball collector!

PROBABLY YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO OWN A PANDEMIC PROGRAM!!!! DON'T MISS OUT, PULL THE TRIGGER B4 SOMEONE ELSE DOES!

$600 or best offer shipped

not all pages shown in pix - program fully in tact! just amazing!

and SOLD!