Shoeless Joe Jackson had a pair of hits and drove in three runs as the 1919 Chicago White Sox defeated the 1940 Cincinnati Reds 6-2.
The (12) 1919 White Sox will now visit the (1) 1975 Cincinnati Reds in the title affair of the Press Room Pass Strat Madness Tournament.
After Ernie Lombardi gave the Reds a 1-0 lead with a RBI single in the first inning, the White Sox tied it with a unearned run in the second against Reds starter Bucky Walters.
In the top of the third, Jackson and Chick Gandil added run-scoring singles to make it 3-1. In the bottom of the frame, Ival Goodman cut the deficit with a sacrifice fly.
Jackson belted a two-run double in the fifth and then Happy Felsch knocked in Jackson with a double for the final tally of the contest.
Lefty Williams went the distance for the White Sox to pick up the victory.
IN REAL LIFE:
In 1919, Joe Jackson led the White Sox with 181 hits, seven homers and 96 RBI as he batted .351. In the World Series against the Reds, Jackson hit .375 with a homer and six RBI.
Jackson played 13 years in the majors before getting banned for life by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1920 after the Black Sox scandal. He had a .356 career batting average.
During his final season in 1920, he led the American League with 20 triples as he had career-high numbers of 12 homers and 121 RBI.
The South Carolina native began his career in 1908 with the Philadelphia A’s playing in just 10 total games over two season. He became a star in Cleveland starting in 1910. He led the AL in hits with 226 in 1912 and 197 the following season. He joined the White Sox in the middle of the 1915 season and helped the squad to a world championship in 1917.