Shoeless Joe set to return in 2010 Goudey Baseball

Just his name, “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, conjures up countless memories of baseball’s glory days. And his upcoming inclusion – image rights as well as game-used memorabilia cards – in many of Upper Deck’s 2010 baseball products will no doubt send baseball historians into a collecting frenzy. He has not been featured on an Upper Deck baseball card since 2001. Jackson will first appear as part of Upper Deck’s 2010 Goudey Baseball set, which hits store shelves on March 16. And his game-used memorabilia cards will feature pieces of one of Jackson’s famous bats he swung nearly a century ago.

A standout hitter from the Windy City, Jackson posted a big league batting average of .356 over 13 seasons (1908-1920) and batted .375 during the infamous 1919 Fall Classic, going 12-for-32 with a home run and six runs batted in. But his real legend was born outside of the baseball diamond when it was discovered that he was one of eight members of his team who helped “throw” the 1919 world championship. For his actions, he was banned from the sport two years after his postseason accolades and to date the Baseball Hall of Fame has never put Jackson’s name on a voting ballot. Many grassroots campaigns have tried to get Jackson reinstated for Cooperstown consideration.

In his own defense, Jackson once said: "God knows I gave my best in baseball at all times and no man on earth can truthfully judge me otherwise. 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."

“The legend of Shoeless Joe Jackson grows every year,” said Gabriel Garcia, Upper Deck’s baseball brand manager. “We are extremely excited to have reached an agreement with his estate that allows us to include this former baseball standout in many of our sets next year.”