Fall from Grace

Considered by Ty Cobb as “the finest natural hitter in the history of the game,” “Shoeless Joe” Jackson is ranked with the greatest players to ever step onto a baseball diamond. With a career .356 batting average—which is still ranked third all-time—the man from Pickens County, South Carolina, was on his way to becoming one of the greatest players in the sport’s history. That is until the “Black Sox” scandal of 1919, which shook baseball to its core.

While many have sympathized with Jackson’s ban from baseball (even though he hit .375 during the 1919 World Series), not much is truly known about this quiet slugger. Whether he participated in the throwing of the World Series or not, he is still considered one of the game’s best, and many have fought for his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

From the author of Turning the Black Sox White (on Charles Comiskey) and War on the Basepaths (on Ty Cobb), Shoeless Joe tells the story of the incredible life of Joseph Jefferson Jackson. From a mill boy to a baseball icon, author Tim Hornbaker breaks down the rise and fall of “Shoeless Joe,” giving an inside look during baseball’s Deadball Era, including Jackson’s personal point of view of the “Black Sox” scandal, which has never been covered before.

Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Tim Hornbaker is a lifelong sports historian and enthusiast. His books Turning the Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey and War on the Basepaths: The Definitive Biography of Ty Cobb were received with critical acclaim.

"Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson helps flesh out that portrait and add context to the actions of a player who was banned from baseball for life for his part in the scheme. . . . Hornbaker patiently presents the evidence and invites the reader to become the jury.
— Paul Hagen, MLB.com

"Hornbaker breathes fresh life into the character and motivations of baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson in detailing his tragic plunge from stardom to infamy for his ambiguous role in fixing the 1919 World Series. His haunting portrait of one of the game’s most controversial and complex figures also provides a balanced and insightful addition to the everlasting reexaminations of the greatest scandal in the game’s long history."
— David Nemec, novelist, baseball historian, and author of The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Major League Baseball, The Beer and Whiskey League, and Major League Baseball Profiles: 1871–1900

“Tim Hornbaker has written an engaging biography of a different era in Chicago baseball history. Fall from Grace is a delight. It is an anecdote-rich story reminding us repeatedly of what we have come to love about baseball. After reading this thoughtful and informative biography, readers may take a somewhat more charitable view of Shoeless Joe Jackson.”
— Stuart Shiffman, Illinois Times

"Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson helps flesh out that portrait and add context to the actions of a player who was banned from baseball for life for his part in the scheme. . . . Hornbaker patiently presents the evidence and invites the reader to become the jury.
— Paul Hagen, MLB.com

"Hornbaker breathes fresh life into the character and motivations of baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson in detailing his tragic plunge from stardom to infamy for his ambiguous role in fixing the 1919 World Series. His haunting portrait of one of the game’s most controversial and complex figures also provides a balanced and insightful addition to the everlasting reexaminations of the greatest scandal in the game’s long history."
— David Nemec, novelist, baseball historian, and author of The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Major League Baseball, The Beer and Whiskey League, and Major League Baseball Profiles: 1871–1900

“Tim Hornbaker has written an engaging biography of a different era in Chicago baseball history. Fall from Grace is a delight. It is an anecdote-rich story reminding us repeatedly of what we have come to love about baseball. After reading this thoughtful and informative biography, readers may take a somewhat more charitable view of Shoeless Joe Jackson.”
— Stuart Shiffman, Illinois Times