Pickens County-born ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson and Georgia-born Ty Cobb were both honored by the annual friendly rivalry doubleheader played by their supporters. This year’s vintage games, played by 1860’s rules, were held the morning and afternoon of Saturday, October 19, 2024 at the historic ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson Memorial Park in the Brandon community of Greenville’s Westside (where Jackson grew up and worked for and played baseball for the Brandon Mill, beginning at age 13). (Next year’s vintage games, played by supporters of the ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson Museum and the Ty Cobb Museum, will be played in Ty Cobb’s hometown of Royston, Georgia.)

Allison Jackson, a great, great grandniece of ‘Shoeless’ Joe, and whose grandfather, father, and brother are all named Joe Jackson, enjoys playing in the vintage games each year. “I love coming to these games because of the connections that we’ve built,” she told The Pickens County Chronicle. “If Joe had been inducted in the Hall of Fame for being as good as he was, I wouldn’t have made the lifelong friendships that I have here. So, it kind of keeps his legacy going and just being able to talk to people about the history of him and how much they love him. I’ll never stop playing this game if I can. I absolutely love it. It’s just too good to keep the name going for both sides, for Joe and for Ty Cobb. I absolutely love it.”

She also fondly remembered the late Joe Anders, of Easley, who also played baseball at Brandon, learned baseball from ‘Shoeless’ Joe, and worked tirelessly toward the goal of having his friend ‘Shoeless’ Joe reinstated into Major League Baseball and into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  “I love Joe Anders,” she said, adding that she had met his grandson, also named Joe Anders, also a baseball player. “I love that family,” she said.

In addition to being a fan of ‘Shoeless’ Joe, she is also a fan of the ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson Museum (the home of ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson in Greenville’s Westside). “It’s so cool, especially with the renovations and everything done,” she said.  She has also enjoyed visiting the Ty Cobb Museum many times when visiting Royston to participate in the vintage games when they are played there.

Ethan Cashwell, a librarian with the Pickens County Library System and a fan of ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, played this year for the second time in the vintage games. “We’ve got some good Pickens representation, the birthplace of Shoeless Joe Jackson,” he said.

Tim Elrod played for the ‘Shoeless’ Joes in the vintage games for the first time this year. “I’m from Pickens County,” he told The Chronicle after the games on Saturday. “I live in Liberty,” he said. “I’ve been in Pickens County my whole life. I’m a teacher and a coach at Seneca High School. I’ve been around baseball my whole life. I had a great time today.”

Mike Tedrick, of Greenville, and his son, Joe, have played in the vintage games every year since 2010.  “My son was here for the very first game,” he told The Chronicle. “He actually made a play in that game. The ball went over the fence, and everything was still in play. There is no out of play. So, he ran and got the ball and threw it back to them. We started playing in the games the following year.”

Mike Miller, who is a docent for the ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson Museum and who has been involved with the vintage games since the beginning, organized this year’s games. He is from the Westside of Greenville, yet he and his wife, Debra, live in Easley, and he told The Chronicle that he has a lot of family in Pickens County. “We’ve been doing it for 15 years,” he said of the vintage games. “We’ve had a good time with it. Next year, we’ll go back to Royston.” His wife opened the ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson Museum after the vintage games on Saturday, and he and a few other docents gave tours for the players and their families.