Product Description

Since Joe Stoshack first traveled back in time through a baseball card to meet Honus Wagner, he knew he had a special gift. So when sports card shop owner Flip tells Stosh all about his hero, Shoeless Joe Jackson -- about the scandal that destroyed the star player's career -- Stosh gets an idea. If he travels back in time with a 1919 baseball card in his hand, he just might be able to prevent the infamous Black Sox Scandal from ever taking place. And if he could do that, Shoeless Joe Jackson-one of the greatest players in the history of the game -- would finally take his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he truly belongs.

But can Stosh prevent that tempting envelope full of gambling money from making its way to Shoeless Joe's hotel room before the big game?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1622786 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this latest Baseball Card Adventure, Shoeless Joe & Me by Dan Gutman, Joe "Stosh" Stoshack travels back to 1919 but will he be in time to prevent Shoeless Joe Jackson from being implicated in a conspiracy to throw the World Series?
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grades 4-7--"Life isn't always fair," the team's sponsor tells 13-year-old Joe "Stosh" Stoshack after an umpire errs in calling him out during the Louisville Little League Championship. To reinforce his message, Flip tells the boy about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, when gamblers allegedly paid Shoeless Joe Jackson and seven other members of the Chicago White Sox to throw the World Series. They were expelled from baseball for life, but Flip contends that the illiterate Jackson was innocent. What Flip doesn't know is that Stosh can time travel into the past via old baseball cards. He goes back to 1919 to try to save Shoeless Joe and meets him shortly before the fateful payoff is about to be made. The criminals are out to make sure that nothing interferes with their profits and are willing to kill the boy if necessary. Antique photographs, baseball cards, and news clippings add to the authentic representation of the time. Action is intense and exciting, both on and off the baseball field, and there are touches of humor when Stosh mixes up his own era with 1919. The story evokes strong sympathy for Jackson, and an endnote suggests that readers write to the Baseball Hall of Fame in support of his induction. The fourth in a series, this novel is an intriguing melding of sports history and science fiction that should be a hit with middle-school readers.
Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. Gutman's well-received Baseball Card Adventure series features Joe Stoshack, the 13-year-old narrator who can travel back in time by holding a baseball card. When an umpire's bad call results in a loss for Joe's team, he is furious. But when the team's sponsor tells him that "life isn't always fair," and illustrates the story of Shoeless Joe Jackson, the boy decides to head back to 1919 and make things right. Young Stoshack's experiences are certainly varied: he spends the night with Jackson and his wife, unexpectedly walking in on her naked not once but twice. He overhears crooks plotting to fix the World Series before he's imprisoned and nearly shot by them; he meets long-dead relatives and tries to cure one of influenza. The story ends with Joe back home. Although he was unable to fulfill his initial purpose, his trip has changed history in other ways. The book ends with Gutman's impassioned plea for readers to join a campaign to clear Shoeless Joe's reputation. A not-quite-believable, but still highly enjoyable time-travel adventure. Carolyn Phelan
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