The fact that Shoeless Joe was illiterate became known to the fans right away. One fat, red-faced character began to heckle Joe about it when the White Sox came to Cleveland for a series. Every time Joe came to bat, this fat fellow cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled, “Hey, Joe, how do you spell ignoramus?”
Jackson came up for the last time with a man on first and the score tied. Again the rude character in the stands shouted at him, “Hey, Joe, how do you spell ignoramus?”
Joe ignored him, or seemed to ignore him. He lined the first pitch to the deepest right-center for a triple, sending home the tie-breaking run. Standing on third base, Joe turned toward the stands. “Hey, Fatso!” he shouted. “How do you spell triple?”