Baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson's signature is among the most valuable in the world -- so rare that the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association sued the county and state for possession of his will. The charities, beneficiaries of Jackson's estate, hoped to auction it for more than $100,000.

But Tuesday they struck out, when the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that his will is a public record and should remain in a public repository.

``Now nobody's going to benefit from the will's existence,'' said Leo Bell, 70, a friend of Jackson's and the charities' attorney.

But Ken Woodington, who argued the state's case, said the ruling preserves the integrity of South Carolina's historical records.

``If they had ruled the other way, historical records would be virtually destroyed, as collectors and family members come and strip the vaults for their ancestors' stuff,'' he said.

One of the few living friends of Jackson, Joe Anders, 76, said Shoeless Joe would have been disappointed by the decision.

``Knowing Joe, knowing how generous and caring a person he was, I think he would have wanted that will to be sold and the money go to the charities,'' said Anders, a former minor-league ballplayer. ``Joe was that kind of a person, always wanting to help somebody.''

Jackson, who died in 1951 in Greenville, was expelled from baseball with seven Chicago White Sox teammates for accepting gamblers' bribes and throwing the 1919 World Series. Jackson admitted his part in the ``Black Sox'' scandal to a grand jury, but later recanted and swore his innocence until his death.

The movies ``Field of Dreams'' and ``Eight Men Out'' helped elevate him into an American legend.

His wife, Katie, left the Jackson estate to the two charities when she died in 1959 because Joe had died of heart failure and she suffered from cancer.

But no one realized the value of the will until 1991, when Bell noticed a newspaper article about Jackson's signature selling for $23,100 at a Sotheby's auction -- the second-highest amount ever paid for a signature not attached to a document. The record at the time was held by Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, whose signature had sold for $56,000.

Jackson's signature is so valuable because only six are known to exist. Jackson, who was illiterate, usually refused to sign baseballs for his fans, although on rare occasions he would take balls home and have his wife sign them.

Since the lawsuit was filed, Bell said he has spoken with several people interested in paying more than $100,000 for the document.

Mark Theotikos, a New York sports memorabilia expert, said such a sum is not inconceivable.

``There's no telling how much it could be worth,'' he said. ``There might be some equally as rare autographs, but they might not be as desirable because they don't have the allure surrounding Joe Jackson and the Black Sox.''

Babe Ruth's autograph commands prices of $1,000 to $15,000, Theotikos said. And Beethoven's signature is worth $3,300, according to the Price Guide to Autographs.

Jackson remains a controversial subject because his .356 lifetime batting average makes him one of the greatest baseball players ever, but he cannot be elected to the Hall of Fame because of his expulsion.

Baseball fans and historians trek to the Greenville County Center to see the will, said Probate Judge C. Diane Smock, also a defendant in the lawsuit. Smock said the court keeps the original locked away and gives people copies printed from microfiche, but even the microfiche has been stolen at least five times.

Anders said he's amazed at how much his friend's signature is worth.

``You know, I could have gotten his autograph so many times,'' Anders said. ``But I never did. Had I known that it was going to be so special, I would have gotten it. Gosh, yeah, I would have gotten several.''

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