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Black Betsy Mystery Cache

Hidden : 6/10/2014
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

=== Cache is NOT at posted coordinates ===

The second puzzle cache we've placed near a Little League ball field honors the 1919 White Sox and their star player, Shoeless Joe Jackson. The posted coordinates take you to home plate, but solve the puzzle to find the actual cache location nearby.

 

 


Shoeless Joe with his famous bat

Searching for this cache is not recommended while there is a game underway.

The 1919 White Sox could have been remembered as one of the great teams, but instead they are almost exclusively remembered for the scandal that changed professional baseball. And in the center of it was a man who could have been remembered as a superstar, but instead he's the centerpiece player who was kicked out of baseball in response to the team throwing the World Series in a gambling Scheme.

Shoeless Joe Jackson may well have been innocent - he certainly was a great player whose play during the series didn't reflect any attempt to fix games. Prior to the 1919 season, Joe Jackson was a well-liked star of the game, and one of the things fans loved about him was his bat - Black Betsy. Black Betsy was made of hickory, measuring 36 inches and weighing 48 ounces. Tobacco juice was used to give it the darkened look Jackson wanted. In 2001, Black Betsy sold at auction for $577,610 .

To solve this puzzle you simply need to identify the players below from that 1919 team, and swap in their uniform numbers. There is the small problem that players did not start wearing numbers on their uniforms until 1929. So, what numbers *would* they have worn?

N41 18.I was not in on the fix, and I was elected to the HoF in 1955.I was not involved in the fix and I only played in half the games in the series. 
W073 55.I was banned even though I hit .324 and made no errors.I was not part of the conspiracy and according to historian Bill James, I am the greatest of all time at my position.I was not part of the conspiracy, only played in one game in the series, and have the best name!
Please replace cache as you found it, and bring your own pen.

You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Yrnea n yvggyr ovg nobhg gur uvfgbel bs havsbez ahzoref va onfronyy.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)