Charleston Shoe Thieves/History

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The remainder of this article contains lore created collaboratively by the Blaseball community.

The Shoe Thieves are located in Charleston.

Formation

The Heist

The Shoe Thieves began not as a blaseball team, but as a band of footwear larcenists lead by legendary master thief Cornelius Games. After attending a game of Blaseball to support his husband Richardson Games of the New York Millennials, Games began to formulate a plan to pose as a blaseball team as a cover for stealing rare and expensive blaseball shoes. In addition to his existing crew, he won over his old rival Workman Gloom and recruited local cryptid Ren Hunter to play on the false team.

"Shoe Thieves" was used as a placeholder name for the team while they debated on what the least suspicious name for their false front would be. However, Forrest Bookbaby, then working as Games' intern, was eager to impress his idol and submitted the paperwork with the placeholder a show of initiative. Thus, the Charleston Shoe Thieves were born.

Going Pro

Despite the team originally being created solely as a front, they proved to be quite competent at the splort. Much to their own amazement they won several games and attracted the attention of free agent Esme Ramsey, whose addition as a reliable hitter helped them compete toe to toe with the rest of the league. While there was some initial tension within the team about whether to finish the heist or abandon it in favor of "going straight", they soon discovered they could continue to steal shoes while competing as a legitimate blaseball team by passing the thefts off as a beloved gimmick.

Strategy

The Shoe Thieves will hold up shoes to signal plays to their teammates or to proudly display their latest successful theft. It's a common misconception that the type of shoe itself is important to the play the athlete is signalling. In truth, it is the way the laces have been tied themselves that relay the important information to their teammates. The colour, arrangement, knot and even how frayed the laces are can be crucial information. This is not the only method of  communication the Shoe Thieves use while playing. Esme Ramsey, Stu Trololol and Blood Hamburger make use of their psychic blood to talk in a group chat over Pskype, although Stu has stated that the group chat is mainly unrelated to their game strategy. Velasquez Alstott also makes use of light-up sneakers, using a mix of tap dance and Irish dancing to communicate in morse code with her teammates.

Gayest Team in Blaseball?

For several seasons the Shoe Thieves disputed the New York Millennials claim to be "the gayest team in blaseball". They were ultimately forced to cede their rival claim after losing a pivotal game of Rlock Plaper Sclissors with the Shoe Thieves represented by Esme Ramsey and the Millennials by Theodore Cervantes. According the to terms of the game, the Shoe Thieves technically maintain the right to call themselves "the second gayest team in blaseball", but this title is not popularly used.

Grand Unslam

For more information on this event, see The Grand Unslam.

In the 15th inning of a record-breaking game against the rleston]]. __FORCETOC, Shoe Thieves player he Heist=== The hit a grand slam that shook the very foundations of Blaseball itself. Both the Shoe Thieves and Tacos ended Day 74 of lius Games]] with a record of 75 games, potentially a reflection of a disruption of spacetime.

Relationship with the Canada Moist Talkers

In part due to a pair of notable feedback swaps, the players, staff, and fans of the Shoe Thieves have formed a long-standing relationship with the Canada Moist Talkers. The relationship began during Season 4, when former Shoe Thieves star player Workman Gloom was exchanged for the Moist Talkers's Joe Voorhees in a Feedback event. Voorhees and Gloom become close after their swap, having traded important advice to each other with regards to fitting in with their new teams; Voorhees brought Canada culture to the Thieves, and Gloom Charleston to the Moist Talkers, lighting the fires of friendship between the two teams.

The relationship between the two teams was improved further during the following seasons, as Gloom still held themself responsible for their dog and Charleston pitcher, Beasley Gloom. At first, Gloom would make regular trips from Halifax back to Charleston to take care of Beasely, each time bringing the Moist Talkers' good graces back to their former team. After these trips became a tax on Gloom's time and schedule, a few Thieves players -- led by Voorhees and Esme Ramsey -- instead made the reverse trip, bringing Beasley to Halifax to see his former owner. These Charleston-Halifax dog deliveries became a regular feature of the Shoe Thieves' time off, especially for Ramsey, who maintained a close personal relationship with Gloom during their time as a Moist Talker.

In Season 6, the Talkers and Thieves again had players traded amidst the Feedback--Canada's Lachlan Shelton for Charleston's Antonio Wallace. According to some witnesses, the pair's swap may have been a mistake made by Cornelius Games; Gloom had (allegedly) sent Lachlan over to the Thieves dugout during the game to bring some treats over to Beasley while they were at-bat, and Games (allegedly) misunderstood this as a trade and immediately drafted Sheltom to the Thieves, sending Antonio Wallace back in his place. This has (allegedly) never been corroborated by Games himself, and Feedback was listed as the (allegedly) official cause of the trade. However, fans and players alike responded positively to the trade, enjoying the further blending of the two teams.

Player Response

In a post-game interview early in Season 7, Cornelius Games was asked about his team's relationship and history with the Moist Talkers. Games pretended to not understand the question and became visibly frustrated when the interviewer mentioned Workman Gloom specifically, claiming to have never heard of them before. After Games stormed off, Lachlan Shelton finished the interview in his stead; when asked about the Canada-Charleston friendship, he answered "I mean, like. You gotta have friends, right? When people are getting incinerated, or trapped in giant peanut shells, or beaned by a zombie pitcher, you gotta have friends. It's good to have friends."

Incinerations

In perhaps their greatest act of friendship, shortly following Workman Gloom's Season 7 incineration, the Moist Talkers delivered the former Shoe Thief's ashes and personal effects (not including their Moist Talkers hat, which Esme Ramsey had previously acquired by her own means) back to Choux Stadium. Gloom's ashes are currently on display in Choux Stadium, stored in a pair of Gloom’s boots and contained in a glass display alongside a Canadian flag. A small dish is included with the display, and Talkers and Thieves fans alike are encouraged to spit into the dish to pay respect to one of the greatest players who ever swung a blaseball rod.

Former Shoe Thief Antonio Wallace was also incinerated during Season 7 while playing for the Moist Talkers.