Quote:
Originally Posted by Orioles1954
What differentiates Anson from Cobb, Chase and other “men of their times” is that only one was instrumental in a “gentleman’s agreement” that barred thousands of Black ball players and denied them a livelihood. ...a 60-year ban is exactly what Anson perpetuated hook, line and sinker.
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Anson was a player and team captain who refused to allow his team to play exhibition games against teams from other leagues who would put a black player on the field. Many professional ballplayers were bigots who would go out of their way to injure black players on opposing teams, but most did not have the financial security of Anson to refuse to play with or against a black man. The rules of organized baseball, written and unwritten, for league play were devised by executives and team owners, not players, who were generally powerless. There is little justification to pin the exclusion of African-Americans from organized baseball through the mid 1940s on Anson, who last played in 1897, last managed in 1898, and died in 1922.