1917 Ty Cobb letter advise

[gnaz01]

It's fine

[btcarfagno]

Wow. Cobb was such a prolific writer that I didn't even bother with this thread for a while. But a 1917 letter? Now that's a whole 'nother somethin'.

Awesome piece.

Tom C

[w7imel]

Update. I just Bought piece from C&S Sports and Hobby and comes with 14 day return but item to me looks awesome! Having always wantind a cobb letter but didnt want to go to all the hastle to frame and mat and everything that goes along with it. I am sort of pumped this is one of the oldest cobb letters i have ever seen and signature appears to be a 9/10 to me...not bad for almost being 100 years old. Now working on a reson to justify this to the wife when it shows up next week. (i know should have thought of that first). Think I will tell her its a photocopie and was cheap...haha she might go for it

[Econteachert205]

I'd say it was a pretty good investment.

[w7imel]

I think so too but like anything this expensive it makes me nervous. Just the fact its this old and I dont have to be the one to frame and stuff makes it good. And the fact gutieriez athenticated it gives me a little comfort in what I bought

[David Atkatz]

You might very well want to have it re-framed. Right now you have no idea whether archival-safe materials were used--acid free mat, proper adhesives, UV-protective glass, etc. If it were mine, and I wanted the letter framed, I would have it re-done properly.

[khw]

Originally Posted by w7imel

I think so too but like anything this expensive it makes me nervous. Just the fact its this old and I dont have to be the one to frame and stuff makes it good. And the fact gutieriez athenticated it gives me a little comfort in what I bought

ok here is another one , in my opinion i have seen way too many bad signatures authenticated by Guiterrez , again somebody that if you are in the business you look at the autograph , not to get back on the tpa trail but not one i put as much stock in but again my opinion , but this cobb is real imo

[Duluth Eskimo]

Reframing is the only way to go. First, it is very hard to evaluate an item under glass. With a high quality item like this, do you best to ensure that you have the real thing and then frame it in high quality materials so you can enjoy it for generations. Let us know how it works out. Jason

[w7imel]

I agree its real as well, something like this would be IMO waaaay to much work to forge. Not saying it couldnt be done but who has that kind of time....? haha

[mschwade]

Originally Posted by w7imel

Now working on a reson to justify this to the wife when it shows up next week. (i know should have thought of that first)t

A friend in the hobby gave me this little bit of advice... It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for a large purchase.

[byrone]

Nice letter

What amazes me is how Cobb has been historically branded a tyrant, yet his personal letters reveal a man much different from the Al Stump version. His letters often express appreciation or thanks, often for what seem to be minor or trivial matters. This appears to be a man of compassion and thanksgiving.

While surely Cobb was no saint (who of us is?), the personal Cobb letters help reveal a man of character at odds with the common public perception.

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by byrone

Nice letter

What amazes me is how Cobb has been historically branded a tyrant, yet his personal letters reveal a man much different from the Al Stump version. His letters often express appreciation or thanks, often for what seem to be minor or trivial matters. This appears to be a man of compassion and thanksgiving.

While surely Cobb was no saint (who of us is?), the personal Cobb letters help reveal a man of character at odds with the common public perception.

Her is an interesting article that aims to debunk some of the myth that is now common public perception: http://sabr.org/research/georgia-pea...ed-storyteller

[packs]

Personally I would be bothered by the COA.

That of course does not mean the item isn't authentic. I'm speaking more from a place of being comfortable.

[w7imel]

Originally Posted by byrone

Nice letter

What amazes me is how Cobb has been historically branded a tyrant, yet his personal letters reveal a man much different from the Al Stump version. His letters often express appreciation or thanks, often for what seem to be minor or trivial matters. This appears to be a man of compassion and thanksgiving.

While surely Cobb was no saint (who of us is?), the personal Cobb letters help reveal a man of character at odds with the common public perception.

Agreed Every letter I have almost ever saw he was always thanking someone for a visit or just good company. While it is well known that Tyrus was a fierce competor Ive yet to see anything cobb had done to remotly be as bad as Stump made him which IMO was a ploy to sell books

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by w7imel

Agreed Every letter I have almost ever saw he was always thanking someone for a visit or just good company. While it is well known that Tyrus was a fierce competor Ive yet to see anything cobb had done to remotly be as bad as Stump made him which IMO was a ploy to sell books

fyi - Just in case you were not aware, Stump was a major forger of Cobb items.

[w7imel]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

fyi - Just in case you were not aware, Stump was a major forger of Cobb items.

Was reading that Richard, What was his end game behind forging stuff? From everything else almost I ever read cobb was a well respected buisness man and people sought his company.. The way he took care of his past teamates thru life after baseball says tons about him doesnt it?

[djson1]

Originally Posted by w7imel

Agreed Every letter I have almost ever saw he was always thanking someone for a visit or just good company. While it is well known that Tyrus was a fierce competor Ive yet to see anything cobb had done to remotly be as bad as Stump made him which IMO was a ploy to sell books

Whether or not Cobb truly deserved a bad rep as he has is debatable. But there seems to be a great turnaround PR move by his supporters and family to un-tarnish a lot of his bad image in recent decades. There’s no doubt that Al Stump lost a ton of credibility as a writer (and his fake memorabilia and forgeries certainly didn’t help). However, there still seems to be a lot of anecdotes by players and fans of just how bad of a personality he did have. He may have even been a big racist, but he DID grow up in a time in Georgia where just about everybody was racist and it was just about acceptable. I’m sure he would have been more “PC” if he grew up in this day and age.

All the bad personality aspects aside, I still greatly admire Cobb for the player he was and his great hitting ability. The bottom line is, we can’t really rate a baseball player on his personality unless you actually knew or at least met the guy in person. Many of us collectors have probably met guys like Musial and Gwynn and thought how nice they were…and they truly were nice guys! But I can’t say if Cobb was truly nice just based on some articles and sample letters he wrote. Just because he thanked people in letters, doesn’t mean he was a really nice guy (I’m not saying he was really bad either).

By the way, I heard Tris Speaker was one of the biggest racists in the game too, but I still admire him for his playing ability.

[byrone]

Originally Posted by djson1

Whether or not Cobb truly deserved a bad rep as he has is debatable. But there seems to be a great turnaround PR move by his supporters and family to un-tarnish a lot of his bad image in recent decades. There’s no doubt that Al Stump lost a ton of credibility as a writer (and his fake memorabilia and forgeries certainly didn’t help). However, there still seems to be a lot of anecdotes by players and fans of just how bad of a personality he did have. He may have even been a big racist, but he DID grow up in a time in Georgia where just about everybody was racist and it was just about acceptable. I’m sure he would have been more “PC” if he grew up in this day and age.

All the bad personality aspects aside, I still greatly admire Cobb for the player he was and his great hitting ability. The bottom line is, we can’t really rate a baseball player on his personality unless you actually knew or at least met the guy in person. Many of us collectors have probably met guys like Musial and Gwynn and thought how nice they were…and they truly were nice guys! But I can’t say if Cobb was truly nice just based on some articles and sample letters he wrote. Just because he thanked people in letters, doesn’t mean he was a really nice guy (I’m not saying he was really bad either).

By the way, I heard Tris Speaker was one of the biggest racists in the game too, but I still admire him for his playing ability.

Interesting stuff here on Cobb and racism

http://baseballguru.com/bburgess/ana...burgess02.html

[packs]

I don't know if I would really call Cobb a racist though. After reading about his scholarship fund (which is still awarding scholarships today) and about how he bought up large plots of land in Georgia specifically to build cheap housing for minorities, I find it hard to believe he hated minorities.

Here's Cobb's response to a reporter asking him about Jackie Robinson in 1952:


"Certainly it is O.K. for them to play," he said, "I see no reason in the world why we shouldn't compete with colored athletes as long as they conduct themselves with politeness and gentility. Let me say also that no white man has the right to be less of a gentleman than a colored man, in my book that goes not only for baseball but in all walks of life.”