Glory of Their Times

[Case12]

I grew up in the deep South Georgia in the 60's. My family back to the Civil War. Concept of racism is different back then than today. Back then, culture and color segregation was not seen as racist. It was normal. Racist then was if you really hated the negros. So, taken into context of history, did Cobb hate negros?.... If he didn't, he was normal like most all other of us white folk...

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Case12

I grew up in the deep South Georgia in the 60's. My family back to the Civil War. Concept of racism is different back then than today. Back then, culture and color segregation was not seen as racist. It was normal. Racist then was if you really hated the negros. So, taken into context of history, did Cobb hate negros?.... If he didn't, he was normal like most all other of us white folk...

Not really getting this. So during slavery, because it was the norm and the law, you wouldn't call the slave states racist?

[btcarfagno]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Not really getting this. So during slavery, because it was the norm and the law, you wouldn't call the slave states racist?

Not sure I understand that one entirely either.

But to your point regarding Cobb using the term "Negro" to refer to someone in a letter that he wrote, of course that is a racist thing to do, without question. It was also a fairly normal thing to do back then. So I do not think that the point is whether or not Cobb was racist or not. It is fairly clear that he was. The question is more along the lines of whether or not he was a virulent racist as he has been portrayed for decades. The evidence may be pointing to that not being the case. It seems more likely that he was as racist as the everyday person of his time, which, granted, by today's standards is quite alarming.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by btcarfagno

The question is more along the lines of whether or not he was a virulent racist as he has been portrayed for decades. The evidence may be pointing to that not being the case. It seems more likely that he was as racist as the everyday person of his time, which, granted, by today's standards is quite alarming.

Was he portrayed routinely as virulently racist? By whom? My impression in that regard was formed mostly by Crawford on the "Glory" tapes, I think, and as I've said, that doesn't seem to me now nearly enough to have drawn any kind of conclusion in that regard. My only other deep dive into Cobb was reading the Alexander book back in the day, and I can't remember what he wrote about it. I had always thought of Cobb mostly as quick-tempered, a brawler, with a fierce drive to win at all costs, confirmed both contemporaneously and in later accounts by my research. Other than that, my impression of his racial attitudes would probably have been similar to comments here to the effect that like most people he was a product of his time and environment and it would have been surprising and admirable had he NOT held the attitudes prevalent in those. Now I'm seeing some evidence that the latter might indeed be the case, and I hope that turns out to be true.

[byrone]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Not really getting this. So during slavery, because it was the norm and the law, you wouldn't call the slave states racist?

The "slave states". Yeah, racist

All the people of those states? No, not all were racist.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by byrone

The "slave states". Yeah, racist. All the people of those states? No, not all were racist.

Agree 100%.

[rhettyeakley]

Came across this again in my stuff while searching for something and thought it would be a good addition to the original thread here...

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

Came across this again in my stuff while searching for something and thought it would be a good addition to the original thread here...

How many authors of such a book would have cut all the players in on the royalties? Just that one check was a decent amount of money in those days, equivalent to two or three grand today. But Larry didn't do it for the money. He was a peach.

[byrone]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

How many authors of such a book would have cut all the players in on the royalties? Just that one check was a decent amount of money in those days, equivalent to two or three grand today. But Larry didn't do it for the money. He was a peach.

Any idea how much each player received in total?

And any idea how many books initially sold?

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Just that one check was a decent amount of money in those days, equivalent to two or three grand today.

$2,027.99 to be specific.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Just that one check was a decent amount of money in those days, equivalent to two or three grand today.

$2,027.99 to be specific.

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

Came across this again in my stuff while searching for something and thought it would be a good addition to the original thread here...

That check is so cool, and a great piece of baseball and literary history.

[Jay Wolt]

Here's 3 of the checks that I had

[todeen]

Originally Posted by byrone

The "slave states". Yeah, racist

All the people of those states? No, not all were racist.

It obviously must be said that many in the North were racist in there own way, and unions were extremely racist, blackballing African Americans from certain trades in order to protect the wages of white workers. No region of the US was free from racism, I live in Washington State, and segregated neighborhoods - due to activities of Realtor groups - existed even here, from Tacoma on the Puget Sound to Spokane on the Idaho border. And one need not be a virulent racist to be racist - simply saying something like "There goes the neighborhood" when a African American family moved in was simple enough to be racist.

[btcarfagno]

Originally Posted by todeen

It obviously must be said that many in the North were racist in there own way, and unions were extremely racist, blackballing African Americans from certain trades in order to protect the wages of white workers. No region of the US was free from racism, I live in Washington State, and segregated neighborhoods - due to activities of Realtor groups - existed even here, from Tacoma on the Puget Sound to Spokane on the Idaho border. And one need not be a virulent racist to be racist - simply saying something like "There goes the neighborhood" when a African American family moved in was simple enough to be racist.

I am currently reading a book on the life of Octavius Catto. If anyone wants a true eye opener as to how racist the North got, just pick up a copy of this book.