Let's see some old handwritten letters!

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by jcmtiger

This is a letter to H. G Salsinger's widow at his death from Ty Cobb. Cobb was good friends with him, his bio is below just above the lettter.


Harry George "H.G." Salsinger (April 10, 1885[1] - November 1958) was sports editor of The Detroit News for 49 years.

Salsinger was born in Ohio in 1885. In 1907, he started writing for The Cincinnati Post.[2]

In 1909, Salsinger began working at The Detroit News as sports editor, a position he held until his death in 1958.[3] He covered 50 World Series, two Olympic Games, and many other sports including football, golf, tennis, and boxing.[3] Salsinger was also a president of both the Baseball Writers Association of America,[4] and the Football Writers Association of America.[5] Salsinger retired in January 1958 and died 10 months later at Henry Ford Hospital following a long illness.[6][7]

Salsinger was married to Gladys E. Salsinger. They had a son, Harry G. Salsinger, Jr., born in approximately 1920. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Salsinger lived with his wife and son at 244 Pingree Avenue in Detroit.[8]

In 1968, the Baseball Writers Association of American posthumously awarded Salsinger the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for his baseball writing.[9] He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[10][11]

That's really a nice Cobb letter! Thanks for sharing that.

Am I the only one that has been intigued by the paradox or contrast in reading personal letters written by Cobb vs. the lasting image of him provided by biographers such as Al Stump?

I'm always interested in reading Cobb letters because they are so well written....

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

That's really a nice Cobb letter! Thanks for sharing that.

Am I the only one that has been intigued by the paradox or contrast in reading personal letters written by Cobb vs. the lasting image of him provided by biographers such as Al Stump?

I'm always interested in reading Cobb letters because they are so well written....

Al Stump should be referred to as biographer/forger.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Al Stump should be referred to as biographer/forger.

Really? I thought forgery only pertained to documents. Did he actually forge Cobb's signature?

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by runscott

really? I thought forgery only pertained to documents. Did he actually forge cobb's signature?

yes!!

[mr2686]

Am I the only one that has been intigued by the paradox or contrast in reading personal letters written by Cobb vs. the lasting image of him provided by biographers such as Al Stump?

I'm with ya Scott. The Cobb in written letters really doesn't seem to match that of Stump's writing or how he's remembered for his demeanor as a player. Thowing out Stump's garbage, I think you're left with a complex character that could be mean and cantankerious one time, and generous and considerate another time. In other words, human.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Really? I thought forgery only pertained to documents. Did he actually forge Cobb's signature?

Stump was a noted forger, primarily forging handwritten letters which he did sign "Ty Cobb."
If you meant did he sign an index card, baseball card, etc. to create a fake autograph, I am not aware of that happening.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Stump was a noted forger, primarily forging handwritten letters which he did sign "Ty Cobb."
If you meant did he sign an index card, baseball card, etc. to create a fake autograph, I am not aware of that happening.

That's incredible. I was aware that he had sold items saying they belonged to Cobb, but didn't know that he actually forged documents. Thanks.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Runscott

That's incredible. I was aware that he had sold items saying they belonged to Cobb, but didn't know that he actually forged documents. Thanks.

The story is widely known in the hobby.
A well known former dealer was the one who bought them initially from Stump and circulated them through the hobby.
They still turn up occasionally.
Many of them have great content. But Stump was a writer so I guess making up great letters was second nature for him.

[Matt Felix]

Looking through this thread I could not help but think that while other areas of the hobby seem to continue on with minor changes (autographs and game used items) and some with drastic changes (cards and photographs). It seems to me like this area, hand written letters, is probably all but dead.
I cannot imagine Jeter or Pujols writing anything by hand.

Perhaps future collectors will have a tread showing off emails from players?

[Runscott]

pardon me.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

That's really a nice Cobb letter! Thanks for sharing that.

Am I the only one that has been intigued by the paradox or contrast in reading personal letters written by Cobb vs. the lasting image of him provided by biographers such as Al Stump?

I'm always interested in reading Cobb letters because they are so well written....

Scott, here's another. I really like this one because, like the one Rob posted, it shows a lot of empathy for the recipient:

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Scott, here's another. I really like this one because, like the one Rob posted, it shows a lot of empathy for the recipient:

Awesome letter Scott! Nice content!
Thanks for sharing this...

[Exhibitman]

When he was a boy my father received this from his older brother's father-in-law, with a note saying that he'd met Sid Luckman at the Columbia Club in NYC and would bring my father in and introduce him some time [didn't happen, though]:



This one is from my cousin:

[kdixon]

Here is a letter about Zach attending Cooperstown.

[kdixon]

Here is a note from Warren Giles to Zach Wheat.