Was Cobb really as people perceive him???

[Joshchisox08]

This probably has been discussed at great length in the past. However with the release of a newer book last summer basically more or less proving that Stump and Charles Alexander did a hatchet job to Cobb's legacy through zero details in most circumstances:

Hotel worker (no evidence of being black)
Grocery clerk (evidence pointed to being white in a report with ethnicity marked "W")
The fact that other superstar players got into fights with fans as well; Nap Lajoie, Cy Young, and of all people "The Christian Gentleman" punched a fan as well.

And just a hell of a lot more than that. Often showing Navin's letters which helped mold the Cobb bad-guy, bigotry.

I was wondering if any of you had read the book and has it changed your opinion(s)???

http://www.amazon.com/Ty-Cobb-Terrib...ywords=ty+cobb

[ullmandds]

from all i have read about cobb...he was raised in a middle class family...was educated and was uber competitive. I think his racism and "brutal" demeanor has been overstated in the past. He "fought" to win...every day of his life...and I don't think he was more racist than many back in those days.

[packs]

He was actually far less racist than many back in those days. He purposely bought up tracks of land in Georgia, had them developed, and then sold housing for practically nothing to African American residents. He gave one family a house just to watch over things for him. The land was called Booker T. Washington Heights.

Here's a quote from Cobb. It is 1952 and a reporter has asked him about Jackie Robinson playing in the majors:

"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.”

[bbcard1]

He was a complicated man and it is often easy to judge people too harshly using a 2016 filter to view 1920 events.

[packs]

I think a person's character and ability to feel compassion for people is something that doesn't change no matter the era or circumstances.

[trdcrdkid]

There was another bio of Cobb published last year, Tim Hornbaker's "War on the Basepaths: The Definitive Biography of Ty Cobb":

http://www.amazon.com/War-Basepaths-...dp/161321765X/

Like Leerhsen, Hornbaker takes a revisionist view in arguing that Cobb was not the horrible monster he's traditionally been depicted as (and he also slams Al Stump for his distortions), but he is less willing than Leerhsen to excuse or explain away Cobb's racism. He basically says that Cobb was certainly a racist by our modern standards, but essentially all Southern white people of that era were, and Cobb wasn't as bad as many, and wasn't nearly as bad as most people (especially Stump) have depicted him.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

He was a complicated man and it is often easy to judge people too harshly using a 2016 filter to view 1920 events.

Fortunately there are first-hand accounts available, such as interviews with his peers;e.g-Sam Crawford, in 'The Glory of Their Times'. There are also newspaper accounts of his behavior, so you can compare those with accounts of the behavior of other Southern baseball players to get a better idea as to whether or not his biographers were lying about him.

[bbcard1]

His late life effort at redemption and generosity paints a contrast to much of his playing days. Probably as financially farsighted as any athlete ever indicating an intellect in stark contrast to the brawler. Certainly not all that popular with his peers, which is a reliable indicator or, if nothing else, how likely you would be to enjoy having him as a guest at your dinner party.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Fortunately there are first-hand accounts available, such as interviews with his peers;e.g-Sam Crawford, in 'The Glory of Their Times'. There are also newspaper accounts of his behavior, so you can compare those with accounts of the behavior of other Southern baseball players to get a better idea as to whether or not his biographers were lying about him.

And listening to the voices of Crawford and Davy Jones, who had seen him close up for many years, on the audio set of GOTT gives you an even better idea of what they thought of him, with stories to illustrate. On the other hand, there are others who had great respect, and in some instances affection, for Cobb. Joe Wood, for instance, called Cobb one of his very best friends. Perhaps it's fair to say that his good side could be very good while his bad side could be very bad.

[tedzan]

TY AND THE BABE, by Tom Stanton




This is a tremendous book about these two BB greats and their rivalry. Stanton provides a much fairer rendering on Ty Cobb than other books.
It's a must read. Included in the Appendix is the head-to-head account of every game (200+)....that Cobb and Ruth faced each other.


Look guys,
When Cobb entered the Major Leagues in the Summer of 1905, many areas of this country were figuratively still "fighting" the Civil War....and,
Mr. Cobb was from the "deep South". Combine that with the fact that he was a feisty dude.....you have a rough character in Cobb's early years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Cobb, but this is how he coped with the situation that confronted him back then.

Post Script
Check-this-out....you T206 guys: Less than 10 % of the 389 players in the T206 set were born in the Deep South.


TED Z
.

[Joshchisox08]

Pete and Ted

Have not read that book but as I have only a couple chapters left in the book I mentioned in post #1. I will be looking for another one!

[Yoda]

I believe that Cobb's father getting blown away by his mother with a shotgun climbing in a bedroom window under mysterious circumstances deeply affected Ty his whole life and contributed to his brutal competitive nature, as in always trying to prove himself over and over to his dead father. Stump makes a big point of this in his book.

[esd10]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...B-b9uLE9OjdwlA read this

[ALR-bishop]

I never met Cobb and neither did my wife, but her grandfather and Cobb got to be good friends for the reasons mentioned below. Cobb was one of his pallbearers. Her grandfather liked Cobb so much he wanted to name my wife's dad Tyrus. My wife's Grandmother disliked him so much she threatened divorce if he did, so they named him Charles instead.

I guess that is the way with most of us, some like us, some do not

[Bob Lemke]

I'm currently reading microfilm of back issues of The Sporting News from early 1962, about six months after Cobb's death. TSN and countless writers, including former contemporaries, were avid in their defense of Cobb as having been maligned by Stump in one (or possibly a series of) magazine articles published after Cobb's death.

Many of the accounts I've read in TSN from the 1940s-1962 have convinced me that Cobb was not really the ogre that he had been painted to be.

[DeanH3]

Originally Posted by esd10

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...B-b9uLE9OjdwlA read this

Thanks for posting this. I have not seen it before and is a good read.