Ty Cobb: Not a Racist?

Interesting discussion with the author of a Cobb biography on this podcast. Posting on the journalism board because it's notable how widely this "myth" (as the author would have it) has spread. (Probably also a discussion for the politics thread that the book, according to the (liberal) author, has been praised by conservatives but viewed with skepticism by liberals.)

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Here's a NYTimes article about the book for those who don't care to listen. It's apparently been out for a while now, but the podcast is new.

Removing the Fangs From Ty Cobb’s Notoriety

 

Maybe Cobb was an equal opportunity son of a bitch?

 

You're damn right I'm ...

... oh, you said "Cobb."

Carry on.

 

"Just as long as we still got Cap Anson" -- racists baseball fans

 

It is a very good book, well researched.

 

He wasn't too kind towards men without hands.

 

I took several baseball history courses in college (my parents were gobsmacked I could get history credits for such a thing) with a noted Cobb biographer and he repeatedly expressed his frustration with how Cobb was portrayed.

 

I think the historical record is pretty clear that Cobb was a mean son of a bitch. The only way you can think otherwise is to believe that Al Stump, who wrote his autobiography, was the largest fraud in history of journalism. Trying to determine the line between being racist and malevolent can very difficult.

 

That is exactly what the author of the book from 2015 believes. Stump hated Cobb and waited until he died to dish the dirt. All the worst people associate with Cobb is from Stump's biography.

 

Stump also did the autobiography of Cobb. It has been a long time since I read it but my memory is that Cobb comes across in that book as someone with lots of grievances against the world and was a bitter, old man. Presumably Cobb had editorial control on that book.

 

This is article Leigh Montville wrote for SI in the 90's. He uses Furman Bisher as a primary source. Bisher seems to believe that Cobb had trouble relating to other human beings. The article discusses the problems Cobb had keeping staff and his hair trigger temper.

The Last Remains of a Legend