[quote=SC
Cobb, one of the best players to have ever played the game, was a racist bastard. BUT, he was elected to the Hall during the days when baseball was still a segregated sport. Of course that doesn't make it right but how in hell could baseball keep him out on the grounds that he was racist when they, in fact, were equally as guilty?


. [/quote]

A very good point. It illuminates the problem with imposing present day values on those from differennt eras.

Also, Cobb, who was inarguably a racist even by early 20th Century standards, had character flaws that didn't affect the game. He was disciplined by the commissioner, I beleve it was Mountain Landis,along with Tris Speaker for their apparent role in fixing a game.

I'd have to go back and get the details. It was documented in the Glory of their Times by Lawrence Ritter, an outstanding chronicle of the early years of the game.