Derkha Derkha
Ah, Family Reunions…
In late 1920, Hippo was stabbed with a razor by his father-in-law, Harry DeBolt.
I guess the story goes that after being alerted to his daughter’s impending divorce hearing, DeBolt drove across the country (presumably to enact his “honor-stabbing”). However, by the time he arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn had already reconciled. They were just getting home at night with their 9-year-old son when the attack occurred. DeBolt then skipped town to evade police.
I guess the story goes that after being alerted to his daughter’s impending divorce hearing, DeBolt drove across the country (presumably to enact his “honor-stabbing”). However, by the time he arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn had already reconciled. They were just getting home at night with their 9-year-old son when the attack occurred. DeBolt then skipped town to evade police.
Whiteout
Here we have Paul Gibson’s “error” card, followed by the censored version. As you can see, Paul isn’t the only one clutching a ball in this picture.
(Before)
(After)
(After)
Saints and Cardinals
After being asked what he did for a living by Pope Pius XII, former St. Louis outfielder “Duck Wucky” Medwick responded with: “Your Holiness, I’m Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal.”
… Not the Preferred Nomenclature, Dude.
Probably the only time a bunch of southerns can yell a homophobic slur at a black guy and it not qualify as bigotry.
Takes a Lot of Balls
“To think that a player could carry a loaded gun into a nightclub, shoot himself and miss the rest of the season but get to keep his entire [$1 million] signing bonus illustrates one of the serious flaws in the current system”
— Giants co-owner John Mara
“The Associated Press found that, since Burress joined the NFL in 2000, he has been sued at least nine times”
— ESPN.com
— Giants co-owner John Mara
“The Associated Press found that, since Burress joined the NFL in 2000, he has been sued at least nine times”
— ESPN.com
You Don’t Know Dick
Judge Dredd
Actually, he just went by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and was best known for being the first Commissioner of Baseball… as well as a scowling old douche.
“[W]ho is responsible for the lifetime ban of every member of the 1919 Chicago White Sox? Commissioner Landis, of course. Even when it became obvious that some of the members were innocent of any wrongdoing, Landis refused to reinstate them. And if you thought that was the worst thing he ever did, you haven’t heard his motto: Tough on gambling, tougher on black people.
Landis is probably the main reason the color line stayed in baseball for as long as it did. He was baseball’s first commissioner, serving from 1920-1944, and he picked up right where he left off as a judge, when he got black boxer Jack Johnson banned from boxing for life for transferring a white woman over state lines.
Many times people petitioned Landis to allow black players in the major leagues, and every time Landis voted it down, then presumably leaned back in his throne of skulls and drank the blood of kittens. Mercifully, his tyrannical reign came to an end in 1944 the way all tyrant reigns end; with his death.”
— 11 Baseball Legends Who Were Legendary Assholes by Chris Morgan
… It’s worth mentioning that the white secretary who Jack Johnson was tried for transferring over state lines was his girlfriend (and future wife). Thanks to that mountainous dick of a judge, Johnson got to serve over a year in prison.
Landis is probably the main reason the color line stayed in baseball for as long as it did. He was baseball’s first commissioner, serving from 1920-1944, and he picked up right where he left off as a judge, when he got black boxer Jack Johnson banned from boxing for life for transferring a white woman over state lines.
Many times people petitioned Landis to allow black players in the major leagues, and every time Landis voted it down, then presumably leaned back in his throne of skulls and drank the blood of kittens. Mercifully, his tyrannical reign came to an end in 1944 the way all tyrant reigns end; with his death.”
— 11 Baseball Legends Who Were Legendary Assholes by Chris Morgan
… It’s worth mentioning that the white secretary who Jack Johnson was tried for transferring over state lines was his girlfriend (and future wife). Thanks to that mountainous dick of a judge, Johnson got to serve over a year in prison.
Marge Schott
Instead of trying to condense this idiot’s lunacy myself, I’ll just leave it to Wiki:
On November 13, 1992, Charles “Cal” Levy, a former marketing director for the Reds, stated in a deposition for Tim Sabo, a former employee, who was suing the team that he’d heard Schott refer to then-Reds outfielders Eric Davis and Dave Parker as “million-dollar niggers.”[3] Sabo, whose position was “team controller,” alleged that his 1991 firing was due to testifying against her in another lawsuit brought against Schott by several limited partners and because he opposed the unwritten policy of not hiring blacks.
Levy, who is Jewish, alleged that Schott kept a Nazi swastika armband at her home and claims he overheard her say “sneaky goddamn Jews are all alike.”[3] The next day, Schott issued a statement saying the claims of racism levied against her were overstated and that she did not mean to offend anyone with her statement or her ownership of the armband.
On November 29, Schott said the “million dollar niggers” comment was made in jest, but then stated that she felt that Adolf Hitler was initially good for Germany and did not understand how the epithet “Jap” could be offensive.
During the same season, a former Oakland Athletics executive assistant, Sharon Jones, is quoted in the New York Times as having overheard Schott state: “I would never hire another nigger. I’d rather have a trained monkey working for me than a nigger,” before the start of an owners’ conference call.[4]
A four-man committee was convened to investigate Schott. On February 3, 1993, she was fined $250,000 and banned from day-to-day operations of the Reds for the 1993 season. John Allen took over as managing partner. Schott returned to work on November 1.
On May 18, 1994, during a speech before the Ohio County Treasurers Association, Schott commented that she did not want her players to wear earrings because “only fruits wear earrings.”[5]
In 1995, Schott famously announced in the middle of the season that manager Davey Johnson would not return, regardless of how well the Reds did. By all accounts, this was because of a personality clash between Johnson and Schott. Most notably, Schott did not approve of Johnson living with his fiancée before they were married later in the year.[6] The Reds won the division (before losing the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 0), and Johnson was fired anyway. The Reds have had only three winning seasons since then.
Schott was the target of frequent criticism for allegedly allowing her infamous St. Bernards, Schottzie and Schottzie 02, near complete free rein of Riverfront Stadium. This apparently included their defecating on the field.[2]
Schott was known for not wanting to hire scouts, stating that “all they ever do is watch baseball games,”[2] and wanting not to post scores of other games on the Riverfront Stadium scoreboard. Schott said of the scoreboard issue, “Why do [fans] care about one game when they’re watching another?” although the root cause was the $350 monthly cost of doing so.[2]
On an airplane, Marge Schott was approached by a woman who introduced herself as Edd Roush’s granddaughter. Schott then replied, “That’s nice hon, what business is he in?” Roush is a Hall of Fame center fielder who had many of his greatest years with the Reds.[7]
Schott’s downfall began on April 1, 1996. As Cincinnati is the home of Major League Baseball’s oldest professional team, the Reds traditionally played the first game of the season at home. In 1996, they played the Montreal Expos. The weather was cold and blustery and it had snowed earlier in the day.
Shortly after the game started, home plate umpire John McSherry called a time out and motioned towards the Reds dugout, it was later presumed, for medical attention. After taking a few steps, McSherry collapsed and fell to the artificial turf face first. Attempts to resuscitate McSherry failed and he was pronounced dead at University Hospital about an hour later. The other umpires decided to postpone the game until the next day. Video showed Schott visibly upset that the game was to be postponed; reportedly she groused: “Snow this morning and now this. I don’t believe it. I feel cheated. This isn’t supposed to happen to us, not in Cincinnati. This is our history, our tradition, our team. Nobody feels worse than me.”[8]
Schott reportedly offended major league umpires in general — and members of McSherry’s crew specifically — by regifting a bouquet of flowers given to her, adding a sympathy note and sending it on to the funeral home.[2]
During the team’s next homestand, Schott attempted to smooth over the feud with the umpires, apologizing to them–despite none of them being in attendance at the game in question, only to have them refuse the gesture.[2]
On May 5, 1996, Schott once again made statements favorable of Adolf Hitler, whom she believed “was good in the beginning, but went too far.”[2] In response, Major League Baseball again banned Schott from day-to-day operations through 1998. Later in the month, Schott was quoted in Sports Illustrated as speaking in a “cartoonish Japanese accent” while describing her meeting with the prime minister of Japan.[2] Further, she said that she did not like Asian-American kids “outdoing our kids” in high school.
——-
Fortunately for all citizens of Earth, she’s goddamn dead now.
An old classic. Skip to 2:20 for the action.
