Biggest Jerks in the HOF

[brewing]

I get tired of the Cobb bashing and the incident of beating a handicap man is always brought up. He may have been an a$$hole and I believe he was a racist. I don't believe he had the market cornered on bad traits. Al Stump did a number on him and it perpetuates the ill will toward him.

Facts are we really don't know all his views or all the bad and good things he may have done. I would wager we know more about the good stuff Babe Ruth did and less about the bad stuff Ruth did.

I am not saying because other people were bad it excuses Cobb. What I am saying is for the vast majority of MLBers, we do not know the level of jerks they were or are.

Elvis once sang "walk a mile in my shoes".


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[6-4-3memorabilia]

I don't get mad at players unless they kill or beat up people. They are human and if they blow off some fans for autographs I don't think it is fair to judge them on that. I know I would get tired of it when people are always bothering me asking for autographs or taking pictures esp if I am living my private life. I feel a little bad for players today, they cant be normal out in public. I used to work for Party City and Michael Strahan came in to buy stuff for his kids party. This was in 2009, I knew it was him off the bat and helped him like a normal customer although I did call him Mr. Strahan. After I helped him he thanked me for not making a big deal about him being there. He even tried to give me a $20 tip which I refused to take. I think fans try to pry into players private lives way too much today. As for jerks being in the HOF I am sure there are as many jerks in it just as you see jerks in your daily lives.

[Exhibitman]

I'm gonna go with Lawrence Taylor [until Ray Lewis is elected]:

In 2009, Taylor started having troubles in his personal life again. On November 8, he was arrested in Miami-Dade County, Florida for leaving the scene of an accident after striking another vehicle with his Cadillac Escalade. He had already committed the same offense in 1996 when he totaled his Lexus in a one-car accident and left the scene, saying he did not think the law required the reporting of a single driver incident. He was released on a $500 bond, and the other driver later sued him, seeking $15,000. He was arrested six months later for having sex with a 16-year-old girl. He was charged with felony third-degree statutory rape, for allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse with someone under 17. He was also charged with third-degree patronization for allegedly paying the underage girl $300 to have sex with him. Taylor pled guilty and on March 22, 2011 was sentenced to six years probation as part of a plea agreement, in which he pled guilty to the misdemeanors of sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute. He will also have to register as a low-risk level one sex offender.

[vintagetoppsguy]

From personal experiences:

Baseball: Joe DiMaggio
Football: Tony Dorsett

[Jim65]

If we are talking about criminal activity, it doesn't get much worse than OJ Simpson.

[Duluth Eskimo]

As far as a jerk goes, cast my vote for Say Hey Willie Mays. I have met and spent time with many HOFers, but no one was worse than Mays.

[Jayworld]

Originally Posted by Duluth Eskimo

As far as a jerk goes, cast my vote for Say Hey Willie Mays. I have met and spent time with many HOFers, but no one was worse than Mays.

+1. I've met him, too. At an Equitable Old Timers game in the 1980s. He was the ONLY old time player that did not attend the pre-game meet/greet at the hotel, and the only one before the game that would not acknowledge anyone at the batting cages. I was told by my friend who was an Equitable rep that Mays would not be invited back.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Originally Posted by Jim65

If we are talking about criminal activity, it doesn't get much worse than OJ Simpson.

I thought the "glove didn't fit"?

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Jim65

If we are talking about criminal activity, it doesn't get much worse than OJ Simpson.

Heh, I forgot all about The Juice. How much of an idiot do you have to be to get the verdict of a lifetime on a murder rap then go off and try to strongarm someone? He deserves a long prison sentence for being felony stupid.

[djson1]

The athletic world (not just the HoF) is FULL of jerks, racists, haters, etc. You have to guess that these guys are so Type A and just look out for #1, that they don't care a lick about anybody else. Truly nice guys are rare, but there are some great nice ones too (too many to list).

I'm still hoping that all those rumors of great baseball players like Speaker and Hornsby (maybe even Cronin) being associated with the KKK are not true (that would make them real big jerks!). Many of these are based on rumors, according to my research, but some are convinced that they did have ties. That would be disappointing as I admire Tris Speaker and Hornsby as the best of the best. BTW, wasn't Enos Slaughter a big racist jerk? Plus, his numbers weren't even that great.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by djson1

The athletic world (not just the HoF) is FULL of jerks, racists, haters, etc. You have to guess that these guys are so Type A and just look out for #1, that they don't care a lick about anybody else. Truly nice guys are rare, but there are some great nice ones too (too many to list).

I'm still hoping that all those rumors of great baseball players like Speaker and Hornsby (maybe even Cronin) being associated with the KKK are not true (that would make them real big jerks!). Many of these are based on rumors, according to my research, but some are convinced that they did have ties. That would be disappointing as I admire Tris Speaker and Hornsby as the best of the best. BTW, wasn't Enos Slaughter a big racist jerk? Plus, his numbers weren't even that great.

As I understood the KKK stuff, there were some parts of the country where membership was extremely widespread and considered almost respectable among the general population of whites. At least one Supreme Court justice [Hugo Black] was a KKK member in the 1920s, joining because he felt he needed the KKK vote to win elective office in Alabama. His record on the bench and as an employer of law clerks did not jibe with a racist viewpoint.

As for Slaughter, there was a highly publicized incident [as shown in 42] when he spiked Jackie Robinson but he [Slaughter] always denied it was racial and in his 'defense' it is true that he injured numerous white ballplayers with his spikes and was widely known as one of the dirtiest players in the game, so whether he was being his normal self or a racist is by no means clear.

As a guest a card shows I always experienced him as one of the good ones, happy to be there, willing to chat and accommodate fans, etc. I got this one at a show about 20 years ago:

[packs]

In my opinion accepted or not there have been pro-racial equality sentiments in sports just as long as there have been anti-racial equality sentiments. Everyone had a choice.

Personally I don't believe Slaughter had racist motives and he's always denied it. But I think excusing someone's actions because of their background or because of the general population's views minimizes the act.

[refz]

I'll agree with DiMaggio and as far as non hof, ron guidry was very obnoxious in person.