MovieChat Forums > 42 (2013) Discussion > Who was that racist Phillies coach in r...

Who was that racist Phillies coach in real life?

posted 11 years ago by Namaaryk
9 replies | jump to latest

I am watching the film now and loving it a lot. I wonder what his reaction in real life was like when he saw what became of JR later in life.

[–] ZevII 11 years ago

I referred to this on an earlier thread, but The Atlantic had a good story on Ben Chapman and how his harassment of Robinson followed him through his life.

He became friends with ex-Negro League player Piper Davis, who said, "Ben really was a different man in his later years—he acknowledged the error of his old ways."

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/04/what-really-h appened-to-ben-chapman-the-racist-baseball-player-in-i-42-i/274995/

[–] Namaaryk 11 years ago

Nice article, thanks for sharing.

Doing it to Di Magio and all the other white players does not justify that much vulgarity and outright bigotry.

[–] herbsuperb 11 years ago

The man was clearly a bit behind the times in his feelings towards people that weren't exactly like him. This is true. But from what I've read about him he was a hell of a ballplayer.

Seems he more or less reformed his attitudes later in life. Glad to see it. Most racist people are simply ignorant. Ignorance is not in and of itself a crime. Some however, willfully refuse to change. They should be shunned. It just ain't right.

[–] fnj2002 11 years ago

Nevertheless, ignorance which lies within the capacity of the subject to ameliorate (and that is the vast bulk of ignorance) represents a betrayal of every person's most solemn duty: the duty to inform and improve oneself.

It's another way of saying the duty to learn is more fundamental than the duty to teach.

[–] ceebeegee 11 years ago

his harassment of Robinson followed him through his life.

Yep.. That's his legacy; that's why he's known. Good. I'm glad people forgot about his playing--his behavior was so egregiously awful, I'm glad it overshadowed everything else. Racist POS. When your behavior is so awful it generates headlines, you're basically a terrible person and his foot shuffling "juss kiddin'" nonsense later on is no excuse.

[–] TheMociety 11 years ago

Very interesting article. Didn't know much about Ben Chapman until I read that.

If you're not taking any steps forward, you're not moving at all.

[–] ndirish5567 11 years ago

Ben never stopped being racist, he just got older. He did that stuff his entire career. Hell, he used to salute the fans up in New York with Nazi poses. Started a huge brawl at a game spiking a player where the stands started to empty. He just tried to get under everyones' skin.

He never backed off what he did to Jackie. He claimed he "mellowed" a bit, but he didn't. Just liked to piss people off.

[–] esskayess 10 years ago

(Wikipedia) In an interview with journalist Ray Robinson in the 1980s, Chapman stated, "A man learns about things and mellows as he grows older. I think that maybe I've changed a bit. Maybe I went too far in those days. But I always went along with the bench jockeying, which has always been part of the game. Maybe I was rougher at it than some other players. I thought that you could use it to upset and weaken the other team. It might give you an advantage. The world changes." Reflecting on the success of his son, then coaching black players on an integrated football team, "Look, I'm real proud I've raised my son different. And he gets along well with them. They like him. That's a nice thing, don't you think?"

My own grandfather was a racist to his dying day, but he acknowledged near the end that he wished he hadn't been raised to hate others the way he was. I've known people, both black and white, who have managed to overcome the hatred that they were ingrained with from childhood.

[–] 10 years ago

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