Ruining someone’s name is very easy. So is calling them a “racist.” Take the case of Ty Cobb, one of the greatest baseball players ever. Cobb is known as a racist and a dirty ballplayer. Is it true? Charles Leerhsen, author of “Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty” sets the record straight.

And given the beating Cobb’s reputation suffered at the hands of people with an agenda, the story of his besmirchment is an object lesson which applies broadly.