Tyler Mass at Bugs and Cranks stumbled upon a death threat that was delivered to the great Red Sox hurler Smoky Joe Wood during his outstanding 1912 season. He has the letter -- complete with tons of typos -- reproduced over at B&C today. It’s something to behold. Given that Wood lived until 1985, it’s safe to say that the conspirators were not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
No word on whether Smoky Joe Wood called the mother of the guy who wrote it and asked about why there was such a distinct lack of civility among postal-net in those days.