Just between the chalked lines, folks.

August 29, 2005 10:56 PM

It was 100 years ago today. Tyrus Raymond Cobb, humanitarian and/or killer, argubly the most talented man to play Major League Baseball, appeared in his first game for the Detroit Tigers. It was just three weeks after Cobb's mother shot to death his father.
posted by ?! (14 comments total)

Very interesting man. Thanks.
posted by callmejay at 11:18 PM on August 29, 2005

Excellent post. Ty Cobb. Detroit. Awesome.
posted by joe lisboa at 12:06 AM on August 30, 2005

It was 100 years ago today, Tyrus Raymond Cobb came to play
posted by Satapher at 12:21 AM on August 30, 2005

Wow. That Freep.com link is a great story. Thanks ?!. Like others, I have always known about Cobb, but I never realized just what his impact was on the sport.
posted by lampshade at 1:34 AM on August 30, 2005

Cobb was an amazing baseball talent, but he was well known as one of the meanest ornery bastards in existence to those that knew him. There was even a film about his nasty later years. Cobb was one of my childhood heros, warts and all. Whenever I played ball, I would always try and steal bases like Cobb did - by trying to hurt the baseman. It worked.
If you want nice, try Honus Wagner.
posted by zaelic at 3:20 AM on August 30, 2005

I never realized how much about Cobb had been debunked. Hmm... I wonder if there are any decent books about him...
posted by klangklangston at 6:34 AM on August 30, 2005

Photo of Cobb hurting a baseman. Some of his records. He stole home 54 times, including stealing first, second, and home in the same inning four times.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:13 AM on August 30, 2005

Great post! And zaelic, I too was put off by the film and the book it was based on, but it seems most of the bad stuff therein was either exaggerated or made up by the author, who (understandably after having to spend months with the cantankerous old man) was out to get him. He was nasty and hard to be around, but not the monster he's made out to be. And he did a lot more for people than most ballplayers, endowing a hospital complex and scholarship program.
posted by languagehat at 8:46 AM on August 30, 2005

"Cobb is a prick. But God, can that man hit." - Babe Ruth.
posted by jonmc at 9:15 AM on August 30, 2005

On a silly note, I named my cat Cobb, after Ty.
posted by Emperor Yamamoto's Eggs at 3:42 PM on August 30, 2005

"Ty Cobb wanted to play here, but none of us could stand the son-of-a-bitch while we were alive, so we told him to stick it!"

--Shoeless Joe Jackson, Field of Dreams
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:48 PM on August 30, 2005

I like the post, but I was surprised that the last three links had nothing to do with Cobb's mother shooting his father.
posted by JanetLand at 8:43 AM on August 31, 2005

Thank you. I like to throw in a surprise now and then. The story of Ma shooting Pa was told in the four-part series. You can jump right to it in the middle of part four.
posted by ?! at 1:37 PM on August 31, 2005

Yeah, I found it once I shut up and kept reading, thanks. :)
posted by JanetLand at 5:25 AM on September 1, 2005