Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "
The Georgia Peach," was an
American Major League Baseball (MLB)
outfielder. He was born in rural
Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the
Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's
player-manager, and finished his career with the
Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936 Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural
Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes.
Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career.
[1][2][3][4] He still holds several records as of the end of the 2013 season, including the highest
career batting average (.366 or .367, depending on source) and most career
batting titles with 11 (or 12, depending on source).
[5] He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career
hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source),
[6][7] most career
runs (2,245 or 2,246 depending on source) until 2001,
[8] most career
games played (3,035) and
at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974,
[9][10] and the
modern record for most career
stolen bases (892) until 1977.
[11] He still holds the career record for stealing home (54 times) and as the youngest player to compile 4,000 hits and score 2,000 runs. Cobb ranks fifth all-time in number of games played and committed 271
errors, the most by any
American League (AL) outfielder.
Cobb's legacy as an athlete has sometimes been overshadowed by his surly temperament, racism, and aggressive playing style,[12] which was described by the Detroit Free Press as "daring to the point of dementia."[13]Cobb himself wrote shortly before his death, "In legend I am a sadistic, slashing, swashbuckling despot who waged war in the guise of sport."[14] Cobb was notorious for sliding into bases feet first, with his spikes high.[15][16]
Cobb's legacy, which includes a college scholarship fund for Georgia residents financed by his early investments in Coca-Cola and General Motors, has been tarnished by allegations of racism and violence.[17][18] Cobb's reputation as an extremely violent man was fanned by his first biographer,
sportswriter Al Stump (whose views have been partially discredited as sensationalized and, in some part, fictional)
[19] while Cobb's views on race evolved and mellowed after his retirement from baseball.
[18] The
Tommy Lee Jones movie,
Cobb details the writing of Stump's biography of Mr. Cobb
