System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Ty Cobb
December 18, 1886 - July 17, 1961
Tyrus Raymond Cobb was born December 18, 1886. He ranks as one of Baseball's greatest players. Ty Cobb grew up in the post Civil War South where racism was the norm. What shaped Tys' personality more than anything was an incident that happened when he was just 18, just a few sparse weeks before he joined the Tigers. His mother fatally shot his father outside her bedroom window. It was thought that she mistook him for a burglar; others whispered that he suspected her of infidelity. Either way, the killing of a Father who he dearly loved and admired spurred Cobb to become the fiercest competitor in baseball history.
Nicknamed “The Georgia Peach”, he hit .300 or better every year from 1906 to 1928 and won the AL batting championship every year from 1907 to 1915 and from 1917 to 1919. One of Tys' best friends in the sport was Christy Mathewson! Ty went out of his way to serve with him in the Chemical Warfare Unit (also known as the Gas and Flame Division) during World War I. When Mathewson died in 1925, it was said that Cobb broke down in tears.
Many myths revolve around the Cobb mystique. Cobb always said that he never sharpened his spikes, but also never denied it to opposing players. The alleged Honus Wagner "Kraut Head Incident" in the 1909 World Series was a fabrication of the press. There is no account of the incident in the Newspapers of that time! Ty had a vicious temper and there has come to light recently that domestic violence was common in the Cobb household. The incident where he beat an invalid man, Claude Lucker, at Hilltop Park in 1912 is very well documented. What most people don't know is that the crowd at Hilltop Park cheered Cobb after he beat the man.
Besides being a great ball player, he was very shrewd with money, becoming baseball’s first millionaire. He bought Coca-Cola and automobile stock and built a fortune.. Ty Cobb became the first player voted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1936. He died from cancer on July 7th, 1961, five months shy of his 75th birthday.
His career totals were 3, 035 Games Played, 4, 189 Hits, 2, 246 Runs, 117 Home Runs, 1, 938 RBIS, 12 batting titles, three .400 seasons, 892 career stolen bases, including a then record 96 steals in 1915, and a lifetime .366 Batting Average, which is still the record for a career BA. He is buried in Royston Cemetery, Royston, Hart County, Georgia.
