The author is a granddaughter of legendary ballplayer Ty Cobb, who was on the Tigers from 1905-26. After his death in 1961 at 74, biographer Al Stump wrote that Cobb was a racist and a dirty player. Cindy Cobb of New York, a Tigers loyalist, notes that author Charles Leerhsen later debunked those claims. This column responds to our Friday Morning Podcast, which said Cobb was a racist and discussed whether his Comerica Park statue should be removed.
By Cindy Cobb
Growing up in my house, author Al Stump was a poisonous name. If you know anything about Ty Cobb you will understand why.
I didn't know my granddad was famous until 1969, when our family attended the 100th Anniversary of Baseball celebration in Washington, D.C.
Cindy Cobb with Hank Aaron at Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown in July. The photo she holds shows Aaron and Cobb.
Yogi Berra was the only player I recognized as I roamed the grand lobby of the Sheraton Park Hotel, collecting autographs from anyone wearing a tuxedo. Prized moments that weekend were meeting Satchel Paige, seeing Joe DiMaggio at the All-Star Game and having breakfast with Casey Stengel. My mother sat next to Jesse Owens at dinner and dad gathered more autographs in the bar, Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle among others.
Fast forward to 2015. One day, a Ty Cobb historian called me and said a biography was about to be released, Charles Leerhsen's "Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty," and that I would "really like it."
Many books have been written about granddad, most of which II put down quickly. Mr. Leerhsen's book was different and I finished it front to back.
Myths Take Shape
He approached his project knowing Ty had a "reputation." During four years of research, he discovered how it came about.
After Ty's death, his image became an opposite extreme. A false narrative began to take place. People started loving an "evil" Ty Cobb. Family tragedy, sharpening spikes, base stealing, dead ball days, racist notions, etc., became the stuff of legend.
The catalyst to this myth making can be attributed to Ty's 1961 biographer, Al Stump. Writers and producers thereafter, did not check facts.
The public began to look down on Ty Cobb, thinking they had more self-control, their character was better and they certainly were not racist like the Southerner born in 1886 -- the most devastating notion of all to me.
Cindy Cobb at Comerica Park in September 2016: "Ty Cobb was not thought of as a racist to those who knew him." (Photo by Dave Mesrey)
Some may be surprised to learn that Ty was descended from a long line of abolitionists:
- His great-grandfather was a minister run out of town for preaching against slavery.
- His grandfather was an anti-slavery Republican, a conscientious objector to the Civil War.
- Ty's beloved father was an educator, and state senator who fully supported his black constituents, and once broke up a lynch mob.
Not an ordinary Southern background.
Ceremonial Pitch in Hamtramck
In 1930, a middle-aged white man from Georgia took a train to Detroit to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to open Hamtramck Stadium (a Negro League stadium).
In 1953, that same man once commented about the integration of baseball: "The Negro should be accepted wholeheartedly, and not grudgingly, and who's to say he should not? The Negro has the right to play pro ball."
He once said to Charlie Grimm, "What I like about Hank Aaron is his hitting and his mannerism at the plate has really impressed me. Give him a try, Charlie."
That same man thought the ballplayer Willie Mays was most like himself.
The man was Ty Cobb.
Revealing Character Traits
There are many other stories of the kind and gentlemanly Ty Cobb. He protected the Tigers' batboy from racial segregation on trains and hotels, and kept him employed during the off-season. His assistant for many years, Alex Rivers, admired him and he named his son Tyrus Rivers. You could find him in the dugout at Negro League games and see his autograph on baseballs among Negro League players.
His crowning achievement was the founding of a hospital, and endowment of an educational fund to support fellow Georgians.
Ty Cobb was not thought of as a racist to those who knew him and had firsthand experiences.
He did not live his life with racial overtones. The real Cobb and the mythical Cobb are two different people. The truth was extremely exaggerated and is mostly buried in the past. As the old line goes: "If the legend beats the facts, print the legend."
As a granddaughter, I often say the truth is much more interesting when it comes to Ty Cobb. I hope this has shed some light on his human side.
Cindy Cobb, 60, is the daughter of the late Jimmy Cobb -- youngest of the Tigers great’s five children.
