His new wife was 40-year-old Frances Fairbairn Cass, a divorce from Buffalo, New York. Upon his retirement he held career records for games played (3,035), at bats (11,434), runs (2,246), hits (4,189), total bases (5,854), and batting average (.366). Simon & Schuster Publishing. All told, Cobb went 479-444 (.519) and is credited with helping the development of Tigers hitters, most notably future Hall of Famer Harry Heilmann. The following year, 1906, Cobb became the Tigers' full-time center fielder and hit .316 in 98 games, setting a record for the highest batting average (minimum 310 plate appearances) for a 19-year-old (later bested by Mel Ott's .322 average in 124 games for the 1928 New York Giants). [5] Speaker signed with the Washington Senators for 1927, and Cobb with the Philadelphia Athletics. He later served as the Director of Baseballs Hall-of-Fame from 1952 to 1963 and might be considered a reliable source. The following day Cobb hit two more homeruns and was 3 for 6 at the plate . . I often tried plays that looked recklessly daring, maybe even silly. After spending time in the South Atlantic League and with some semipro teams, Cobb joined the Detroit Tigers in 1905. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. Born on Dec. 18, 1886 in Narrows, Ga., Cobb grew up with a demanding father who would accept nothing but success. The Detroit Tigers star was a 12-time AL batting champion, the 1911 AL MVP and 1909 Triple Crown winner. Yeah, the game was a little different back then. During 1917 spring training, Cobb showed up late for a Dallas spring training doubleheader against the New York Giants because of a golf outing. She saw the silhouette of what she presumed to be an intruder and, acting in self-defense, shot and killed her husband. Even without gaudy homerun totals, Cobb was the very definition of a great baseball player. Brock had pulled within one theft of the mark four days earlier in St. Louis, when he stole two bases against the Giants . When it was reported that Nap Lajoie had won the batting title, Crawford was alleged to have been one of several Tigers who sent a telegram to Lajoie congratulating him on beating Cobb. The Detroit star didnt think it took a lot of talent to hit home runs and was convinced that his way of playing the game was vastly superior. [120] He was a major stockholder in the Coca-Cola Corporation, which by itself would have made him wealthy. [42] Mrs. Cobb was charged with murder and then released on a $7,000 recognizance bond. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Ty Cobb baseball stats page. He was instrumental in helping Joe DiMaggio negotiate his rookie contract with the New York Yankees. Cobb ignored Jackson when Jackson tried to say anything to him. "The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money and that's it. [50], As a rookie, Cobb was subject to severe hazing by his veteran teammates, who were jealous of the young prospect. This game went 17 innings to a tie, and a few days later, we clinched our first pennant. [5] Speaker denied any wrongdoing.[5]. [82][83], During his career, Cobb was involved in numerous other fights, both on and off the field, and several profanity-laced shouting matches. SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research) (seconded by John Thorn and Pete Palmer, among others), the Baseball Almanac, and ESPN credit Cobb with 4,189 hits in 11,434 at-bats. Cobb sets long-standing record of 96 stolen bases in single season: 1915: Becomes highest paid player in baseball: 1916 . 7. [60] In 1908, Cobb attacked a black laborer in Detroit who complained when Cobb stepped into freshly poured asphalt; Cobb was found guilty of battery, but the sentence was suspended. Ty Cobb Biography - life, family, children, parents, wife, school, book [171] Thus, for many years, Cobb's lifetime batting average was reported as .367, but rigorous research of source documents late 20th century found that this is wrong, as some games had been reported wrongly:[172][173]. As a result, Cobb's career total now stands at 897. After one game in which the Tigers fielded a team of semipro and amateur players, Cobbs suspension was reduced to 10 days. [161] Following Campanella's accident that left him paralyzed, the Dodgers staged a tribute game where tens of thousands of spectators silently held lit matches above their heads. Cobb did not get another opportunity to play on a pennant-winning team. He hit .400 three times. Tyrus Raymond Cobb was born December 18, 1886 to William Herschel Cobb and Amanda Chitwood Cobb in Narrows, Georgia. "[58], Despite great success on the field, Cobb was no stranger to controversy off it. Reserve your tickets, map your route, and work out all the details for your arrival in Cooperstown. Cobb sat out the final two games of the season in order to preserve his slim lead. Cobb definitely played aggressively and was an abrasive brawler with a quick temper. "[168], When asked about the feud, Cobb attributed it to envy. Some are still standing. Find out more. [55][56] He finished the 1907 season with a league-leading .350 batting average, 212 hits, 49 steals and 119 runs batted in (RBI). Inside the Baseball Hall of Fame. In fact, he had saved money by hiring Cobb to both play and manage. He was fined $50.[91]. On August 30, 1905, in his first major league at bat, he doubled off Jack Chesbro of the New York Highlanders. John McCallum spent some time with Cobb to write a combination how-to and biography titled The Tiger Wore Spikes: An Informal Biography of Ty Cobb that was published in 1956. Lucker, described by baseball historian Frank Russo as "a Tammany Hall lackey and two-bit punk," often berated Cobb when Detroit visited New York. Leerhsen speculates that this was just another one of Schmidt's assaults on Cobb and that once discovered, Schmidt made up a story that made him sound like he had assaulted Cobb for a noble purpose. For example, Cobb and umpire Billy Evans arranged to settle their in-game differences through fisticuffs under the grandstand after the game. He was divorced on the grounds of cruel treatment, he was reviled by other players and even teammates, and he was an alcoholic. Ty Cobb was born on Saturday, December 18, 1886, in Narrows, Georgia. Not only does Cobbs career batting average record still stand, but the last time anybody hit .366 or higher in a single season was Ichiro Suzuki way back in 2004. "I let this go for a while because I wanted to satisfy myself that Cobb has as much guts as I thought in the very beginning," Jennings recalled. He accomplished the feat four times during his career, still an MLB record as of 2022.