Cobb: A Biography

by Al Stump

As a boy in the 1890s he went looking for thrills, jumping off barn roofs and walking tightropes in a rural Georgia that still burned with humiliation from the Civil War. As an old man in the 1960s he dared death, careening drunk along icy roads late at night; he picked fights, refused to take his medicine, and drove off all his friends and admirers. He went to his deathbed alone, clutching a loaded pistol and a bag containing millions of dollars worth of cash and securities.
During the years in between, he became, according to the author of this new biography, "the most shrewd, inventive, lurid, detested, mysterious, and superb of all baseball players." He was Ty Cobb.
In Cobb, author Al Stump tells how he was given a fascinating window into the Georgia Peach's life and times when the dying Cobb hired him in 1960 to ghost-write his autobiography.
From those months with Cobb came Cobb's 1961 My Life in Baseball, a carefully sanitized justification of Cobb's life and career that was published shortly after the Hall-of-Famer's death. But much of what Cobb told him, and the darker side of Cobb's life, went unreported and untold. Until now.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir

464 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is an absolute disgrace. Al Stump was a reprehensible scumbag who unfortunately did not live long enough to be held fully accountable for his brutal distortion of the facts surrounding Ty Cobb's life in this biography. Thanks to the good work of folks at SABR, Stump has been exposed, but unfortunately the book continues to have a wide circulation. Ty Cobb was in no way a saint, but this garbage heap of a biography is far worse than he ever was.

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent baseball book! Ty Cobb was a magnificent ballplayer without a doubt but as for his personal life, well let's just say he had many, many issues. I would recommend this one.

[Gerry · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has been debunked along with the myths and 1/2 truths perpetrated by the Author for his own personal reasons. I am effectively changing my outlook on this book on 31 July 2018 as a result of the book of by Charles Leerhsen "Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty." I would recommend persons interested in baseball or Ty Cobb read this book however before reading the Leerhsen work to gain a perspective on the truth that was conducted with extensive research. I was "hoodwinked" by the Al Stump book but feel compelled to keep my original review in tact.


***Below is my original review of 26 January 2013***

Ty Cobb - what is to be said? Quite an American who was by far a better baseball player than he was husband and father. He was thought to have "brain fever" a condition to which could only explain his mad fits of behavior both on and off the field of play. His existence, his actions, his feelings, his life is a clear example of "Ying and Yang" - what is bad is not all bad and what is or seems good is not all good. With less than 5 months left to live he tore up his Last Will and Testament and left 75% of this to his three surviving children and all of his grandchildren to split. His other 25% was left to what he started as the Ty Cobb Education Fund. The fund is designed to asssist children of Georgia the chance to go to college - there are strict requirements in this area; however to date the fund has provided more than $13M+ to young people in the pursuit of their educational needs. While his antics on the field were questionable at times one thing can't be taken from him and this would be his lasting impact on the game. His shrewd ability to work his own contracts over the years and testimony to the U.S. Senate on the need for free agency was the genesis for what would occur in MLB in the mid 1970s beginning with Catfish Hunter becoming the first benefactor of changes that were called for back in the early to mid 1920s.

Al Stump did a great job with this book, beginning of course by being the ghost writer to the autobiography that was released just after Cobb's death in 1961. There are parts within this book to which you will laugh and yet there are other parts that you will likely raise an eyebrow toward, and even still there are parts that you will find sad. I couldn't put this book down and when I finished the last few pages during the course of a somewhat very busy weekend having awoken during the night from sleeplessness I found myself saying goodbye to a person that could have been a friend to me in a different time of America. I sort of felt I was losing a friend as I closed the cover.

As a guy who loves NHL Hockey - this MLB book and history is a part of the sports mistress I hold close to my heart. This is the sort of history I look for and desire - Cobb is to baseball what Patton was to Army. He becomes a side note of importance that cannot be denied but represents the sort of history that many like to ignore and pretend didn't exist. Somehow people just think on occassion that the current existence of sports contracts and military rules and regulations just sort of "arrive" and are in place by an omniscient group of owners, league, commissioner, or group of high ranking military officials that just seem to "know" the answers for the future need - in the end these decision makers too are merely just people.

Ty Cobb's lasting legacy is the education fund - there are many other great names and/or "better" players who have long since retired that cannot say even this. A great book, a great American, a person who had his flaws but made peace in the end and realized his mistakes of his own character.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Cobb was the greatest baseball player. He was also a person with serious warts. This unsympathetic biography exposes both sides of the man. I enjoyed reading about the early days of baseball and the old-time players like Walter Johnson and Tris Speaker. The professional rivalry between Mr. Cobb and Babe Ruth is given a lot of attention. If you miss baseball in the off-season, like I do, this memoir might help you to get through it until spring training opens.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al Stump was Ty Cobb's ghost-writer when Cobb put together his autobiography in 1961 just before he died. Over 30 years later, Stump wrote COBB to tell his side of the story. It was an interesting book about one of the most complex characters ever to play baseball. While Cobb's autobiography leaves you feeling somewhat sympathetic towards him, this book paints Cobb with a darker brush. However, recent baseball historians have come to discredit Stump himself and have argued that a number of his accounts are false or exaggerated. I suppose baseball history buffs will have to wait for someone to write the definitive unbiased book about Ty Cobb. I would have given the book four stars, but considering the controversy surrounding the author, maybe just three. Still an interesting look into early 20th century baseball.

[Steve Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is somewhat difficult to rate. it is an absolutely brilliant story on just how completely messed-up Ty Cobb was. According to the book, Cobb is essentially a psychotic, evil lunatic with almost no friends or loved ones at all in life. I always knew Cobb was a jerk within the baseball diamond, but how he treated his wife and children is much worse. He was a great player of course and perhaps the best of all-time. It is interesting to read about Cobb's knowledge of the game and how to win at baseball before the homerun was much of a factor. An undercurrent in the book is the battle between Babe Ruth versus Ty Cobb and the emerging of the longball versus the deadball era of how the game would be played. The book is scary and at times outright funny regarding how racist, psychotic and pure evil Cobb could be. Indeed there seems to be zero happiness in Cobb's life, which of course is a shame and ends up humanizing him somewhat at the end. That and the issue of his mother shooting and killing his father/her husband (either accidently or intentionally) just weeks before the young Cobb would begin his major league career. Strange times indeed. The book is difficult to accurately judge because some (such as an article in Smithsonian.com) have gone to lengths to discredit the accuracy of Stump's book. I am an agnostic on that issue, but I have the faith of the infinite that Ty Cobb was one messed up dude. But a super baseball player.

[Signor Ugarte · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the subject of the "Georgia Peach" is one that should interest most avid baseball fans. Coupled with the fact that at the time this was considered the definitive biography of Ty Cobb, and basis for a very mediocre movie based on this telling. A modicum of research will show that this author and his story have been totally discredited. Al Stump was an extremely dishonest individual and one that sought to profit on the unprecedented access and trust he was given to the last days of the life of one of the most famous athletes in American sports history. Like him or not Ty Cobb was an icon of the first part of the 20th century. No question he was flawed but his later years were hardly the "horror show" that Al Stump claimed them to be. In the baseball world Stump is known as nothing but a two-bit charlatan that took advantage of a famous wealthy dying man. The true story is definitely truly tragic, however Cobb is not the tragic figure in this story. If interest look for "The Georgia Peach: Stumped by the Storyteller" by William Cobb (not related to Ty). His evidence of Stump's fabrications, fraud, and willful deceit are beyond compelling and supported by many sources.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al Stump writes the definitive bioraphy of Ty Cobb.Stump makes some effort to demonstrate some positives regarding Cobb, but they are few and far between.He does make the point that Cobb is one of the greatest ball players ever.
But on the human side Cobb is portayed as violent, anti-social and self centered, he neglects his wife and children,is dispised my his fellow ball players.
He is a dispicable human but his portrayal is still fascinating. His background, how he became wealthy, some of the high profile people he had known personally such as presidents and a famous general. He was obsessed with winning, no matter the price. Like I said Cobb is a jerk, but at times you find yourself rooting for him because he is such a maverick, and just didn't care who he offended.
Cobb was into everything from golf, polo to big game hunting and fishing.
One of the aspects I enjoyed was learning about the early years of baseball, and it's many characters.

[Shane Paxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of details about Ty Cobb's life and baseball career and I learned a lot about him that I didn't know before. Complaints of the book is that organization of the story could've been better and jumped around a little bit on the timeline. Also a few of stories about Cobb seemed too outlandish to be considered true and it makes you wonder if the accusations against Al Stump are indeed true.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ty Cobb, the greatest of all ballplayers - and an absolute shit." - Ernest Hemingway.

Disappointed but unsurprised to find out this book was embellished and untrue. I enjoyed reading it immensely but had I known it wasn't true prior to starting I wouldn't have bothered. And then, (insult to injury) the movie is based on this book but also took liberties with the book. Oh my. I don't think anyone can sum up Cobb so succinctly as Hemingway so I will let that quote stand.

[Phil · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is ALL LIES - the stories you have heard about Cobb as a racist jerk, who was hated by all, all came from Al Stump. He completely made them up. If Cobb got in a fight, Stump made it "Cobb beat up a black man", even if the guy was white. Stump is the reason for the tommy lee jones movie, the reference in field of dreams, and everything else you think you "know" about him. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK

[Johnathon Robson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a complete work of fiction ,and it's a shame that so many people still believe that there is any fact in this book.

Al Stump was a disgrace that made a fortune off of lies, forgeries, and character assassination.

Do yourself a favor and read "Ty Cobb : A Terrible Beauty" by Charles Leerhsen for a more accurate experience ,and discover whom Ty Cobb truly was.

[Ted · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is complete fiction and is an inaccurate description of who Ty Cobb really was. Most of the stories are erroneous .Al Stump is a discrace. If you want a good read on Cobb try Charles Leerhsen’s book you will get a much better picture of the man.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the book some twenty years ago and thought it was great. Only lately have I found out it was full of vile calumnies. Am now reading Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leerhsen, which adheres more closely to the facts. It's also a great read......

[Christopher · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is extremely inaccurate due to the lack of integrity of its author . I would suggest only reading this book after researching its creator Al Stump . The reality of Stumps life is an interesting academic venture on it’s own . For an actual account of Cobb’s life look elsewhere .

[Jeffrey Pittman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This biography is a fraud, filled with false information. To se the real Ty Cobb, read Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty by Charles Leerhsen.

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really opened my eyes to the REAL Ty Cobb. Excellent book for any baseball fan.

[Benjamin Meyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stump was a fraud and this book is filled with lies and inaccuracies.

[Drew Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cobb was a real son of a bitch.

[Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cobb by Al Stump

Ernest Hemingway said that of Cobb that “It was like his brain was mis-wired so that the least damned thing would set him off,” To Harold Seymour, he was “temperamental, humorless, egocentric.”

Those lines sum up the gist of how the author reported on Cobb. It is essentially a hatchet job on Cobb, with no credit given for his other personality traits. I have read further on Al Stump and much of what he wrote is patently false or erroneous. So, if you read the book keep that in mind. It is still worth the read for the side stories about other players and personalities of his time. And of course Cobb’s statistics speak for them selves.

He was a fantastic player, as Stump clearly outlines in this biography. Still today Cobb’s stats – his career batting average, number of hits, stolen bases, batting titles, to mention but a few – defy believability, even though the outfielder played most of his career in the so-called dead ball era. The author shows that Cobb was essentially a scientific ballplayer, with an emphasis placed on precision hitting, sometimes-reckless base stealing and mental warfare waged against opponents and, others. Cobb was able to create antagonism on the diamond; trash talking was part of his repertoire long before it had a formal name, while his spikes-out slides frequently left opponents’ legs bloodied or worse. That said many will tell you that the use of his spikes was way over blown. Yes, he was aggressive, but there is no evidence – NONE – of his ever sharpening his spikes.

The author is harshly honest Cobb’s often unforgiveable, the author still manages to create some of sympathy for the Cobb. The having to cope with his father’s death – shot to death by Cobb’s mother under mysterious circumstances in 1905. Cobb never really got over that. He was very self-conscious about his flaws and didn’t take to criticism very well.He was a pioneer to today’s current baseball players . . . i.e. he invested and endorsed wisely, becoming a millionaire in the process (owned Coca Cola stock early on) he was an early challenger of baseball’s restrictive labor policies decades before free agency came about. Ty Cobb became a brand unto himself, with all the positive and negative connotations that brand brought.

I am aware that the author’s approach, bias and outright damning words about Cobb have been widely questioned. Especially by Charles Leerhsen, who wrote a book about Cobb. I hope to get that book and read it as well.

This book is like many books that are written about folks long gone, and few living witnesses remain, so you are free to write without fear of being directly challenged.

I would w rite a lot more, but simply do not have the time to do that. I rated it 3 stars, but it probably merits 4. Downgraded due to the fact that author filled the pages with a lot of unconfirmed information and Leerhsen has written a near rebuttal.

We can start with a line on page 37 . . .
On page 37 are the words written by the author “At Cobb’s durial, General Robert E. Lee said ‘Know ye not that prince and great man has fallen this day’” Lee died October 12, 1870 and Cobb died July 17, 1961

Not all people liked the tune “Dixie”, for Eddie Ainsmith wrote the following;
Away down south in the land of cotton
Where the sky is high
And the grounds are rotten,
Stay away, Stay away
Stay away, Stay away

Of the criticisms & allegations of Cobb, Babe Ruth who would have just as soon as punched Cobb in the nose as to speak on his behalf (Cobb and Tris Speaker was being sued for irregularities in the game), said “This is a lot of bull. I have never known squarer men than Cobb and Speaker. Cobb doesn’t like me and he’s as mean as (censored). But he is as clean as they come.”

On Cobb’s death the New York Evening Post said ”There has never been a player who brought such intelligence, audacity and ferocity to the game.” The New York Evening World said “Pitchers walk Ruth of trouble . . . if they dare give Cobb a base on balls, their troubles are just beginning.”

Ty Cobb’s .367 lifetime batting average

Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career. His combined total of 4,065 runs scored and runs batted in (after adjusting for home runs) is still the highest ever produced by any major league player.

He stole home 54 times!

"Cobb led the league twelve times in 13 years, three times with over . 400 averages, finished with a lifetime mark of . 367 and tops all hitters in total hits, runs, triples, total bases and stolen bases and you have the greatest player of them all!" BABE RUTH CONSIDERS TY COBB GREATEST PLAYER EVER. (Side note; He could have gone 0-for-his-last-2,541 and still had a .300 career average.)
Some consider Ty Cobb to the greatest pure hitter in MLB history. It's pretty difficult to argue with that statement as Cobb compiled an astounding 4,189 hits during his 24-year career. He accomplished that achievement by using bats of 34.5 inches in length and 36-40 ounces in weight.
He hit .300 in 23 consecutive seasons.

He struck out just twice in his career -39 seasons.

He received more Hall of Fame votes than Babe Ruth. And Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson, too. Those five legends made up the first class voted into the Hall on Jan. 29, 1936. A total of 226 ballots were cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, with 170 votes needed for election. Cobb was selected on all but four ballots cast, or 98.2%. Ruth and Wagner were checked on 215, or 95.1%. Mathewson was checked on 205 ballots, or 90.7%, and Johnson was checked on 189, or 83.6%.

Let's close with this;

To be clear, this story is apocryphal. If this was said at all, it may not even have been Cobb who said it (some versions attribute the quote to Lefty O’Doul, speaking about Cobb).
But anyway, as the story goes, in the year before his death, Cobb was asked by a reporter how he would fare in the modern game.
“I’d hit about .300,” Cobb said.
The reporter was aghast. Ty Cobb? Only hitting .300?
“You’ve got to remember,” Cobb added, “I’m 73 years old!”
Cobb left a large estate and fully 25% of it went to a the Cobb Educational Fund for poor but gifted college students in Georgia.

Sadly he died all alone on July 17, 1961 – of cancer. There were just three big league baseball men at his funeral; Mickey Cochrane, Ray Schalk, and Nap Rucker. Major League Baseball sent no one.

Ford Frick was commissioner of baseball at the time. Lacking any semblance of class.

My wife Shari and I visited his burial site many years ago and now I would like to return to visit the museum which was closed at the time.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cobb is a book about a famous old time baseball player named Ty Cobb. Ty Cobb was known for being a very dirty player and ornery person.In the book it is mentioned how he would sharpen the spikes on his cleats and slide with his cleat facing up and aiming to hit the second baseman's leg. Because of Ty Cobb being so ornery none of his fellow teammates liked him as a person, only respected his as a good player.Ty Cobb even stated "the honorable and honest Cobb blood... never will be subjected. It bows no worng nor to any man... the Cobbs have their ideals and God help anyone who strives to bend a Cobb away from such". He was a great hitter, having averages high in the .300 mark even at some points reaching .400, which is legendary.Ty Cobb had made a traumatic discovery that his father was killed by a shoutgun blast coming from his own mother. In the book the author Al Stump mentions how Ty Cobb was suspected for murder, but never was formally charged. Stump talks about Cobb being paid 150 dollars per game and how "it was precisely like Cobb to go after every loose nickel" (Stump 242), meaning how he wants exactly how much he was supposed to be paid. This book is mainly about the characteristics of Cobb and what he was like as a player and a person, it also mentions many of the things that occured during Ty Cobb's life.

[J.]

An excellent glimpse into a very complex personality--the best ballplayer who ever lived and an absolute monster of a human being.

I read this, along with two other biographies of Cobb, for research into a novel I recently completed. While all three presented the facts (each confirming the other two), Al Stump perhaps took a more journalistic approach, without sharing much of an opinion on his feelings of Cobb for good or bad.

This, by the way, is the book upon which the movie Cobb, starring Tommy Lee Jones in the title character is based. A fine if underappreciated film.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story about the man some say was the meanest and some say was greatest baseball player of all time! I know he was the most interesting one! The first book about him I read was his autobiography and it was very disappointing. In his account of his life Cobb thought he was misunderstood and not guilty of all these acts he has pulled during his lifetime. Al Stump helped him write it but after Cobb's death he wrote this book which certainly is more detailed and tells the whole story. I wonder if Cobb came back and haunted Stump after this book was published?????

[Dennis Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a great book if you enjoy fiction. However, if you enjoy character assassination and lies, this is the book for you. Stump has been exposed as a fraud. Luckily, I've since read Charles Leerhsen's Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty that sets the record straight on many points and contextualizes Cobb's actions that by today standards would be incredibly unusual. Mr. Cobb was a product of his time and should be evaluated within that context. Stump chose to exploit his time with Cobb, lying and distorting his way to cashing in a check. It's shameful.

[Joshua Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cobb was an interesting character for sure, but Stump is definitely not the best man for the job of writing this book. The book is, for the most part, poorly written, and somehow manages to make an interesting character like Cobb relatively boring throughout most of its 420 pages.

[Benny]

This is a book about one of the best basseball players of all time, Ty Cobb. While he was fantastic, his personality was not extremely friendy, especially towards the opposing team. This great yet nasty baseball player's colorful life experiences are highlighted in this biography.

[Raymond Wilfong · Rating 1 out of 5]

Has it's flaws, some useful information but due to the problem of Stump's credibility it makes it difficult to recommend. "War on the Basepaths" by Tim Hornbaker and "Ty Cobb Unleashed" by Howard Rosenberg are both more accurate and better sourced.

[Pamela Montano]

I loved it. Ty Cobb is my favorite baseball player and reading stories about him as a kid helped me to fall in love with the game.

[Scott Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great art Cobb! This book is fantastic and does a great job shedding light on the greatest ball player in the history of the game. Cobb has so many records that still hold today and is a pioneer in players rights. This book became the basis for a movie with Tommy Lee Jones as the great Ty Cobb and was a very entertaining biopic about writer Al Stump trying to get a dying Ty cobbs first words on his great life. Seeing the movie first I felt a lot was exaggerated for the sake of entertainment but after reading the book Al Stump wrote during the “last interviews” of cobbs life I have been made fully aware that these exaggerations were actually very accurate truths and portrayals.

THE ONLY reason I did not give this book 5 stars was because I had read that later on after the book was published Al Stump was accused of plagiarism and some of his information was exaggerated or made up.
But certain things you can’t make up… like Ty cobbs life time batting average, his career stolen bases and hits and 13 batting titles… 12/13 and so on. Cobb may have been a hated man but his mouth backed up a style of play that has yet to be replicated. If you are a fan of baseball I dare you to read this book and NOT believe that Ty Cobb was the greatest of all time!

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep look at one of baseballs best players, depending on if you asked those he played with/ against or those looking back at his accomplishments.

No one can argue the stats that Ty Cobb put up in his playing days. Records he set lasted for decades with some still standing today. Had he been a pleasant person off the diamond, he may not have been as great on it. Its easy to look back and see just how he came across to those on other teams, and even those on his own team, but how he helped take care of players after their playing days as well as the other good deeds of the hospital and education for students in need, and you see Ty Cobb had some layers that he didn't let people see while he was playing.

All in all, the book did a great job of showing different sides of Cobb without coming across as treating him like a god amongst men.