Ty Cobb: His Tumultuous Life and Times

by Richard Bak

Gives an account of the life of the legendary baseball player, covering both the controversial and altruistic sides of the man

Genres: Baseball, Sports

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

RICHARD BAK is a Detroit-based journalist and the author of twenty-five books, including 'Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire' and 'Peach: Ty Cobb in His Time and Ours.' He has received three ForeWord magazine Book-of-the-Year awards, the Stuart D. and Vernice M. Gross Prize for Literature, and two Emmys for his work as writer and coproducer of "Stranded at the Corner," a feature-length documentary about the fight to save Detroit's Tiger Stadium.

Reviews

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh...sometimes you just don't want to finish a book. I am finding this happening a lot to me in reading my baseball history. I am a newly obsessed fan, been to my first 2 games this past year and am learning to hit and and pitch. (Those who know me, know this is what I do--I obsess and then have to drown in it). Despite having fallen in love with baseball through the modern game (specifically the SF Giants) I am finding that I love old baseball much more--its players, its style, its rules. In beginning my education, I started with Ken Burns Baseball series which I am still working my way through. While watching that I became fascinated with both Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb (who could not be more different). I started with a Babe Ruth bio and tried to move on to Cobb but could not find anything in the library, online etc. I asked my boyfriend to do a sweep of his bookstore and lo and behold--hit the jackpot. I got this book, one on Honus Wagner and another on Babe Ruth. I started this one eagerly. I am pretty fascinated by Mr. Cobb. I know he's a checkered man at best, but he's probably the best baseball player that ever lived and one of the most interesting. Very few players had his intellect and drive and passion for the game.
He has one quality I find utterly indefensible--his racism. While it's not a shocking attribute for a Southern man of his time, I can never excuse it. But you have to take everyone flaws and all. I particularly applaud Mr. Bak for doing his amazing research and finding as much truth as there is possible about this flawed but amazing man. While he certainly had things to answer for in his life, his reputation as a "dirty player" is untrue and proven to be so in this painstakingly researched book. Filled with more photos than any book on Cobb ever written, it touches on his baseball and personal life. It holds his complete stats as well as over 300 photos and Ty's complete guide to batting reprinted in the back (which I am putting into use--it's absolutely amazing and honestly very do-able). Even if one is not a baseball fan, it's hard not to find his life fascinating--his mother accidentally shot his father in a gruesome accident, his sons died terribly young, he struggled with a difficult relationship with his beloved but harsh father and had a long and contentious marriage and a strained relationship with his children. One thing you can say about him is that he never, ever gave up. Not in life, not in baseball. The book also shines a light on Cobb's business acumen, his relationship with Coca Cola and his famed prowess in the area of stocks and bonds. It also highlights lesser known (and very important) contributions Ty made with all that money he earned--a hospital (still running and successful) in his hometown of Royston, Georgia, his establishment of an educational fund that still gives many scholarships to college every year and his anonymous kindness to many former teammates, children, charities and more. I guess one of the best ways of deciding a books value is how much did you learn? In this case I learned so much that as well as enjoying it, I cannot possibly give it less than five stars and I was sorry to finish it-- because despite his flaws, I love the Georgia Peach and understand him so much more and did not want to let him out of my life. Also, on a side note--I too have a little black book with a son of a bitch list in it. :)

[Mark]

Fascinating biography of a great ballplayer with a contradictory personality and character. Rating: 90