Ty Cobb
Two Biographies—“Our Ty: Ty Cobb’s Life Story” (1924) and “Which Was Greatest: Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth?” (1951)
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About the Book
As sports editor for the Detroit News, H.G. Salsinger reported on Tigers great Ty Cobb for 18 seasons, beginning in 1909 when the outfielder won his only Triple Crown. He would go on to write about Cobb’s career for decades after. This volume presents for the first time together Salsinger’s two books on the Hall of Famer. Part One offers the first authorized biography, Our Ty (1924), while Part Two provides the writer’s take on what, more than 25 years later, had become a familiar question, Which Was Greatest: Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth? (1951). Salsinger’s close personal relationship with Cobb yields insights into the legend’s complex personality, illuminating and sometimes dispelling myths that have risen in the literature since Cobb’s death in 1961.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
H.G. Salsinger. Series Editors Gary Mitchem and Mark Durr
Format: softcover (6 x 8)
Pages: 304
Bibliographic Info: 35 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6546-0
Imprint: McFarland
Series: The McFarland Historical Baseball Library
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note ix
“Ty Cobb at the Bat” by H.G. Salsinger xiv
Part One. “Our Ty: Ty Cobb’s Life Story” (1924)
Preface 3
1. Brains 5
2. Cobb’s Secret Ambition 8
3. Ty Cobb as a Boy 12
4. Ty’s Father 15
5. He Takes the Plunge 18
6. Jobless 21
7. Genius Afire 24
8. Hard Work 27
9. The Nut 30
10. Cobb’s Debut 33
11. The Griddle 37
12. A Star Evolves 42
13. Revolution 45
14. New Phases 50
15. The Observer 53
16. Ty’s Opinions 57
17. A Wrong Pitch 60
18. Three Failures 63
19. Confidence 66
20. Features 69
21. Tricks 72
22. Tact 75
23. A New Role 78
24. On the Bases 81
25. Sliding 85
26. His Methods 88
27. Value of Surprise 92
28. Nine Slides 95
29. Stride 98
30. 90 Feet 101
31. Heads Up Baseball 104
32. Headlines 108
33. The Threat 111
34. Ty’s Best 114
35. His Target 118
36. The Umpire Gasps 121
37. Comparisons 124
38. Then and Now 127
39. Spiking 130
40. Fielding 133
41. Ingenuity 136
42. 20 Years 139
43. Keeping Fit 142
44. His Battle 145
45. Ty Cobb, the Man 149
46. His Nature 152
47. Ty’s Hobby 155
48. A Bad Loser 158
49. Ty’s Views 161
50. The Dynamo 165
51. The Old Days 169
52. His Moods 172
53. Rest 175
54. Cobb’s Selections 178
55. In His Wake 181
56. The Dollar 185
57. Records 188
58. 100,000,000 Know Him 192
Part Two. “Which Was Greatest—Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth?” (1951)
1. The Greatest of the Great 197
2. Babe Pleased the Eye—Ty Pleased the Mind and the Eye 202
3. “Be a Success or Don’t Come Home” 208
4. Small-Town Boy Learns of the Big Time 213
5. The Big Persuasion—or How the Tigers Got Ty 217
6. “He’ll Be the Greatest Player”—Hugh Jennings 222
7. A Youngster Remakes the Game 227
8. Like a Thoroughbred in the Stretch 231
9. Creating the Mental Hazard 235
10. When Ty Outguessed Rube and Won the Flag 239
11. Never Tense and Seldom Injured 242
12. “Cobb Carried Brains in His Feet” 247
13. A Born Pitcher, He Thought 250
14. A Fine Man, Kind to Umpires 254
15. First Batter to Study a Pitcher 258
16. His Weaknesses Became His Strength 263
17. Climbed to the Top on Confidence 267
18. Tips to the Kids from the Gods 270
19. When Georgians Went to Bat for the Peach 272
20. From Firebrand to Sentimentalist 278
21. A Man of Many Moods 281
22. “Cobb Did More for the Game Than Any Other Man” 284
Index 287
Book Reviews & Awards
“well-researched”—SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter; “one of the best but least-heralded developments in the recent history of baseball literature was the inauguration of the McFarland Historical Baseball Library in 2003”—I>Spitball; “invaluable McFarland Historical Baseball Library series”—Edward Achorn, The Providence Journal.
