Editor’s Note 1: All my graphics going forward will come directly from my new website, Stat Soldier. Go check it out by clicking here
Editor’s Note 2: Let me be clear, I do not want to go to war with Jeff Passan. I feel it is important to defend the legacy of those who have passed on.
On a recent episode of the All the Smoke Podcast, Jeff Passan explained why he gave away his Hall of Fame vote. He referenced Joe Morgan’s 2017 letter that appealed to BBWAA Hall of Fame voters. In it, Morgan urged voters to keep known steroid users out of the Hall of Fame. In 2017, Passan wrote about his decision to give up the vote then. You can find it on Yahoo’s website, and while there are points I agree with, overall I think he is off point. My main crux is his comparing greenies to steroids. I think it is a problematic argument, but that is a discussion for another day.
Where Passan lost me was name-dropping Ty Cobb in his podcast appearance the other day.
“And you're telling me that Barry Bonds, because he chose to pursue, you know, an area of the game that was beyond things that make him- that makes him worse than Ty Cobb, that makes him worse than people who are racist.”- Jeff Passan
(Editor’s Note: Real quick, before I start my defense of Ty Cobb, I want to encourage you to look into Barry Bonds and some accusations that have come his way by ex-wives and girlfriends over the years.)
To be precise, Passan did not directly call Cobb a racist. His sentence separates Cobb from “people who are racist,” so it would be unfair to put those exact words in his mouth. Regardless, he is putting Cobb in the same sentence, so he is at least insinuating that Cobb was a bad guy.
That is where Jeff Passan loses me.
Growing up, I also fell for the myth that Ty Cobb was this terrible person. Like many, I saw the movie Cobb starring Tommy Lee Jones. Turns out, the vast majority of that film is made up and inspired by the works of Al Stump, who was tasked with writing Cobb’s autobiography. Almost all of Stump’s writings have been proven to be false, something that the director of the film even admitted when pressed for evidence on the outlandish claims in the film.
The “familiar” version of Cobb is almost too perfectly villainous.
-He sharpened his spikes before games to carve up infielders
-He killed a black man.
-He terrorized teammates, assaulted strangers, drank uncontrollably
-He hated fans.
Sure, there are some things that Cobb did over his life that don’t look great. He did get into fights; he did injure some players, and he had a foul mouth.
The most famous story comes from an incident in 1912. Ty ran into the crowd and attacked a disabled man who had lost his hands in an accident. As Ty beat him, onlookers screamed: “He has no hands!” Cobb yelled back, “I don’t care if he has no feet!”
Sure, not a great look. But I encourage you to go and look at what the man was yelling at Cobb that provoked him. Go, look it up and come back. You back? Cool, wouldn’t you do the same? It’s not like Cobb knew the guy had no hands. Also, do you get to act like that if you lose your hands? I don’t believe you do.
However, most stories that make him out to be a monster, which I believe Passan is referencing, were assembled after Cobb died in 1961. By none other than Al Stump himself.
Al Stump Helped Manufacture “Tyrus the Terrible”
Stump was tasked with writing Cobb’s 1961 autobiography My Life in Baseball: The True Record. Shortly after Cobb died, Stump published a sensational account of Cobb’s final months in True magazine. He would later expand this with the book Cobb: The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball, which became the basis for the Tommy Lee Jones movie.
The stories Cobb laid out were crazy; they were also unreliable.
Not only did he attribute quotes to people who died years before Stump began working with Cobb, but the FBI also proved Stump forged Cobb letters and diaries. Then Stump claimed that Cobb confessed to killing one of the three men who attacked him in 1912. The three “black men” who turned out to be white did attempt to rob Cobb; none of them were killed.
Honestly, there are many other stories he made up; please check them out.
In 2015, Charles Leerhsen published Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty. It is a must-read for any baseball fan, especially those like Jeff who don’t seem to know their history.
Charles was able to debunk many of the stories that Stump and others had told over the years, including the story where Cobb fought a black bellhop at a hotel. You guessed it, he was white.
Here are a few more stories that Leershen and others have debunked.
“Cobb’s mother killed his father with a shotgun.”
This was repeated for decades and dramatized in gruesome detail. The official coroner’s report states that William Herschel Cobb died from a pistol bullet, consistent with Amanda Cobb’s testimony that she fired a revolver. The shotgun version first appeared in Stump’s posthumous 1961 article.
“Cobb kept the shotgun that killed his father and later used it for hunting.”
A supposed Cobb shotgun was sold through the memorabilia world with that story. Because the murder weapon was actually a pistol, the story attached to the shotgun was false. Turns out Al Stump made it all up and sold the gun for profit.
“Cobb’s private diary proved he drank heavily and contained his secret thoughts about other players.”
The Hall of Fame displayed a purported 1946 Cobb diary after MLB acquired it from the Barry Halper collection. An FBI examination determined that it was a forgery, and handwriting expert Ron Keurajian concluded that the diary was written in the same hand as other material attributed to Stump. Numerous supposed Cobb letters, annotations, and signatures connected to Stump were also rejected as forgeries. So yeah, Stump made it all up.
“Cobb and Ted Williams ended their friendship after a furious argument about an all-time team.”
Stump told this story, but Williams directly denied that the falling-out occurred and dismissed Stump’s account.
“Cobb refused to sign autographs and was cruel or dismissive toward children.”
The record includes hundreds of authentic Cobb-signed balls, photographs, postcards and letters, including personalized responses to young fans. A nurse who cared for him shortly before his death also recalled that he willingly signed baseballs for her teenage brother. Look in museums; the letters are there plain to see.
“Only a few baseball people attended Cobb’s funeral because everyone in baseball despised him.”
Only a small number of baseball figures indeed attended. What Stump omitted was that Cobb’s family requested a private service, held only 48 hours after his death, and specifically asked friends and baseball dignitaries not to attend. Several prominent baseball figures had reportedly offered to serve as pallbearers.
“Cobb spent his final months as a drug-crazed, whiskey-soaked lunatic terrorizing everyone around him.”
This was the centerpiece of Stump’s posthumous portrayal. But Stump spent only intermittent periods with Cobb, while the nurses and medical personnel who cared for Cobb continuously near the end of his life described a substantially different man.
“Cobb routinely sharpened his spikes into weapons so he could deliberately cut infielders.”
Cobb 100% slid hard, spiked players, and cultivated fear on the bases. That was baseball in the early 1900s when men played it. What has not been substantiated is the familiar image of him filing his spikes into blades before games. James Lanier, Cobb’s batboy, said he personally cleaned Cobb’s shoes and never saw sharpening marks, a file, or any evidence that Cobb sharpened them.
“Cobb was universally hated, even by his own teammates.”
Cobb had strained relationships and was disliked by some players. But “everyone hated him” is too broad. In 1912, his Detroit teammates refused to play in protest of his suspension, producing baseball’s first major player strike. Cobb also maintained lasting friendships with several prominent baseball figures. He even became friends with his “enemy” Babe Ruth in later years.
Look, Cobb is by no means perfect; he has some skeletons in the closet. But this idea that he should be consistently used as an example of bad people being in the Hall of Fame needs to be thrown out the window.
If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing below. If you are Jeff Passan and you are reading this, don’t destroy me.
I came hear to say, “what about lil’ rastus?” But then I re read some stuff and realized what I had heard and remembered about that situation may have been completely inaccurate. So you may be onto something. But he’s for sure the example that people grab when they’re comparing bad behaviors and that might not be fair.
Thanks for this. I had read negative things about Mr. Cobb probably based on Stump’s book. Makes a person wonder about motivation.