War on the Basepaths: The Definitive Biography of Ty Cobb

by Tim Hornbaker

Overview

During his twenty-four-year Hall of Fame career, Ty Cobb was an MVP, Triple Crown winner, and twelve-time batting champion. Even though he retired over eighty-five years ago, he is still the leader for career batting average; second in runs, hits, and triples; and is a mainstay in dozens of other categories.

However, when most people think of “The Georgia Peach,” they’re reminded of his reputation as a “dirty” player. It was said that he got so many of his steals because he would sharpen his metal cleats and “spike” the second basemen if they would try to tag him out (even though most of the ballplayers he played against refuted that allegation). It’s also said that he was rude, nasty, racist, and hated by peers and the press alike. A majority of these claims came from the famous biography written by Al Stump. The issue is that Stump had his own agenda, and herein is the first opportunity to learn who Cobb really was: a man who played with his heart on his sleeve and left all he could on the basepaths, while donating his time and money to help those less fortunate off the field.

In the same unbiased style of his Turning the Black Sox White (on Charles Comiskey), Tim Hornbaker offers a fresh look of one of the greatest players ever to grace a baseball diamond. Based on detailed research and analysis, Hornbaker offers the full story of Cobb’s life and career, some of which has been lied about and mythologized for almost a century. War on the Basepaths will show who Ty Cobb really was, and place readers in box seats to view his life and career.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613219515
Publisher:	Sports Publishing LLC
Publication date:	02/14/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Tim Hornbaker is a lifelong sports historian and enthusiast. His books Turning the Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey and War on the Basepaths: The Definitive Biography of Ty Cobb were received with critical acclaim. He lives in Tamarac, Florida.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Chapter 1 "Don't Come Home a Failure" 1

Chapter 2 Not a Born Ballplayer 20

Chapter 3 Waiting for the Cobb to Crack 36

Chapter 4 A Humbled Batting Champion 51

Chapter 5 "Up Here, They Don't Understand Me" 67

Chapter 6 The Lucky Stiff 83

Chapter 7 Detroit's Prima Donna 99

Chapter 8 The Psychological Advantage 114

Chapter 9 Brawls and Strikes 130

Chapter 10 Butchering Pennant Chances 144

Chapter 11 Always Expect the Unexpected 158

Chapter 12 Pathway to Riches 172

Chapter 13 Micromanager 186

Chapter 14 The Fighting Spirit 200

Chapter 15 Fading from Contention 215

Chapter 16 Old Man Cobb 229

Chapter 17 Immortalized in Bronze 245

Chapter 18 The Depressed Philanthropist 258

Chapter 19 "I Loved the Guy" 274

Endnotes 289

Acknowledgments 355

Editorial Reviews

07/20/2015
In a 24-year career in pro baseball, Cobb, "the Georgia Peach," did everything asked of a superstar in his sport: he was an 11-time batting champ, an MVP Triple Crown winner, and a Hall of Famer. Sports historian Hornbaker (Turning the Black Sox White) fills in the impressive achievements of Tyrus Raymond Cobb, who established 90 baseball records in his career, with a .367 batting average, 4,191 hits, 2,244 runs, and 892 stolen bases. Described by his mother as "impetuous and headstrong," the young man was a fierce competitor, a student of the game, making failure not an option when he signed as a rookie with the Detroit Tigers. Cobb's mother allegedly murdered his state senator father, an act that bedeviled his family with sensational rumors, despite her acquittal, and may have contributed to Cobb's emotional turbulence. Hornbaker briefly addresses Cobb's reputation, both as a hothead who would hurt opposing players and beat up fans in the stands, and as a white son of the South who tolerated no criticism from "the colored." The author effectively chronicles the ups and downs of Cobb's long career with the Detroit Tigers and brief time with the Philadelphia Athletics until his departure in 1928. Hornbaker attempts to elevate Cobb as "an imperfect man" with a solid sports legacy, despite evidence of the star's reckless and cruel nature, but to no avail. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

War on the Basepaths is more fact-based and less prone to myth and exaggeration than previous Cobb books. Hornbaker has a clear understanding of Cobb's greatness even though he played in a relative dead ball era.... This baseball season marks the 110th anniversary of Cobb's major league debut, and Hornbaker has fired the first shot in salvaging his reputation.”
—Allen Barra, Chicago Tribune

"We finally have a book that we can call a definitive bio of The Georgia Peach." —Daniel Solzman, The Kentucky Democrat

Praise for Tim Hornbaker and Turning the Black Sox White

“Tim Hornbaker takes a new and different look at the situation. It’s a pleasure to come along for the ride.”
—Leigh Montville, New York Times bestselling author of Ted Williams and The Big Bam

“In Turning the Black Sox White, Tim Hornbaker reviews Comiskey’s entire career and restores his reputation to its former state, with clear eye, fair mind, and thorough study.”
—John Thorn, Official Historian of Major League Baseball and author of Baseball in the Garden of Eden

“Charlie Comiskey is one of the giants of baseball history: a remarkable innovator as a player, manager and mogul; a fierce competitor yet an extraordinarily charismatic fellow. In this richly detailed work, Tim Hornbaker makes an open-and-shut case that, contrary to modern depictions of Comiskey as a greedy villain, he deserves to be remembered as a good as well as a great man.”
—Edward Achorn, author of The Summer of Beer and Whiskey and Fifty-nine in ’84

“War on the Basepaths is more fact-based and less prone to myth and exaggeration than previous Cobb books. Hornbaker has a clear understanding of Cobb's greatness even though he played in a relative dead ball era.... This baseball season marks the 110th anniversary of Cobb's major league debut, and Hornbaker has fired the first shot in salvaging his reputation.”
—Allen Barra, Chicago Tribune

"We finally have a book that we can call a definitive bio of The Georgia Peach." —Daniel Solzman, The Kentucky Democrat

Praise for Tim Hornbaker and Turning the Black Sox White

“Tim Hornbaker takes a new and different look at the situation. It’s a pleasure to come along for the ride.”
—Leigh Montville, New York Times bestselling author of Ted Williams and The Big Bam

“In Turning the Black Sox White, Tim Hornbaker reviews Comiskey’s entire career and restores his reputation to its former state, with clear eye, fair mind, and thorough study.”
—John Thorn, Official Historian of Major League Baseball and author of Baseball in the Garden of Eden

“Charlie Comiskey is one of the giants of baseball history: a remarkable innovator as a player, manager and mogul; a fierce competitor yet an extraordinarily charismatic fellow. In this richly detailed work, Tim Hornbaker makes an open-and-shut case that, contrary to modern depictions of Comiskey as a greedy villain, he deserves to be remembered as a good as well as a great man.”
—Edward Achorn, author of The Summer of Beer and Whiskey and Fifty-nine in ’84

From the Publisher