War on the Basepaths Page 15
There was no way to conceal the Cleveland matter and, combined with the Baker spiking, the notion that Cobb was an out-of-control rowdy prevailed. Philadelphia sportswriters continued to gnaw at the situation as well, creating a worrisome environment in that city heading into a late season battle between the Tigers and Athletics for first place. The public was charged up and Cobb was public enemy number one. More specifically, the underground criminal network known as the “Black Hand” was adamantly going after the Georgian athlete, sending more than a dozen letters threatening his life. One letter even had a skull and crossbones for a signature.58 That kind of irrationality turned a baseball rivalry into a nightmare scenario, and in addition to having to play one of the best teams in the majors, Cobb had to worry about a sniper’s bullets or a knife-wielding madman out for blood.
The menacing letters were going to work one of two ways, it was believed. Either Cobb was going to refrain from showing up at all, or he was going to show up and be so affected by the ominous threats that he’d be completely thrown off his game. Charlie Cobb recommended the former concept, hoping her husband would play it safe.59 But shying away from an act of intimidation was not in his character, and although he was rightfully disturbed and distracted by the alarming letters, he appeared in his right field spot on the afternoon of September 16, 1909, before over 24,000 rambunctious individuals. He still was nearly consumed by nerves, and eyed his surroundings guardedly. At one point, Crawford had to calm him down after a suspicious loud noise was revealed to be a car tire blowing out and not the crack of a rifle.60
Cobb was booed at every turn and completely off his game. In the third inning, he was helpless against Athletics pitcher Eddie Plank and struck out with the bases loaded. He ended the day 0-for-4 in a depressing 2–1 loss. An army of police on location prevented any physical altercations between players and spectators. No soda bottles were sold for fear they’d be thrown at athletes on the field. Though, after the game, a piece of wood was tossed in Cobb’s direction and fans wildly encircled him and teammates as officers worked to keep the peace. Detroit players were escorted by motorcycle police between the stadium and the team hotel.61 The overt animosity toward Cobb lessened after the initial game. Philadelphia fans respectfully cheered him on several occasions and offered encouragement. But more importantly, in a sincere gesture of goodwill during the second contest, Frank Baker extended his hand to Cobb after Cobb stole third, and the two shook on the field in full view of the public. Baker said that he never felt Cobb deliberately tried to harm him, and seemingly put the entire spiking situation to rest.62
Ironically, before the series was over, just as Cobb was trying to close the door on the harrowing Baker episode, he spiked Philadelphia shortstop Jack Barry trying to steal second in the fourth inning of the September 20 game. Barry was nipped in the leg and needed four stitches in what most publications deemed an “accident.” The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that, after the game, Cobb was “visibly affected” by the mishap and refused to eat.63
“I would not have this happen for all the money I ever made in baseball,” Cobb explained. “And to think that it came at a time when the Baker affair was almost forgotten. But it was an accident, and I am sure that the fans, particularly the good class who go to see a game and look for the best team to win, will bear me out that it was an unfortunate affair and absolutely unavoidable. Barry himself shouted at me, ‘Don’t mind, Ty. It was not your fault.’ But I am afraid that it will leave the impression in the minds of some that I am a ruffian and the dirty ball player that some try to paint me.”64
Unfortunately for Cobb, the Baker incident would never be forgotten. The story infused into the bloodlines of baseball lore, and his reputation as a ruthless aggressor would permeate throughout popular culture for decades.
After the Philadelphia series, Cobb went on an offensive tear, building up to his third-straight batting title and a .377 average. He was correct when he predicted his best year before the season started and he lead the majors in batting average, hits (216), home runs (9), runs batted in (107) and stolen bases (76). The Tigers were equally dominant and were out of first place only about 10 days the entire season. On September 30, 1909, Jennings and his crew clinched the pennant when the White Sox toppled Philadelphia in both games of a doubleheader, knocking them out of the race. It was said that the White Sox were repaying the favor the Tigers did them in 1906, when Chicago won the American League pennant. Detroit finished with a 98–54 record, 3.5 games ahead of Philadelphia.65 Once again, the citizens of Detroit were eager to celebrate the accomplishments of their heroes, and downtown festivities commemorated their three-peat as league champions.66
At the Garrick Theater on October 4, Detroit’s cosmopolitan crowd pleaded with Cobb to make a speech, but he politely refused, as did his teammates.67 Two days later, the Tigers were in New York for an exhibition against the Highlanders in the benefit for sportswriter Sam Crane. Despite facing National League sensation Christy Mathewson for three innings, Detroit was victorious, 8–4, and didn’t need the services of either Cobb or Crawford.68 The club’s real challenge was right around the corner, and Fred Clarke’s Pittsburgh Pirates, winners of 110 games during the regular season, were all that stood between the Tigers and their first World Series title.
The focus and concentration required for such a significant athletic spectacle was unparalleled in baseball, but Cobb’s mind was fragmented. He had gotten word that back in Cleveland, authorities were pushing forward with the criminal investigation of the George Stanfield case and things were bubbling to an apex. About a month earlier, Michael P. Bourke, a Detroit attorney representing Cobb, went to Cleveland and coordinated a settlement in the civil suit to cover all of Stanfield’s medical costs, plus an additional amount unspecified at the time.69 Local private detective Jacob Mintz was involved in the inquiry, and, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, held an in-state warrant for Cobb’s arrest. The charge was “cutting to kill.”
Mintz made it known that he was going to arrest Cobb at first opportunity. He was personal friends with Napoleon Lajoie, second baseman for Cleveland, and an important member of the Cleveland sports community. For that reason, his involvement in the Cobb case could be considered suspect, along the lines of what Jennings believed: the Stanfield situation was an attempt to derail the Tigers ballclub.70 In the meantime, Cuyahoga County directed its Grand Jury to review the details of the case, which included testimony from Stanfield and Fred Avery, manager of the Hotel Euclid. The geographic locations of Detroit and Pittsburgh made a journey through Ohio customary. But Cobb had to be concerned. If he was apprehended, his Series contributions would be minimized to say the least.
Game One occurred at Pittsburgh on October 8, 1909. During batting practice before the game began, Cobb was approached by thirty-five-year-old baseball luminary John “Honus” Wagner of the Pirates, and the two met for the first time. For the past three years, they reigned as batting champions of their respective leagues and, commonly, when writers referenced the accolades of one, they mentioned the other in some sort of comparison.71 Besides examining the cold statistics of their impressive seasons, pundits peeled back the veneer and juxtaposed their physical appearances and dispositions. Wagner was built like a modern-day tank, combining sheer power and strength with speed. In terms of personality, Wagner was like Cobb in that he was also reportedly a loner, adjourning to his room after games, and wasn’t a big talker.72 He was quiet, cool under pressure, and well liked. Incidentally, it was said that he would rather raise chickens than continue playing ball.
Cobb was the opposite. Of course, being thirteen years younger than Wagner had something to do with it, but he wasn’t about to give up baseball for any alternate vocation. He was temperamental, anxious, and his attitude tended to annoy those around him. Like Wagner, he was fast, but more graceful in the way of a greyhound, whereas his counterpart was exceptionally quick, but lumbering. Cobb was tall and well conditioned, possessing the frame of the
ideal ballplayer, and in contrast, Wagner, physically speaking, would have been equally comfortable on a football field or in a boxing ring. The two garnered baseball honors, but did it in their own distinct ways, and their styles were generally contradictive on the field.
Understanding those dynamics, it isn’t surprising that when Cobb and Wagner inspected each other’s baseball bats on the field the afternoon of the first Series game, they were taken aback by the specific differences in quality. Wagner used a weighty bat with a wide handle, and Cobb explained that it was far too cumbersome for his tastes. Cobb’s weapon of choice, according to Wagner, was overly skinny and light.73 The duo talked for only minutes, but it was a courteous discussion, both admiring the presence and ability of their friendly adversary. With the opening game moments away, they shook hands and departed, and the audience warmly clapped in recognition of such a historic meeting. This was the first time league batting champions faced off in the World Series, and it wouldn’t happen again until 1931 when Al Simmons and the Philadelphia Athletics met Chick Hafey and the St. Louis Cardinals.
On the mound for Pittsburgh was twenty-seven-year-old rookie Charles “Babe” Adams, a 12-game winner and a surprising starting pick by manager Fred Clarke. Somehow Clarke knew Adams would remain unnerved by the enormity of his task, and his pitcher silenced the Tigers lineup in a convincing 4–1 victory.74 Cobb went 0-for-3, but there was a brief uproar in the fifth inning after he attained first base on a fielder’s choice. The dispute occurred when he tried to steal second, and Wagner took the throw in an anticipated clash between the two stars. Cobb was called safe, but was a little worse for wear due to the fact that Wagner tagged him in his mouth, drawing a little blood.
In a bit of fiction, this incident was exploited by “journalists” who tried to color the Cobb-Wagner rivalry as being antagonistic, when it was anything but. “There was a lot of talk before that 1909 Series … about how Cobb and I would be murdering each other,” Wagner later said. “Funny thing, we didn’t have a bit of trouble. There was only one unfortunate incident, and that happened in the first game. Ty tried to steal second, and [afterwards] I discovered his face was all cut up. I guess I must have accidentally tagged him in the mouth.”75
Detroit stormed back in the second contest, winning 7–2, and Cobb drew the attention of every spectator at the recently constructed Forbes Field by stealing home in the third inning. His mindset at the time was demonstrative of his psychological awareness on the field, and it was essentially a very simple decision. Standing on third, he watched as Howie Camnitz was lifted from the game by Clarke and replaced by Vic Willis. Cobb sensed that Willis was preoccupied with the batter, and took extra steps off third. When, finally, that first pitch was made, he dashed for the plate, catching everyone off guard, and slid in safely. “The way I had it doped out left little chance for failure,” he confidently explained.76 Years later, Willis said: “That’s one thing I’ll never forget as long as I live. I didn’t think Cobb could beat the throw. I often got razzed for letting Ty get away with that theft, but I don’t think anybody could have prevented it.”77
Cobb returned to Detroit on the special train carrying the entire team, and Charlie, seven months pregnant, was by his side.78 Games Three and Four at Bennett Park were split, Pittsburgh taking Game Three and Detroit capturing Game Four behind the outstanding pitching of George Mullin. The series was tied 2–2 returning to Pittsburgh on October 13.79 Made further aware of the Grand Jury developments in Cleveland, Cobb decided to avoid Ohio altogether heading into Game Five at Forbes Field. Accompanied by his old friend Herman Schaefer, Cobb used Michigan Central and Pennsylvania train lines northeast into Canada to Buffalo, and then southwest to Pittsburgh.80 The elongated journey was a depressing reminder of the absurdity of his fight with the Cleveland night watchman and the heaviness of that issue was still burning up parts of his mind, especially when reporters referenced a potential jail sentence.
Displaying great heart, the Tigers battled back in the sixth inning of Game Five to tie the score at three, but fell apart, dropping four runs in the seventh and giving Pittsburgh the win, 8–4.81 Once again, in the sixth contest, Detroit battled back from a losing effort to gain the lead, and this time they held on to win, 5–4. The Series was tied at three games apiece, and, on October 16, before a home audience, Detroit collapsed in grand fashion, losing the finale 8–0.82 Adams, Pittsburgh’s unsuspecting rookie, was the breakout star, propelling the Tigers into a third-straight Series defeat by winning the first, fifth, and seventh games.83
Cobb went 0-for-4 and batted a measly .231 for the Series, while Wagner, proving superior, achieved a .333.84 The veteran, however, was impressed by the Georgian’s abilities, saying: “Cobb is what I call a perfect player. He lacks nothing. There isn’t a thing that a ball player should have that Cobb hasn’t got and he’s got a bunch of things that no other ball player has. I can’t find any weakness and I see nothing that he could improve on. But I don’t think that Cobb is as good as he can be or will be.”85 It was a startling testimonial, but definitively true.
7
DETROIT’S PRIMA DONNA
On the baseball field, Ty Cobb was establishing himself as the phenomenon of the ages, and each year, more and more team owners, managers, and fellow players were publicly acknowledging his remarkable talents. Charles A. Comiskey, the indomitable magnate behind the Chicago White Sox, called him the greatest of all-time, an honor made even more special by the fact that Comiskey had seen and played with the legendary generation of stars prior to Cobb’s arrival to the majors.1 He was personally acquainted with the likes of Cap Anson, Dan Brouthers, and the baseball heroes of the late nineteenth century, and still recognized Cobb, with only five years in the big leagues under his belt, as the best in history. Baseball innovator Ted Sullivan placed Cobb alongside the legends of the past, and said that he was the “grandest” player of the generation.2 Jimmy McAleer, the 1909 manager of the St. Louis Browns, said: “Ty Cobb is the greatest piece of baseball machinery that ever stepped upon a diamond. He has never had an equal on the bases and probably never will.”3 It was generally accepted by 1910 that Cobb was a rare breed of athlete, and his unusual methods were a barrier between him and the classically trained ballplayers normally seen in the pro ranks.
But also off the field, there was another facet to Cobb not all of his contemporaries shared. He was a natural entrepreneur, and being acutely aware of the existence of life after baseball, he consciously sought investments to expand his financial base. The scant salaries of his early career did little to flush out opportunities, but he was ever mindful of prospective ventures and accepted all the advice he could garner. Family and friends back in Georgia were always offering council, and his in-laws, the Lombards, were amongst Augusta’s business leaders. In Detroit, he smartly hung out at the Pontchartrain Hotel bar and watched and eagerly listened to the pioneers of the automobile industry as they discussed the matters of the day.4 Cobb was inspired to find his own slice of the business world to develop and ultimately profit from.
Inquisitive in nature, Cobb asked endless questions of businessmen and bankers he rubbed shoulders with, saturating his brain with data. Following the 1907 World Series, he told The Sporting News how he planned to lay out some of his freshly earned capital in the timber business in Georgia, and maybe it wasn’t ironic that Detroit co-owner Bill Yawkey’s family fortune was made in the same field.5 Whether Yawkey conveyed suggestions to Cobb, it isn’t known, but it is obvious the latter was examining all options before him. That same year, he entered the real estate industry, buying up around 100 acres in the southern Georgia town of Hazlehurst. His intent was to build houses on the property and then rent the valuable land to enterprising farmers. His property was also already valued at three times what he originally paid.6 His project expanded in December 1909 when he purchased an additional 3,000 acres in the Hazlehurst area for a reported $20,000.7
A bit closer to Royston, Cobb entered into another vent
ure with two partners, buying up land and property in Toccoa, Georgia, just northwest of his hometown. “We have named this property the ‘Booker Washington Heights,’” Cobb told to a St. Louis journalist. “We call this nigger property down home, for nothing but Negros live in it. There’s money in it. I mean in the niggers. You see I get $3 for this, $2.50 for that one, and $2 for this house.”8 Cobb’s manner of speech, while considered shocking today, was not highlighted as offensive by the news reporter in 1909, even though the use of the word “nigger” was generally deemed pejorative. Cobb, apparently, was leaning more on an accustomed lingo rather than a textbook vernacular.
His Toccoa investment had already more than doubled and he expected greater revenue in the near future. In addition to his mounting real estate holdings, Cobb bought stock in the First National Bank of Lavonia, which became the Northeast Georgia Bank, the Bank of Martin, which he later transferred to his daughter Shirley, and other financial institutions in northeastern Georgia.9 He became a minority owner of the Augusta Chronicle newspaper and eyed other opportunities with great interest.
The widespread notoriety of Cobb opened up endorsement deals, which boosted his net worth as well. Beginning in late September 1907, he was featured in advertisements for the popular soft drink Coca-Cola, joining Nap Lajoie and Rube Waddell as proponents for the soda.10
Spalding Sporting Goods of Chicago was another company to court Cobb, and a special “Ty Cobb Bat” was fashioned for sale to the public in 1907–08.11 But that partnership didn’t last long. Cobb instead inked a merchandising deal with the J. F. Hillerich Company of Louisville, Kentucky, producers of the famous “Louisville Slugger,” on October 5, 1908, becoming the third major leaguer to have a signature bat behind Honus Wagner and Lajoie. Hillerich, which later became the “Hillerich and Bradsby Company,” maintained a 4,000 player file at its factory, each listing the exact bat specifications for athletes throughout Organized Ball.12 Lastly, also in 1908, a “Ty Cobb Cigar” was marketed by John C. Sullivan, Detroit’s premier cigar manufacturer.13