War on the Basepaths Read online

When advised that he would be better served to tell his side of the story, he thought for a moment, and the Detroit Tribune noted that “with almost childlike simplicity, Cobb’s complete attitude changed.” He consented and gave a full statement.10 But incriminating statements were provided by Carpenter and other witnesses, and there was no way to sugarcoat his behavior. “Cobb acted like a maniac,” Carpenter explained. “He certainly should be restrained until he learns to control himself.” Police commissioner John Gillespie said, “I am surprised, with his temperament, that he has not gotten himself into more trouble.”11

  Much like the George Stanfield affair of 1909, the Detroit Tigers and other key friends in high places protected Cobb as the news unfolded. Even though Commissioner Gillespie marveled at Cobb’s rage, he was responsible for clearing the air in terms of his status. The player wasn’t arrested, but detained, and it was surmised that any sort of punishment “would be bad for the city of Detroit.” Gillespie took it a step further by saying that Cobb should never have been brought in to the station at all.12 Tigers’ club secretary Charles Navin dropped everything to race to Cobb’s side and his lawyer James O. Murfin toiled to turn a potential assault case into a simple disturbing the peace charge. Cobb pled guilty and was fined $50.13

  “I am sorry that this incident happened,” Cobb told a reporter. “Sorry for myself and anyone of my friends whom it affected. But if the same insult was offered again, I think I should take the same course.”14

  Even though Cobb was making every possible effort to move on from the embarrassment, it wasn’t going to be that easy. He suffered a broken thumb in the fight with Harding and the initial assessment was that he was to miss ten days of playing time. The injury proved to be more serious and Cobb was out for over three weeks. He returned to the field at Washington on July 14, but it was obvious he wasn’t yet ready, and his hand went back into a plaster cast. The Tigers fought to remain in second, but the continued absence of Cobb was believed to be the central factor why Detroit was not putting up a better fight for first against the Athletics. The club experienced a painful seven-game losing streak between July 20 and July 27, and fell to fourth in the standings. By that point, they were 11 games out of first.

  Finally, Cobb reemerged on the playing roster on August 7, and hit a triple in a 3–1 victory against Boston at Navin Field. A writer for the Detroit Free Press heard no “unkind remarks” toward Cobb in light of his ordeal and said that he was “roundly cheered” by fans.15 Nevertheless, the butcher incident figured heavily into the team’s lack of pennant hopes, and the season was technically over before it really had concluded. But Cobb was always good for some excitement. On August 24 at Washington, he engaged in a “friendly” wrestling match in the clubhouse with Joe Engel of the Senators. The jovial session took a negative turn when Engel suffered a deep cut after being thrust into a locker, and required five stitches.16 Cobb also accidentally wounded the thumb of Jack Bentley during a play at the plate, and was essentially connected to the injuries of two Washington pitchers in a single afternoon.17

  At Detroit on September 7, the Tigers participated in a contest against their heated rivals, the White Sox, a game that went 12 innings before being decided in Chicago’s favor. The game was far more remembered for Cobb’s entanglement with Sox third baseman Jimmy Breton in the 10th inning at a point in which Ty was looking to score the winning run. Breton smartly got in Ty’s way and prevented him from reaching home. The next day, fans anticipated a reprisal and, during the first inning, Cobb rushed to third in a play in which he was easily out. He slid hard to the bag anyway, spiking Breton below his knee. A Chicago reporter claimed that “Cobb bounded up and stood over him as if gloating,” but Breton didn’t complain, and asserted that the spiking was wholly unintentional.18

  Although he played in only 98 games, Cobb was designated the batting champion with a .368 average, while outlaw Benny Kauff of the Indianapolis Hoosiers in the Federal League topped him by two points, and is today generally considered the major league titleholder for 1914. Cobb produced 127 hits, 69 runs, 57 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases in his abbreviated season. The Tigers missed third place by a half game, finishing with an 80–73 record, and landing behind Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington. Based on the ongoing war, sportswriters predicted a tumultuous baseball economy, and a number of teams faced dire financial losses. Detroit, surprisingly, drew over 400,000 people at home, the third most in the league, and took in about $30,000 in profits.19

  Frank Navin was pleased, not only with the performance of his club, but especially with the devotion Cobb was displaying week in and week out. “Cobb showed me another side of himself when the Federal League backers were after him. They offered him every inducement under the sun and he turned his back on them. He stood by me and said he wanted to show the people of Detroit that he was loyal to the Tigers and eager to help win a pennant. Manager Jennings will tell you that in all the years he has been here he has never seen Ty so eager to win games for Detroit nor so anxious to get along with everybody on the team. He has been the most cheerful and happiest of ball players. All this junk about the Federal League grabbing him is piffle. Cobb will not desert the Tigers.”20

  As a result of the heightened camaraderie between Navin and Cobb, and to further bind them in the midst of war, a new three-year contract agreement was established in August 1914. In fact, it not only encompassed the three seasons of 1916, 1917, and 1918, but also included renegotiated terms for 1915, which had been part of the two-year deal he signed in March 1914. The new agreement called for Cobb to receive $20,000 annually for the next four years and the contentious ten-day clause was stricken from the document.21 Soon, he would be, without question, the highest paid man in baseball history.

  Following the 1914 season, Cobb adjourned to his old haunts in Georgia and was able to help commemorate the World Series title of his friend George Stallings at a special dinner in Macon, Georgia. Stallings, as manager of the Boston Braves, won four-straight from Philadelphia in the championship series, and Cobb called him “the greatest instiller of the fighting spirit in ball players I have ever known.” Master of ceremonies John T. Boifeuillet told a story about Cobb, saying he overheard a conversation at a recent game with a girl asking her friend, “Why are so many policemen standing around here?” A short time later, realizing the Detroit Tigers’ star was standing on first, she answered her own question, “Oh, I know what they are for. They are trying to keep Ty Cobb from stealing bases!”22

  Cobb, as usual, was always on the move, and spent a good amount of time golfing and hunting during the off-season.23 His wife Charlie was enormously understanding of his “on the go” frame of mind and was a lot less adventurous than he was. She ducked press attention and was comfortable in her role as homemaker. A baseball fan at heart, she took great pleasure in seeing games when she was afforded the opportunity, and was a staunch supporter of the Tigers. Of all her husband’s tricks on the diamond, she particularly enjoyed watching him pilfer home plate, but the awesome display he put on almost daily was tremendously satisfying for the entire Cobb family.24 Charlie, early on in their marriage, adjusted to his celebrity status and the fact that he was gone for multiple weeks throughout a given year.

  Her adjustment to the demands of being a ballplayer’s wife didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t difficult, and she was undoubtedly distressed by stories of death threats, riotous masses, and fisticuffs involving her husband. Arguably no player in sports history had been involved in as many controversial moments as Cobb over the course of his career. Each day, perhaps hundreds of newspapers across the globe ran stories about his deft defying heroics on the ball field, in addition to tales of his off-the-field scandals, contract negotiations, and copious gossip. His name sold newspapers, and sportswriters loved to bank off his marketability. Spiking incidents and chaotic brawls were music to the ears of sports editors—and the wilder, the better.

  As one might imagine, this was not glorious subject matter to the loving fam
ily of Ty Cobb, and the overhyped stories published in papers were downright frightening. Charlie was well aware of his temperamental behavior and viciousness. He could be just as angry in private as he was in public, but she was patient with him. She allowed him to rule according to his own sensibilities and, understandably, took charge of the household once he was gone. For the sake of the children, she did her best to control the environment in a structured manner, and with the responsibilities of running the domestic side of things in both Detroit and Augusta, there was rarely a dull moment.

  The Cobbs had established a permanent home at 2425 Williams Street in Augusta, in what was known as the “The Hill,” and F. C. Lane of Baseball Magazine called it a “typical southern mansion.”25 The two-story residence featured eight rooms, two baths, and included a “hospitable” atmosphere, which Charlie cultivated and guests always enjoyed. Ty’s office sanctuary rested on the first floor, and was a room Lane described as being under lock and key. Inside, Cobb kept his assortment of hunting rifles, weapons he wanted safeguarded from his young children, especially when he was out of town. Amongst the other notable items in Cobb’s personal stash were a collection of historical books, his favorite cigars, and a bottle of moonshine whiskey. Other miscellaneous items picked up in his travels lined the shelves and countertops.

  Winters often went by in a blur, and before anyone really had a chance to realize it, Cobb was headed back northward. On March 20, 1915, he reported to the Tigers at Mobile, Alabama, in good physical condition, but, once again, appeared a tad heavy.26 His golf game was still an essential part of his preseason focus, and whenever he could sneak away from the diamond to play, he would. At Gulfport, Mississippi, spring training was a revelation, and Hugh Jennings found himself surrounded by a cast of enthusiastic athletes. Outside Cobb, Sam Crawford and George Moriarty—guys with more than ten years major league experience—the roster mainly consisted of talented youngsters with a number of them being pitching hopefuls. Ralph “Pep” Young gave added life to the infield, and from the onset of the season, the team seemed infused with high energy.

  To start their 1915 campaign, the Tigers snapped off an eight-game winning streak in April and rested safely in first place. Cobb was at his best, batting in the neighborhood of .400, and tackling every aspect of the game with an intense grit. Twice within a week in early May, he raised the dead with earth-shaking responses to called strikeouts by umpires Dick Nallin and George Hildebrand, and his fiery disposition was not lessened in any way by his advancing age.27 One of the most interesting happenings of the early season didn’t involve a divisional game, but an exhibition at Syracuse against the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. The largely forgotten contest, occurring on June 3, 1915, saw Cobb and Honus Wagner adjourn to the same ball field for the first time since the 1909 World Series.28

  An audience of 10,000 recognized the significance of having the two legends appear before them and cheered both with great fervor. Wagner, at forty-one years of age, was in his nineteenth season as a big leaguer, and had no intentions of being overshadowed. In the fourth inning, with two men on, he blasted the ball over the left-field fence for an apparent home run, but the umpire called it foul, much to the chagrin of those who clearly saw it veer to the right of the pole. It wasn’t until the ninth that Wagner got what he wanted, and homered without any controversy. But by then, the Tigers were well ahead and won the exhibition, 8–2. Cobb, incidentally, appeared in the third with the bases loaded and grounded to Wagner, triggering a double-play. As part of the field day exercises, Cobb participated in a relay race along with teammate Donie Bush and Max Carey and Bob Schang of the Pirates, and won over a local team.29

  Running the bases harder than he had in years, Cobb was back to logging multiple stolen bases a game and, because of that fact, the chances for spiking accidents increased tenfold. At Boston on June 9, Red Sox shortstop Everett Scott was wounded when Cobb slid into second base during the first inning. His condition worsened when, as he favored his injury, he twisted his other ankle and missed a month of playing time.30 The situation served to amplify the tensions between Detroit and Boston, and their feud would continue to develop as the season progressed. Cobb also gashed the hand of Senators catcher John Henry stealing home on June 18,31 but no one held any grudges. In fact, Cobb amusingly caught for Henry during Washington’s fielding practice the next day.32

  The never-say-die attitude of the Tigers in 1915 reminded Cobb of their 1907 campaign, and if things adhered on that path, Detroit was in line for another chance at a World Series title.33 It wasn’t guaranteed, but after the club slipped from the top spot, they remained within reach for most of the summer. A major key to the team’s success was the ability of Cobb and Bush to get on base, followed by the proficient hitting of Sam Crawford and Bobby Veach in batting them home.34 The speed and surefire offensive power of team regulars was unusually robust, and pundits referred to Cobb, Crawford, and Veach as the “Wrecking Crew.” In the AL pennant race, the competition was boiling down to Chicago, Boston, and Detroit, and there was no love lost between the three teams.

  Cobb was also quick to incite things too. On August 24 at Detroit, he grounded out in the eighth inning and, rather than returning to the Tigers bench as one would expect, he trotted over to the Boston dugout and relaxed. Naturally, Red Sox players were incensed, and umpire “Silk” O’Loughlin yelled for Cobb to remove himself at once.35 Additionally, Cobb engaged in a loud argument with Boston manager Bill Carrigan, and his actions were the opposite of endearing to the latter’s men. Red Sox fans were equally aroused, and Boston Journal columnist Francis Eaton took notice of a certain negative encouragement by a local group of “discredited baseball writers” hoping for pandemonium when Detroit arrived in “Bean Town” in what was the biggest series of the pennant race.36 Troublemakers were spitefully prepared well in advance.

  Over 21,000 people at Fenway Park loudly reacted to Cobb’s first appearance at the plate on September 16, 1915. Cobb was somewhat good-natured about the booing and hissing, murmuring, “It sounds like the stockyards,” and telling the crowd, “Come on, yell, we like it!”

  Eaton believed he was having “a little fun” on the field, doffing his cap to the fans and offering “derisive glances.”37 He explained that Cobb was “so much more clever, brainy, and resourceful than the men who are trying to nibble on his heels,” and instead of the crowd and sportswriters working to get under his skin, he was turning things around to use it to his advantage. But the combative atmosphere morphed from one of simple hooting to one bordering on violence. Fans threw glass bottles at Cobb and it was apparent that both teams were fuming and out for blood.

  Hostilities openly erupted in the eighth inning when twenty-three-year-old Carl Mays, a pitcher with a “submarine” style of throwing, threw two balls high and inside on Cobb. Blisteringly angry at what he thought were purposeful attempts to hit him, Cobb didn’t offer a full swing at the next pitch, and released the grip of his bat just as he brought it forward, sending it in the direction of the rookie right-hander. Although the bat missed its target, Cobb approached Mays and they quarreled verbally as spectators went wild. Moments later, with Cobb back in the batter’s box, Mays fired yet another pitch at him, and successfully nailed the Georgian on the wrist.38 Cobb was pumping with adrenaline and, once on base, quickly stole second. Irate rooters perceived his maneuver to be an attempt to spike Everett Scott and, two batters later, he bowled into catcher “Pinch” Thomas to score, sending the audience into a deafening uproar.

  The game was called with Detroit leading, 6–1, but hooligans bombarded the field and Cobb was their main object of fury. He was “jostled about and roughed up quite a bit,” according to the Boston Herald, but he made his way to the clubhouse “leisurely” as police and teammates protected him from injury. Cobb surprisingly smiled at the near riot scene, which was probably the opposite of those looking to cause him harm anticipated.39 The next day, he was received by applause and hisses, and the
two-run homer he hit in the ninth was met with a nice ovation. However, the Tigers were defeated, 7–2. Losses also came in the next two meetings, pushing Boston ahead in the standings by four games. The pennant was soon out of reach for Detroit and the Red Sox not only clinched, but won the World Series over Philadelphia.40

  Cobb led the majors in batting average (.369), hits (208), runs scored (144), and stolen bases (96, which stood as a major league record until 1962), and despite a single stretch of 23-straight plate appearances without a hit in August, he played his usual remarkable game.41 He returned to Augusta for the winter and settled into a familiar routine of hunting birds, squirrels, and rabbits in Richmond and Screven Counties. Along with several partners, including John Phillip Sousa Jr. and Edward S. Rogers, Cobb purchased a sizable property of about 6,000 acres along the Savannah River to use as a hunting ground.42

  In many ways, Ty Cobb was a much different man than he was a few years earlier. He was more mature, composed, and sociable, although when he was in a certain frame of mind, it didn’t take much to set him off. As a veteran member of the Tigers, he had accepted a leadership role, calling for certain plays with Crawford and his teammates rather than ignoring them. For instance, he commonly worked a bunt play when Donie Bush was on second base, drawing the fielders in with a bluff, and allowing Donie to steal third. During a September 1915 game at New York, Cobb ran in from centerfield to give pitcher George Dauss mid-inning advice, and helped the latter stave off a Yankees rally, maintaining a 4–3 lead for the win.43 He was talkative to fresh recruits and gave Jennings his opinion on the future potential of certain rookies.

  Jennings enjoyed Cobb’s increased mentorship of the younger players and expected him to offer guidance to teammates in the field during games. Spring training for the Tigers returned to Texas in 1916, and the people of Waxahachie were keyed up by the opportunity to see the multi-time batting champion. But as Cobb was making last minute preparations to join the team, a devastating fire consumed downtown Augusta, spreading across thirty-two blocks and destroying over seven hundred buildings. Millions of dollars in property damages were suffered and Cobb, a big proponent of real estate, was amongst those to endure losses.44 Fortunately, his home was outside of the burn radius, but scores of his friends were directly impacted by the overwhelming ruin. Cobb was delayed by the tragedy and caught up with the club at Houston on March 31.