On July 18, 1927, Athletics outfielder Ty Cobb became the first major leaguer to collect his 4,000th career hit. Cobb hit a double off his former Tigers teammate, Sam Gibson, at Navin Field in Detroit. The hit came in the first inning of a 5-3 loss for the A’s.
Cobb retired after the 1928 season with 4,191 hits, a record that will stand until Pete Rose breaks it in 1985.
On May 6, 1925, Ty Cobb hit his fifth home run in two games. Cobb hit three home runs on May 5th against the St. Louis Browns, going 6-for-6 that day. The next day he hit two more home runs, tying Cap Anson’s 1884 record. The Tigers won 14-8 on May 5th, and then 11-4 on May 6th, over the Browns at Sportsman’s Park.
In a game against the St. Louis Browns on May 5, 1925, Detroit Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb established an American League record with 16 total bases. Cobb collected three homers, two singles, and a double to help the Tigers defeat the Browns, 14-8. The record would stand until 2012, when Rangers’ outfielder Josh Hamilton collected 18 total bases.
On May 16, 1912, Detroit outfielder Ty Cobb was suspended due to his attack on Claude Lucker two days previous. Lucker was a one-handed, outspoken fan who possessed an extreme hatred for Cobb (not an uncommon feeling amongst fans at the time). The story goes that after a few innings of trying to ignore Lucker’s taunts, Cobb eventually lost his temper and charged the stands.
According to sportswriters, “Everything was very pleasant…until Ty Cobb johnnykilbaned a spectator right on the place where he talks, started the claret, and stopped the flow of profane and vulgar words. Cobb led with a left jab and countered with a right kick to Mr. Spectator’s left Weisbach, which made his peeper look as if someone had drawn a curtain over it…. Jabs bounded off the spectator’s face like a golf ball from a rock.”
Cobb was thrown from the game by Umpire Silk O’Loughlin. Then, without hearing Cobb’s side of the incident, American League President Ban Johnson suspended him indefinitely. In support of their teammate, the rest of the Tigers went on strike to protest the decision, sending a message to the League office claiming, “We, the undersigned, refuse to play in another game after today, until such action is adjusted to our satisfaction. [Cobb] was fully justified in his action, as no one could stand such personal abuse from anyone. We want him reinstated for tomorrow’s game, May 18, or there will be no game. If the players cannot have protection we must protect ourselves.”
The strike resulted in the formation of a hodgepodge sandlot team taking over for the Tigers one day, committing nine errors and losing spectacularly to the Athletics, 24-2. Concerned about the potential repercussions the strike would have on his teammates, Cobb convinced the real Tiger players to end their protest and return to the diamond. Ban Johnson would hit Cobb with a $50 fine and a ten-day suspension for his attack on Lucker.
On January 29, 1936, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and a special Veterans Committee selected Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson in the first-ever Baseball Hall of Fame elections. The enshrinement of these five greats, however, would have to wait until 1939, since the museum’s construction in Cooperstown had not yet begun.
The Detroit Tigers released player-manager Ty Cobb on November 2, 1926. At first, Cobb announced his retirement at the end of 22 years with the Tigers, but when Cleveland Indians player-manager Tris Speaker also retired shortly thereafter, many heads turned. It soon came out that the two were coerced into retirement as a result of allegations of game-fixing brought about by Dutch Leonard, a former pitcher managed by Cobb.
After leaving the team without permissions three days prior, Detroit Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb got married to his first wife, Charlie, on August 6, 1908. Club co-owner Frank Navin considered Cobb’s six-day absence during a pennant race the most arrogant act he had ever heard of in baseball.
The famous baseball game snack, Cracker Jack, introduced the idea of ‘A Prize in Every Box’ on February 19, 1912. As we all know, Cracker Jack is a sugar-coated mixture of popcorn and peanuts immortalized in baseball’s anthem, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” In 1914, the manufacturer inserted the first company-produced baseball card issue featuring major league players, including players from the short-lived Federal League.
I vaguely recall hearing a reference to Buck O’Neil’s thoughts on Ty Cobb at some point, but this might be the first time I’ve ever seen this interview. My hat’s off to Buck — I don’t think I could be nearly so forgiving and compassionate if it were me in his shoes. I’m so glad this man is finally going to be inducted in the Hall of Fame.
On December 21, 1926, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis dismissed a claim by Dutch Leonard alleging that Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker bet on a fixed game six years previous. The commissioner declared the matter closed, clearing both Speaker and Cobb of any wrongdoing when Leonard did not show up at a hearing to defend his accusations.
