Ty Cobb Biography

(born Dec. 18, 1886, Narrows, Ga., U.S.—died July 17, 1961, Atlanta, Ga.) U.S. baseball player, one of the greatest offensive players and perhaps the fiercest competitor in baseball history. He joined the Detroit Tigers in 1905, batting left-handed but throwing right-handed. He spent 22 seasons as an outfielder with the Detroit Tigers, then managed them from 1921 to 1926. His record for career batting average (.366) remains unbroken; those for runs batted in (1,937), runs (2,245), and hits (4,189) stood for many years. He batted at least .300 for 23 straight seasons, an all-time record, and his three years of batting over .400 also represent a record. His career record of 892 stolen bases (partly the result of the brutality with which he used his cleats) was surpassed only in 1979. In the first election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, Cobb received the most votes.