cover image Ty Cobb, Baseball, and American Manhood

Ty Cobb, Baseball, and American Manhood

Steven Elliott Tripp. Rowman & Littlefield, $45 (388p) ISBN 978-1-4422-5191-5

Before baseball icons Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Mickey Mantle, there was the prickly, talented Ty Cobb, whose life is the subject of this revealing biography by Tripp, a professor of history at Grand Valley State University. In a career spanning from 1907 into the early 1920s, Cobb, labeled by Tripp as a "combative and egocentric Southerner from the backwoods of Georgia," was the first celebrity baseball player, achieving most games played, most plate appearances, most hits, most runs, most stolen bases, most batting titles, and highest lifetime batting average by his career's end. His biographer highlights Cobb's competitive nature, quoting New York sportswriter Paul Gallico as saying the death of Cobb's father brought out a fury, cruelty, and viciousness in his playing that hadn't previously been present in baseball. Cobb, disliked by his teammates and opponents, is termed an example of true Southern manhood; he was set apart by his drawl and actions, and his belief that black people were inferior to whites. His "gritty, go-for-broke" play showed his obsession of staying on top, and his aggressive game, including playing through injuries, earning him stardom, adoration, and endorsements. Tripp's stunning account of Cobb as a mythic player and manager is a complex glimpse into a tormented personality. (May)