Ken Burns tried to blast Ty Cobb, made me rethink Burns. To me there is no controversy about Cobbs character, one of my favorite players.

Ty Cobb was one of the few players that attended the first world Series in which a Black man did play in.

Ty Cobb seemed to have approached baseball the way Michael Jordan approached basketball. He took it extremely seriously and didn't suffer fools as teammates.

He was my first cousin,he was a difficult man,but a smart and wise man so many choose to see he opened a hospital and orphanage in Ga.and money for schools, we were raised very strict,but loving folks when you can get through the layers.He was mean,but he did a lot for the players as well,it wasn't about race,to him it was about being right I hate to say,as far as a murder goes,he may have,but they were attempting to rob him and my cousin was not going to be robbed,Ill leave that at that,Our family did a lot for all races,he stood up for all in baseball,yes he drank. but he also helped many of people and still is till this day,He was the greatest player of all time,it's a shame back them media led the way never showing the good always watching and printing any thing that will sell a paper,my cousin had family issues,who don't?The man we knew was a strong brave from time to time mean,but caring person.R.I.P. Ty...

The old adage is true: "A lie can go around the world before the truth can wake up and put its pants on."

a very important lesson in life: people believe what they want to...the fancy name is 'confirmation bias'

I read baseball history and stay books in elementary school and all that I read about Cobb was his stats and greatness ,and the bad guy stories this guy is talking about. Glad to see someone checked and is trying to get the truth out.

I don’t know where my dad got his information but as a kid in the early 60’s I asked him about Cobb after I’d heard he died. Dad assured me that all the bad stuff said about Cobb was a bunch of BS. Over the years I ran across a few articles of players who played with Cobb that validated what dad had told me. I’ve never heard of Mr. Leershen but I’m going to find his book. 👍👍👍

This is the most baseball I've ever gotten in an hour. Total respect for this journalist. 👏 (edit) And I've spoken directly to Greg Maddox... at Veteran's Stadium in Philly.

Has Ken Burns publicly apologized? He certainly should.

I wish I would have known you were writing this book. I could have helped you about some truths. No I'm not a writer, but as a kid I heard about the spikes & other story's. I went home and asked my father who played against Cobb. My father didn't talk about his days of playing unless I asked. My father told me the truth in the 50s about Cobb. Nice guy they had respect for each other like Ruth. I'm not a computer guy, my father never heard about one. I can't leave my name or number here I'd get to many calls. I read in Wikipedia my father stopped Cobb's 21 game hitting streak and wondered if it was true. I don't trust computers for info and my father died in 1976. Won 3 lost 1 in the 1917 WS GHW and NYG. I'm glad you cleared Cobb's record up. UCF II

Cobb started a hospital in GA too.

I never believed the racism part. You never heard these negative stories about Cobb when i was young. I didn't hear these stories until i was in my forties.

Cobb also was a rich man, due to wise investing. He personally supported a number of retired ballplayers when MLB had no pension plan. He also built a hospital for his hometown. Leerhsen does a masterful analysis here. A true historical perspective. He should pursue Joe Jackson's story next (No. It hasn't been done).

The fact that people of their era who knew both Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, saw both play, and voted for the first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame cast more votes for Ty Cobb than Babe Ruth (whom people today regard as the greatest of all time) seems to be another "inconvenient truth" about Cobb.

I admired Ty Cobb as the hard charging baseball player he was, now i admire him as a human .

Thank you for taking the time to set the record straight.

Thank you. I love baseball. I saw that Cobb movie at a young impressionable age and took it a bit more to heart then i should have. Its a shame. Such a shame. Bravo, guy. Nice.

Seems to be a real shame what they did to the reputation of the man. It's good to see truth and justice prevail in the end.

This was very interesting...and insightful. I heard of the man named Ty Cobb as a youth (born in 1964). I became more fascinated with this man when the Ty Cobb movie came out. Moved so by this movie, I purchased the book by Al Stump. I am a black man. Eventhough Ty Cobb was painted as a racist and general malcontent, he never stopped being fascinating to me. Someone that one could have learned a lot from. The presentment here confirmed for me that Cobb was nothing more than a misunderstood genius. It's funny sometimes how long it takes for us to come to fully understand a subject.

I almost think that with the internet people's reputations can be destroyed quicker than it was in the old days. Good video. Thx for posting it.

It's funny that all these people vehemently disagreeing with Leerhsen are repeating things they've heard and with extreme bias. Leerhsen did actual reporting on this topic. He should be applauded for what he's written.

If there is any shred of truth to the notion that Cobb was not the racist pig he had been painted to be, people should consider it. Cobb will always be a top three player of all time and to have his legendary play relegated to being a sidenote in his story is unfair.

Ty Cobb..a baseball legend..and not so bad after all...i always respected him as a player...now iv come to respect him as a real person..indeed...I was one such fool that belived this myth of Mr. Cobbs bad reputation...thanks for the facts..much appreacheated....exellent lecture...

Cobb had serious talent. He worked very hard to be the best baseball player out there. No one was as competitive as he was. Nobody…

watched him in whats my line. At the end of the show he walked up to the two women first, very deliberate and gentlemanly. Says alot in my eyes

"ty cobb it turns out descended from a long line of abolitionists"? wha? "his great grandfather preached against slavery... and run out of town." "his grandfather refused to fight for the confederacy because of slavery." "his father as a politician spoke up for his black constituents, (once broke up a lynch mob) and had a short career because of it." that certainly changes things doesn't it?

I just ordered this book and cannot wait to read it. I have been a lifelong baseball fan and a student of baseball history for many years. I have always been astounded by Cobb's numbers. I read Al Stump's book long ago and remember thinking that the book made Cobb sound like a cartoon character. I look forward to reading this book.

Baseball fans revere the past far more than football or basketball fans. We argue endlessly about who was the greatest this and that. Mays or Mantle? Koufax or Gibson? Bench or Berra? But there is this: Ty Cobb had a LIFETIME OBP of .420. He got on base over 4 times for every 10 at bats. He retired with over 80 MLB records. You can say what you want, but in the all-time all-star lineup Ty Cobb is your lead off hitter and he always will be

The work ethic of Ty Cobb has always been my own inspiration to “get tough”, a quality lacking in spades inside and outside the ballparks.

The Georgia Peach is the best baseball player ever. He really was a much better man than what he was portrayed to be in the media.

poor Ty never won a championship.But he was the best player.

I’m glad the record has been corrected, or at least amended. A lie will travel half way around the world before the truth has a chance to get its socks on.

I HAD BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS....AND EVERYONE TOLD ME I WAS CRAZY!!!!!!

Having just acquired Mr. Leerhsen's book at the Edgartown Book Store while staying at our family home on Martha's Vineyard I am only about 6 chapters into the book. I am a lifelong baseball fan and baseball player who now plays golf and tennis. Learning more about Ty Cobb intrigued me when I saw the book on the shelf and after thinking about it for about 10 seconds I decided to purchase the book. I was always curious about Ty Cobb---his legendary status as one of the game's greatest is without doubt. But what about the man? As a Yankee fan I know a lot about the Babe and the Mick---but how about Ty Cobb? Now I am learning about his character, his intelligence and his incredible ability to keep improving his many athletic gifts. It is so far a great read and very enlightening. Nice to have found this lecture. Thanks for taking the time to make the effort to discover the real Ty Cobb, Mr Leerhsen. I am enjoying it immensely. My best, Keith Kulper

Can't wait to read the book! The truth shall set you free as it has been said

he is the greatest he has records that will never be broken first the 367 batting avg

Ty Cobb- The greatest center fielder the game has ever known.

Many of Cobb's records are still unbroken.think about that for just one moment and For a man that was never a big HR hitter, he did in fact at 1 time, led the majors in homeruns. The greatest baseball player of the deadball era and in my opinion of all time

Ty Cobb. Best baseball player hands down. Not even close !!!

I'd be willing to bet that there are few really great people who were without flaws. As a music historian, I can tell you that you wouldn't want to have dinner with Ludwig von Beethoven. Does that diminish the astonishing accomplishments he achieved? Ty Cobb is no less a hero, an icon, with his flaws. Who cares? Van Gogh, after being abused by the people of Arles who did not appreciate is art or his persona, said, "What do we want from our artists? Isn't it enough that they ennoble us, give us beauty?"

As a tigers fan its always great to know that we had the greatest player of all time ty cobb

I love researchers like this. By doing the work with an open mind, they actually flip their own perspective & opinion of an established narrative. Leerhson uncovers a 23 & me reality about Ty Cobb.

He hit over .400 three times in his career. Hitting .400 nowadays is near impossible.

I am only 68 years old which means I never saw Ty Cobb. Still he was one of the greatest baseball players I ever read about. His record of 12 American League batting championships 9 times in a row. 3 times he hit 400 or better. His 366 batting average is also a record to this day.

really enjoyed this! thank goodness for Charles and his research!

Absolutely LOVED the reference to Jim Bouton's "Ball Four"...IMO the greatest sports book ever written. Bouton chronicled the 1969 season as a member of the Seattle Pilots who played one season and then moved to Milwaukee and were renamed the Brewers. Bouton was sent to the Astros as a trade-deadline acquisition for Houston who was involved in their first-ever pennant race. It was voted one of the 50 most important works of literature of the 20th century along with "The Grapes of Wrath", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "The Great Gatsby" and "Catch 22" among others. It is a MUST READ for any baseball fan and for any historian interested in understanding American culture.

I read his book about Cobb. I'm glad that he set the record straight.

What a player! He starts in center on my all time team!

This was very entertaining I'm so glad somebody came forward and did this

My family is a baseball family. Baseball is what i first remember in my life. I have always told .y father that Tu Cobb is the greatest baseball player ever. My fathers arguement was that Cobb was a racist. My counter was that we judge on the field performance. Either way. I wish Dad was around to watch this video. Well done.

This Book should be presented to the Baseball hall of fame . The facts are amazing and as always people think the worst of a man who never had the chance to defend himself. This wonderful man should present his information to the Hall of Fame and they need to change so the future generation will know the truth .

Satchel Paige said it was former players like Cobb, Dizzy Dean, and others who encouraged black players to stick with it and then recommended that they play in the majors.

I read excerpts from his book, about Cobb, a few yrs ago, in Imprimus. I wasn't suprised about Cobb, not being the evil man Stump portrayed him to be. Cobbs numbers are astounding, 12 AL Batting Titles, he won at least 1 Triple Crown, had the stolen base record, until Lou Brock,& later Rickey Henderson broke his record. Highest lifetime Batting Avg., he had the most lifetime hits until Rose broke that record. If I remember correctly he hit in the .320s his last yr for the Philadelphia A's, & Connie Mack, told him he had a decent yr, so he should quit while he was still good "in the public eye". Quite a remarkable player. In baseball as with other professional sports, it's the numbers that count. I read Cobb was paid $50k a yr, plus a $50k bonus at the end of the season.(That's incredible money, for that time. That would be $1.4 million in today's money. So with his bonus he was making around $3million per season) I've never understood the psychology of tearing down famous, gifted, great, people,by those who are basically hacks, IMO. I think the speaker did a good job explaining the reasons. However, the lies about Cobb, prove, that if one repeats the lie long enough, soon people will believe it's the truth. Cobb was the greatest hitter of all time, he played when pitchers threw spitters, shineballs, etc. & still hit over .400 3x. Look at how many ABs(at bats) it took Rose to finally pass him. I was a fan of Rose, I believed him when he lied for all those yrs about gambling on baseball, then he comes out & says he DID gamble.(I felt like a fool). Kudos to the author, who did his due diligence, for this book. And for printing the truth. 1 correction it wasn't John/Yochanan (the disciple of Jesus/Yeshua) who said "The truth will set you free". John did write those words. But he was actually quoting Jesus/Yeshua.

These kids at Hillsdale are far more articulate then most of the idiots I hear asking Qs at places like UNC, UCLA, UoM and ASU. These kids are well-spoken and intelligent.

A fabulous presentation. Great pro Ty Cobb presentation of the real, authentic Ty Cobb.

This book was an excellent read. Mr Leershen objectively puts in the research to describe Cobbs life in and out of baseball. I can only hope Cobbs descendants are satisfied with his work.

This book is not only one of the best sports biographies , but one of the best biographies period, that I have read. And I have read hundreds of bios . I was engrossed for days reading it

Sounds like Stump would’ve made a good reporter for CNN these days.

great presentation....thank you you for sharing.....loved Cobb

I visited his museum attached to the Ty Cobb hospital. I read the book. Cobb was definitely impuned by a poor book that was terribly researched.

Just read this on line before finding it here, great work! Also read Stumps book decades ago, your presentation was worth the viewing.

I'm glad this book was written I always knew this was exaggerated about Cobb like most history never get to the truth.

Cobb:What A Player!😀

I read a book about Ty. The book is around here somewhere. What really made me shiver was a story in the book. I think it was about Ty or a teammate where the player had tonsillitis. He went to the doctor like 6 hours before a game. The Doctor cut the tonsils out while he was wide awake without any pain killer. He made it to the game though. Those old timers were a different breed.

Ty Cobb during WWI was a captain,a fairly high Army rank for that time, in the Ist Gas Regiment which was re-designated from the 30th Engineers.The man had significant intellectual power.

I read this book a few years ago, had not seen this presentation until now. The book is fantastic, well researched, and presented in an engaging way. One of the best sports books I have read. It's obvious Cobb got his reputation destroyed and Al Stump was typical yellow journalist piece of trash. This presentation doesn't even go into all the slimy activities Stump was involved in. Cobb was a treasure. Easily one of the top two or three players of all time. Its shameful how his reputation was soiled after his death. Rest in peace Ty Cobb. Rest in piss Al Stump.

The Detroit Tigers organization needs to jump on this story and clean this man's name because I too have heard the stories of Ty Cobb being a awful man and it showed me that at the end of the day you need to do your own research and stop taking peoples opinion as the gospel truth and on a side note you can't tell me that the people who have written books negatively on Ty Cobb didn't come across some this information.

I have watched this several times and each time it hits me differently.

Ty Cobb was at the 1930 dedication of the Negro League Stadium in Highland Park, Mi. , home of the Detroit Stars for over 20 years. Here is an excerpt from the Detroit Free Press May 16th 2020. "The oft-repeated portrait of Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb is that the “Georgia Peach” was a racist and nothing short of a monster of a person. So it is interesting to note that 90 years ago, on May 11, 1930, it was Cobb, two years after retiring as the game's greatest player, who took a train from Georgia to throw out the first pitch at Hamtramck Stadium, the new Negro League ballpark that served as the on-and-off home field of the Detroit Stars from 1930 to 1937 and the Detroit Wolves in 1932."

Cobb is one of the greatest athletes all time.

As a senior soon entering a 55 and up slow pitch senior softball league I have two bats ready, 1 factory bat with the engraved Cobbs printed name, my other bat I hand engraved myself his signature name with a wood burning set.. I will set the tone this fall with this new assembled team here in Mesa Az. and will declare 'I am here to win games and not to 'F around'. ..even with the seniors who are here to relive the 'old days' and to have fun, which I am not against, the Cobb attitude Robert at 69.

I just finished this book. AMAZING!

Cobb the movie was a hit piece.

The spike sharpening myth is so much fun to believe though.

History is 2 sets of lies agreed upon."-Napolean

Great book! I'm glad he set the record straight. It was funny in sections, too.

23 Years Straight Hitting At Least .320/12 Batting Titles,9 In A Row./.367 Career avg.

I can see why Pete Rose idolized Ty Cobb even though they played in different eras they were a lot alike

God Bless you for just getting us to question this narrative .

Hillsdale College would never allow this man to speak today

I just cringed as I listened to this and discovered not only that we had the story wrong; we had it almost completely wrong and pillaried a man for crimes he mostly didn't commit.

The players who saw them both play almost universally said Wagner was the better all-around ballplayer. And unlike Cobb, Wagner was liked by his teammates, whereas the most charitable thing guys like Sam Crawford and Davey Jones could say about Cobb was that they felt sorry for him.

In the process of reading “ A Terrible Beauty “ so far what a great read on a subject l believed l knew a lot about . I didn’t. But a gnawing regret, one l have had no control over the circumstances of, eats away at me as l turn the pages and consume the true facts of a legend, the regret that l was just born too late to watch this ball player play in person . Not on a televised game or on a highlight clip on the news but l mean on a field in a packed stadium with fans roaring at his feats of skill on a baseball Diamond . If you have not read Mr. Leerhsen’s book , get it, read it, keep it . If you collect Biographies and Autobiographies like l do you’ll be proud to have this one in your collection

I've been a baseball fan for over 60 years and I have visit the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown I seen the section where he's in he just struck me as a guy that would give the quarter and ask the quarter and went about and done his job a lot of the story about him have probably been taken out of context I enjoyed a lot of things that you said and learned a few things I didn't know and like I said I've been a baseball fan for 60 years I enjoyed the talk you made thank you very much

Thanks for this excellent presentation. Highly recommend the book (6th cousin, 2x removed)

He was a total badass on the diamond I bet his teammates didn’t talk crap on him

The lady in the red turtle neck sweater nailed it !!!!!!!!

I had repeatly heard, or read Stump was a horrible undependable writer, but he made Cobb unforgettable, and we'll remembered.

I was a little uncomfortable with the earnest (almost vindictive, but let's just say "passionate") tone of the author's presentation. The only thing I can chime in on is that he misrepresented Ty Cobb's appearance on "I've Got a Secret". Mr. Leerhsen claims that the four panelists "didn't even know who he was". This is the opposite of the truth. For starters, Bill Cullen and Henry Morgan were blindfolded for Cobb's appearance. They were given very little time to guess his secret -- using most of their time just trying to pin him down to a team and to get a time-frame for his "accomplishment". (That his accomplishment was having the highest lifetime batting average made it that much more difficult to pin down.) Out of time very quickly, the host announced that the mystery guest was none other than Ty Cobb. All four panelists were delighted. Cullen and Morgan, obviously, knew very well who Ty Cobb was. (The previous guest was Johnny Vander Meer. Cullen knew who it was as soon as he realized that his accomplishment -- consecutive no-hitters -- happened in 1938. Morgan guessed that it was Vander Meer very quickly.) After Cobb was revealed as the mystery guest, Jayne Meadows was delighted, saying that she'd always wanted to meet him. Kitty Carlisle mentioned that he was one of the few baseball players whose name she knew. So, why does Charles Leershen claim that those four panelists "didn't even know who he was"?

Eric, I have been a baseball fan for 70 years and know all about baseball history. You are correct! Cobb is the greatest by his lifetime BA. of .367

This was a great presentation, and Mr. Leerhsen deserves tremendous credit for the research he did in writing his book, which has debunked the insidious myths about Cobb so that his standing in baseball history can be restored to its rightful place. However, the question from the one Hillsdale student about why the Detroit Tigers organization never defended Cobb adequately against the myths was a good one, and Leerhsen had trouble answering it; sounded to me like Leerhsen was unsure about that himself. Even though they have kept the statue of Cobb outside Comerica Park in Detroit, the Tigers clearly should have done more through the decades to defend Cobb against the character assassinations by Al Stump. Ken Burns, and others. And now that Leerhsen has helped us understand how Ty Cobb was the exact opposite of a racist, there is absolutely no reason for the 'Woke' mob to demand the removal of his statue or vandalize it!

Why is it necessary to belittle Ruth's ability in order to praise Cobb. Ruth had great bat speed, yes, but he also hit well above .300. Jesus.

19:32 - Doesn’t surprise me. Ken Burns is overrated.

Makes one wonder how much of the past is untrue.

When I start all time team, Mr. Cobb takes his rightful place in center.

I loved his book!! So glad he set the public record straight the Georgia Peach has always been my favorite player!!

Buck oneil even said that Ty cobb wasn't a racist I saw the video right here on you tube

Nice lecture, I purchased the book.

I think his bad reputation had much to do with the era he was alive in. Back then, when he was playing, there wasn't much media coverage or video cameras around, so once rumors started (even if they were false or exaggerated) about someone it probably spread like wildfire because that's all people really had to go on. It's like when families gathered around the fire in the 1700's, and the parents told their kids tall tales, ghost stories and folklore etc...... the kids imaginations ran wild with it. There were no televisions or video games for people back then, so a lot of their entertainment came from the way they tweaked stories and rumors. He may have been a man of his times, but I don't believe he was as bad as people made him out to be. In fact, he may have really been just the opposite. I once read on him when he was coaching after he retired. The players he was coaching didn't have anything negative to say about him. One said, "Cobb doesn't have a mean bone in his body". It's the better evidence for something back then, cause it's coming straight from the source he was at rather than a sports writer trying to make a living. He was also quoted after his hof induction saying " black ball players should be treated as equally as white ball players". He had a driven hard playing style to cause havoc to his opponents, similar to that of Pete Rose, but that's the way the game is supposed to be played. They just left it on the field after each game. As professional athletes, I'm sure they understood there is an appropriate time and place for everything. He claimed he was a student of the game and studied it, which is one of the reasons he had success. His stats are still amazing to this day, which is why I like to respect him as a baseball player. And as far as his bad reputation, who am I to assume or judge, I didn't know him and wasn't born yet back then. I just listened to a 6 min radio interview with him though, in his 70's, seemed like a cool guy to talk baseball with.