125-706: The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit . The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division . One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit as a member of the minor league Western League in 1894 and is the only Western League team still in its original city. They are also
250-519: A Dallas spring training doubleheader against the New York Giants because of a golf outing. Several of the Giants, including Buck Herzog , called him names from the bench. Cobb retaliated by spiking Herzog during the second game, prompting a bench-clearing brawl in which Cobb ground Herzog's face in the dirt. The Dallas Police Department had to help stop the brawl, and Cobb was thrown out of
375-606: A "young fellow named Cobb seems to be showing an unusual lot of talent." After about three months, Cobb returned to the Tourists and finished the season hitting .237 in 35 games. While with the Tourists he was mentored and coached by George Leidy, who emphasized pinpoint bunting and aggression on the basepaths. In August 1905, the management of the Tourists sold Cobb to the American League 's Detroit Tigers for $ 750 (equivalent to $ 25,433 in 2023). On August 8, 1905, Cobb's mother, Amanda, fatally shot his father, William, with
500-619: A $ 100 fine. This incident has often been retold with the elevator operator and the watchman both being black. However, recent scholarship has shown that all parties involved were white. On August 13, 1912, the same day the Tigers were to play the New York Highlanders at Hilltop Park , Cobb and his wife were driving to a train station in Syracuse that was to transport him to the game when three intoxicated men had stopped him on
625-631: A 22-year career as a Tiger in November 1926, and headed home to Augusta, Georgia . Shortly thereafter, Tris Speaker also retired as player-manager of the Cleveland Indians . The retirement of two great players at the same time sparked some interest, and it turned out that the two were coerced into retirement because of allegations of game-fixing brought about by Dutch Leonard , a former pitcher managed by Cobb. Leonard accused former pitcher and outfielder Smoky Joe Wood and Cobb of betting on
750-623: A 4–3 victory. After owner Frank Navin died in the offseason, Walter Briggs Sr. took over control of the team. Despite being forecast to win the American League pennant again in 1936 , the Tigers fell to a distant second place behind the New York Yankees both that season and in 1937 . The team fell further down the standings with an 84–70 record in 1938 and an 81–73 record in 1939 . Hank Greenberg nevertheless provided some excitement for Tigers fans in 1938 by challenging
875-574: A 5–0 lead before he threw a pitch en route to a 9–3 victory over the Cubs . Because many stars had not yet returned from the military, some baseball scholars have deemed the 1945 World Series to be among the worst-played contests in World Series history. For example, prior to the World Series, Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown was asked who he liked, and he answered, "I don't think either one of them can win." Following their World Series win in 1945,
1000-543: A Cincinnati hotel room after watching his son win Game 1. An inspired Newsom won Game 5 and pitched Game 7 on just one day's rest. This was the third time the Tigers had lost a World Series in a deciding seventh game. With Hank Greenberg serving in World War II for all or parts of the 1941–1944 seasons, the Tigers struggled to recapture the glory of 1940. They finished no higher than fifth place in 1941–1943, but did manage
1125-407: A Cleveland hotel. Cobb got into an argument with the elevator operator around 2:15 a.m. when the man refused to take him to the floor where some of his teammates were having a card game. The elevator operator stated that he could only take Cobb to the floor where his room was. As the argument escalated, a night watchman approached and he and Cobb eventually got into a physical confrontation. During
1250-475: A Tigers–Indians game played in Detroit on September 25, 1919, in which they allegedly orchestrated a Tigers victory to win the bet. Leonard claimed proof existed in letters written to him by Cobb and Wood. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis held a secret hearing with Cobb, Speaker and Wood. A second secret meeting among the AL directors led to the unpublicized resignations of Cobb and Speaker; however, rumors of
1375-467: A batting record set by Wee Willie Keeler , with four five-hit games in a season. This has since been matched by Stan Musial , Tony Gwynn and Ichiro Suzuki . On May 10, 1924, Cobb was honored at ceremonies before a game in Washington, D.C., by more than 100 dignitaries and legislators. He received 21 books, one for each year in professional baseball. At the end of 1925, Cobb was again embroiled in
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#17327933439421500-476: A batting title race, this time with one of his teammates and players, Harry Heilmann . In a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns on October 4, 1925, Heilmann got six hits to lead the Tigers to a sweep of the doubleheader and beat Cobb for the batting crown, .393 to .389. Cobb and Browns player-manager George Sisler each pitched in the final game, Cobb pitching a perfect inning. Cobb announced his retirement after
1625-702: A child, and decided that he wanted to go professional one day; his father was vehemently opposed to this idea, but by his teenage years, he was trying out for area teams. He played his first years in organized baseball for the Royston Rompers, the semi-pro Royston Reds, and the Augusta Tourists of the South Atlantic League , who released him after only two days. He then tried out for the Anniston, Alabama based Anniston Steelers of
1750-494: A controlled environment, which eventually caused Mathewson to contract the tuberculosis that killed him on the eve of the 1925 World Series. On August 19, 1921, in the second game of a doubleheader against Elmer Myers of the Boston Red Sox , Cobb collected his 3,000th hit. Aged 34 at the time, he is still the youngest ballplayer to reach that milestone, and in the fewest at-bats (8,093). By 1920, Babe Ruth , sold to
1875-497: A couple of mostly discredited biographies that were released following his death. Cobb's reputation as a violent man was exaggerated by his first biographer, sportswriter Al Stump , whose stories about Cobb have been proven as sensationalized and largely fictional. While he was known for often violent conflicts, he spoke favorably about black players joining the Major Leagues and was a well-known philanthropist. Cobb
2000-547: A double and a single. As Ruth's popularity grew, Cobb became increasingly hostile toward him. He saw the Babe not only as a threat to his style of play, but also to his style of life. Perhaps what angered him the most about Ruth was that despite Babe's total disregard for his physical condition and traditional baseball, he was still an overwhelming success and brought fans to the ballparks in record numbers to see him challenge his own slugging records. On May 5, 1925, Cobb told
2125-445: A fight, several reporters came running and found Cobb and Schmidt wrestling on the ground. When the fight was broken up and Cobb had walked away, Schmidt remained behind and told the reporters that he saw Cobb assaulting Cummings and his wife and had intervened. Leerhsen speculates that this was just another one of Schmidt's assaults on Cobb and that once discovered, Schmidt made up a story that made him sound like he had assaulted Cobb for
2250-454: A final average of .408, twelve points lower than Cobb's .420, a 20th-century record which stood until George Sisler tied it and Rogers Hornsby surpassed it with .424, the record since then (until 2024) except for Hugh Duffy's .438 in the 19th century. I often tried plays that looked recklessly daring, maybe even silly. But I never tried anything foolish when a game was at stake, only when we were far ahead or far behind. I did it to study how
2375-466: A game against the Athletics in 1907 [on September 30]... The Athletics had us beaten, with Rube Waddell pitching. They were two runs ahead in the 9th inning, when I happened to hit a home run that tied the score. This game went 17 innings to a tie, and a few days later, we clinched our first pennant. You can understand what it meant for a 20-year-old country boy to hit a home run off the great Rube, in
2500-443: A great baseball player and I won't allow him to be driven off this club." The following year, 1906, Cobb became the Tigers' full-time center fielder and hit .316 in 98 games, setting a record for the highest batting average (minimum 310 plate appearances) for a 19-year-old (later bested by Mel Ott 's .322 average in 124 games for the 1928 New York Giants ). He never hit below that mark again. After being moved to right field, he led
2625-401: A hit in 12 consecutive plate appearances over a three-game stretch from July 14 to 15, tying a major league record set by Johnny Kling in 1902. Team owner Walter Briggs Sr. died in 1952. His son Walter Briggs Jr. inherited the team, but he was forced to sell it in 1956 to broadcast media owners John Fetzer and Fred Knorr . Notwithstanding Detroit's fall in the standings, the decade saw
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#17327933439422750-485: A lineup that already included second baseman Charlie Gehringer . In 1927 , Harry Heilmann flirted with a .400 batting average all year, eventually finishing at .398 and winning his fourth AL batting title. Following the 1933 season, the Tigers added perhaps the final piece of the puzzle, acquiring catcher Mickey Cochrane from the Philadelphia Athletics to serve as player-manager. The Tigers won
2875-438: A long series against Jackson's Cleveland Naps . Fellow Southerners Cobb and Jackson were personally friendly both on and off the field. Cobb used that friendship to his advantage. Cobb ignored Jackson when Jackson tried to say anything to him. When Jackson persisted, Cobb snapped angrily back at him, making him wonder what he could have done to enrage Cobb. Cobb felt that it was these mind games that caused Jackson to "fall off" to
3000-658: A member of the AL East . Since 2000 , the Tigers have played their home games at Comerica Park in Downtown Detroit . The Tigers constructed Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Avenue in Corktown just west of Downtown Detroit and began playing there in 1896. In 1912, the team moved into Navin Field, which was built on the same location. It was expanded in 1938 and renamed Briggs Stadium. It
3125-471: A new National Agreement. The Tigers were established as a charter member of the now major league American League in 1901. They played their first game as a major league team at home against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 25, 1901, with an estimated 10,000 fans at Bennett Park. After entering the ninth inning behind 13–4, the team staged a dramatic comeback to win 14–13. The team finished third in
3250-581: A noble purpose. In 1908, Cobb attacked a black laborer in Detroit who complained when Cobb stepped into freshly poured asphalt; Cobb was found guilty of battery, but the sentence was suspended. In September 1907, Cobb began a relationship with The Coca-Cola Company that lasted the remainder of his life. By the time he died, he held over 20,000 shares of stock and owned bottling plants in Santa Maria, California , Twin Falls, Idaho , and Bend, Oregon . He
3375-620: A pennant-winning game with two outs in the ninth." Despite great success on the field, Cobb was no stranger to controversy off it. As described in Smithsonian , "In 1907 during spring training in Augusta, Georgia, a black groundskeeper named Bungy Cummings, whom Cobb had known for years, attempted to shake Cobb's hand or pat him on the shoulder." The "overly familiar greeting infuriated" Cobb, who attacked Cummings. When Cummings' wife tried to defend him, Cobb allegedly choked her. The assault
3500-402: A pistol that William had purchased for her. Court records indicate that William Cobb had suspected Amanda of infidelity and was sneaking past his own bedroom window to catch her in the act. She saw the silhouette of what she presumed to be an intruder and, acting in self-defense, shot and killed her husband. Amanda Cobb was charged with murder and released on a $ 7,000 recognizance bond . She
3625-553: A record 23 consecutive seasons, with the exception being his rookie season. He also hit .400 in three different seasons , a record he shares with three other players. Cobb has more five-hit games (14) than any other player in major league history. He also holds the career record for stealing home (54 times) and for stealing second base, third base, and home in succession (4 times), and as the youngest player ever to compile 4,000 hits and score 2,000 runs. His combined total of 4,065 runs scored and runs batted in (after adjusting for home runs)
3750-660: A reporter that, for the first time in his career, he was going to try to hit home runs, saying he wanted to show that he could hit home runs but simply chose not to. That day, he went 6 for 6, with two singles, a double and three homers. The 16 total bases set a new AL record, which stood until May 8, 2012, when Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers hit four home runs and a double for a total of 18 bases. The next day Cobb had three more hits, two of which were home runs. The single his first time up gave him nine consecutive hits over three games, while his five homers in two games tied
3875-407: A season without hitting a ball over the fence. In the same season, Charles M. Conlon snapped the famous photograph of a grimacing Cobb sliding into third base amid a cloud of dirt, which visually captured the grit and ferocity of his playing style. Going into the final days of the 1910 season, Cobb had a .004 lead on Nap Lajoie for the American League batting title. The prize for the winner of
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4000-414: A second-place finish in 1944 , largely on the strength of pitchers Hal Newhouser and Dizzy Trout , who won 29 and 27 games, respectively. Newhouser, who was 29–9 with a 2.22 ERA, won the first of his two consecutive AL MVP awards this season. The Tigers were in first place as late as September 18, but would finish one game behind the St. Louis Browns for the AL pennant. With the end of World War II and
4125-410: A snarling wildcat." Tigers manager Hughie Jennings later acknowledged that Cobb was targeted for abuse by veteran players, some of whom sought to force him off the team. "I let this go for a while because I wanted to satisfy myself that Cobb has as much guts as I thought in the very beginning," Jennings recalled. "Well, he proved it to me, and I told the other players to let him alone. He is going to be
4250-786: A story by sports columnist Grantland Rice , the film casts Cobb as "himself," a small-town Georgia bank clerk with a talent for baseball. Broadway critic Ward Morehouse called the movie "absolutely the worst flicker I ever saw, pure hokum." In October 1918, Cobb enlisted in the Chemical Corps branch of the United States Army and was sent to the Allied Expeditionary Forces headquarters in Chaumont, France . He served approximately 67 days overseas before being honorably discharged and returning to
4375-471: A then-club record 100 games, but narrowly lost the AL pennant to the Boston Red Sox , who won 101 games. The 1915 Tigers were led by an outfield consisting of Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and Bobby Veach that finished #1, #2, and #3 in RBIs and total bases . Cobb also set a stolen base record with 96 steals in 1915 that stood until 1962, when it was broken by Maury Wills . Baseball historian Bill James has ranked
4500-458: A throwing tendency of first baseman Hal Chase but having to wait two full years until the opportunity came to exploit it. By unexpectedly altering his own baserunning tendencies, he was able to surprise Chase and score the winning run of the game in question. On May 15, 1912, Cobb assaulted a heckler, Claude Lucker (often misspelled as Lueker), in the stands in New York's Hilltop Park where
4625-523: A tight three-team race, the 90–64 Tigers won the 1940 AL pennant by one game over the Cleveland Indians and two games over the New York Yankees . Prior to the season, first baseman Hank Greenberg was persuaded to move to left field to make room for Rudy York , whom the Tigers had deemed no longer suitable to be their catcher. The move proved successful. York hit .316 with 33 home runs and 134 RBIs. Greenberg batted .340 and slammed 41 home runs while driving in 150. Greenberg won his second AL MVP award, becoming
4750-705: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since
4875-545: Is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in
5000-486: Is perfect. [No one has] the combined power and eye of Ruth." Tigers owner Frank Navin tapped Cobb to take over for Hughie Jennings as manager for the 1921 season, a deal he signed on his 34th birthday for $ 32,500 (equivalent to approximately $ 555,168 in today's terms ). The signing surprised the baseball world. Although Cobb was a legendary player, he was disliked throughout the baseball community, even by his own teammates. The closest Cobb came to winning another pennant
5125-418: Is still the highest ever produced by any major league player. Cobb also ranks first in games played by an outfielder in major league history (2,934). He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974 as well as the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977. He also had
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5250-483: The American League for 1900, it was still a minor league, but the next year, it broke from the National Agreement and declared itself a major league, openly competing with the National League for players and for fans in four contested cities. For a while, there were rumors of the team relocating to Pittsburgh . However, these rumors were put to rest when the two leagues made peace in 1903 when they signed
5375-405: The Boston Red Sox to 104 wins (12 games ahead of the second-place Tigers). Also in 1946, the Tigers acquired George Kell , a third baseman who would become a 10-time all-star and Hall of Famer. He batted over .300 in eight straight seasons (1946–53), and finished with a career .306 average. Kell won the batting title in a very close race with Ted Williams in 1949 , going 2-for-3 on the last day of
5500-504: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with
5625-628: The National Baseball Hall of Fame , receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.2%); no other player received a higher percentage of votes until Tom Seaver in 1992. In 1999, the Sporting News ranked Cobb third on its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." Cobb is credited with setting 9000 MLB records throughout his career. Cobb has won more batting titles than any other player, with 11 (or 12, depending on source). During his entire 24-year career, he hit .300 in
5750-586: The most career hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source) and most career runs until 2001. His .366 career batting average was officially listed as the highest-ever until 2024, when MLB decided to include Negro Leagues players in official statistics. Cobb's reputation, which includes a large college scholarship fund for Georgia residents financed by his early investments in Coca-Cola and General Motors , has been somewhat tarnished by allegations of racism and violence. These primarily stem from
5875-462: The pitching triple crown , leading the AL in wins (25), ERA (1.81) and strikeouts (212). He became the first pitcher in the history of the AL, and still the only pitcher as of 2024, to win the MVP Award in two consecutive seasons. With Newhouser, Trucks and Dizzy Trout on the mound and Greenberg leading the offense, Detroit responded in a World Series Game 7 for the first time, staking Newhouser to
6000-599: The "Tigers," beat a local semi-pro team, known as the Athletics, by a score of 30–3. The Tigers played their first Western League game at Bennett Park on April 28, 1896, defeating the Columbus Senators 17–2. At the end of the 1897 season, Rube Waddell was loaned to the team to gain professional experience. After being fined, Waddell left Detroit to pitch in Canada. When the Western League renamed itself
6125-448: The 1907 season with a league-leading .350 batting average, 212 hits, 49 steals and 119 runs batted in (RBI). At age 20, he was the youngest player to win a batting championship and held this record until 1955, when fellow Detroit Tiger Al Kaline won the batting title while twelve days younger than Cobb had been. Reflecting on his career in 1930, two years after retiring, he told Grantland Rice , "The biggest thrill I ever got came in
6250-475: The 1915 Tigers outfield as the greatest in the history of baseball. The only team in Tigers' history with a better winning percentage than the 1915 squad was the 1934 team that lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals . The Tigers dropped to third place in 1916 with an 87–67 record, and would remain mired in the middle of the AL standings the rest of the decade, never winning more than 80 games. In
6375-700: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,
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#17327933439426500-453: The 1934 AL pennant with a 101–53 record, at the time a team record for wins, and still the best win percentage (.656) in team history. The Tigers infield (Hank Greenberg and Charlie Gehringer, along with shortstop Billy Rogell and third baseman Marv Owen ) accumulated 462 runs during the season, with Gehringer (214 hits, .356 average) leading the way. Schoolboy Rowe led a strong pitching staff, winning 16 straight decisions at one point of
6625-547: The 1961 season, and would later say of the accomplishment: "It was a freak. Even at the time, I realized that." Cash's plate heroics, which also included 41 home runs and 132 RBI, might have earned him MVP honors were it not for New York's Roger Maris bashing a then record 61 homers the same season. Cash also drew 124 walks for a league-leading .487 on-base percentage. Tigers outfielder Rocky Colavito actually bettered Cash's home run and RBI totals, with 45 and 140, respectively. Professional baseball Professional baseball
6750-474: The 71–83 1960 team , but still finished eight games behind the Yankees . This marked one of the few times in major league history that a team failed to reach the postseason despite winning 100 or more games, though it had happened once before to the Tigers in 1915. First baseman Norm Cash won the batting title with a .361 average, while teammate Al Kaline finished second. Cash never hit over .286 before or after
6875-549: The AL MVP by the Baseball Writers' Association of America . On May 12, 1911, playing against the New York Highlanders , he scored from first base on a single to right field, then scored another run from second base on a wild pitch. In the seventh inning, he tied the game with a two-run double. The Highlanders catcher vehemently argued the safe call at second base with the umpire in question, going on at such length that
7000-431: The American League in 1910 with an 86–68 record. They posted 89 wins in 1911 to finish second, but were still well behind a powerhouse Philadelphia Athletics team that won 101 games. The team sunk to a dismal sixth place in both the 1912 and 1913 seasons. A bright spot in 1912 was George Mullin pitching the franchise's first no-hitter in a 7–0 win over the St. Louis Browns on July 4, his 32nd birthday. Cobb went into
7125-560: The Cubs' last World Championship until 2016 . In 1909, Detroit posted a 98–54 season, winning the AL pennant by 3.5 games over the Athletics . Ty Cobb won the batting triple crown in 1909, hitting .377 with 9 home runs (all inside-the-park) and 107 RBIs . He also led the league with 76 stolen bases . George Mullin was the pitching hero, going 29–8 with a 2.22 ERA , while fellow pitcher Ed Willett went 21–10. Mullin's 11–0 start in 1909
7250-621: The Georgia Peach ", was an American professional baseball center fielder . A native of rural Narrows , Georgia , Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent 22 years with the Detroit Tigers and served as the team's player-manager for the last six, and he finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics . In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural ballot for
7375-550: The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")
7500-432: The Tigers become the second to last team to integrate their roster when Dominican player Ozzie Virgil Sr. joined the team. Only the Boston Red Sox trailed the Tigers in integrating their roster. As the American League expanded from 8 to 10 teams, Detroit began its slow ascent back to success with an outstanding 1961 campaign. The Tigers led the majors in runs scored and won 101 games, a whopping 30-game improvement over
7625-400: The Tigers continued to have winning records for the remainder of the decade, finishing second in the AL three times, but never winning the pennant. Hal Newhouser had another outstanding season in 1946 , again leading the league in wins (26) and ERA (1.94) while striking out a career-high 275 batters. He nearly won his third straight AL MVP award, finishing second to Ted Williams , who had led
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#17327933439427750-512: The Tigers sank to the middle and lower ranks of the American League. The team had only three winning records over this span and never finished higher than fourth place. The last place 1952 team went 50–104 (.325), which was the worst season in Tigers history until the 2003 team lost 119 games. Despite the dismal season, starter Virgil Trucks threw two no-hitters in 1952, becoming only the third pitcher in major league history to accomplish this feat. 1952 also saw Tiger first baseman Walt Dropo get
7875-533: The Tigers to three consecutive American League pennants in 1907, 1908 and 1909. Detroit would lose each World Series (to the Cubs twice and then the Pirates); however, Cobb's postseason numbers were far below his career standard. Cobb did not get another opportunity to play on a pennant-winning team. In 1907, Cobb reached first and then stole second, third and home. He accomplished the feat four times during his career, still an MLB record as of 2022. He finished
8000-526: The Tigers were playing the Highlanders. Lucker, described by baseball historian Frank Russo as "a Tammany Hall lackey and two-bit punk," often berated Cobb when Detroit visited New York. In this game, the two traded insults through the first couple of innings. Cobb at one point went to the Highlander dugout to look for the Highlanders' owner to try to have Lucker ejected from the game, but his search
8125-538: The United States. He was given the rank of captain underneath the command of Major Branch Rickey , the president of the St. Louis Cardinals . Other baseball players serving in this unit included Captain Christy Mathewson and Lieutenant George Sisler . All of these men were assigned to the Gas and Flame Division, where they trained soldiers in preparation for chemical attacks by exposing them to gas chambers in
8250-474: The ballpark prior to games. The Victorian duplex in which Cobb lived still stands. Three weeks after his mother killed his father, Cobb debuted in center field for the Detroit Tigers. On August 30, 1905, in his first major league at bat, he doubled off Jack Chesbro of the New York Highlanders . Chesbro had won 41 games the previous season. Cobb was 18 years old at the time, the youngest player in
8375-472: The batting title with a .324 average, but Detroit suffered another loss in the World Series. In August 1908, Cobb married Charlotte ("Charlie") Marion Lombard, the daughter of prominent Augustan Roswell Lombard. In the offseason, the couple lived on her father's Augusta estate, The Oaks , until they moved into their own house on Williams Street in November 1913. The Tigers won the AL pennant again in 1909. During that World Series, Cobb's last, he stole home in
8500-468: The batting title, finishing at .393 to Tris Speaker 's .389. Cobb announced his retirement in November 1926 after 22 seasons with the Tigers, though he would return to play two more seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics . Though the Tigers struggled with mediocre records in the seven years following Cobb's departure, they were building a solid foundation, adding slugging first baseman Hank Greenberg and pitchers Tommy Bridges and Schoolboy Rowe to
8625-489: The course of which Cobb knocked down Herzog about six times while Herzog only knocked Cobb down once. The scuffle left Herzog's face bloodied and his eyes nearly shut. With Herzog vowing revenge, Cobb skipped the rest of the exhibition series against the Giants, heading to Cincinnati to train with the Reds, who were managed by Cobb's friend Christy Mathewson . However, Cobb later expressed the deepest respect for Herzog because of
8750-409: The debut of outfielder Al Kaline in 1953. One of the few major league players who never played a day in the minor leagues, he would hit over .300 nine times in his career. He also made 15 All-Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves, and featured one of the league's best arms in right field. In 1955, the 20-year-old Kaline hit .340 to become the youngest-ever batting champion in major league history. 1958 saw
8875-574: The eight-team league. That initial season they were the first major league team to have a mascot—a red tiger on a dark background—on their ballcap. It was replaced by the letter "D" in 1903, and their iconic Olde English-style letterform appeared the following year. In 1905, the team acquired 18-year-old Ty Cobb , a fearless player who came to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. The addition of Cobb to an already talented team that included Sam Crawford , Hughie Jennings , Bill Donovan and George Mullin quickly yielded results. Behind
9000-405: The fewest at-bats (8,093). The Tigers continued to field good teams during Ty Cobb's tenure as player-manager, finishing as high as second in 1923 , but lack of quality pitching kept them from winning a pennant. Harry Heilmann hit .403 in 1923, becoming the last AL player to top .400 until Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. In 1925 , Heilmann collected six hits in a season-ending doubleheader to win
9125-405: The field, and several profanity-laced shouting matches. For example, Cobb and umpire Billy Evans arranged to settle their in-game differences through fisticuffs under the grandstand after the game. Members of both teams were spectators, and broke up the scuffle after Cobb had knocked Evans down, pinned him and began choking him. In 1909, Cobb was arrested for assault for an incident that occurred in
9250-563: The field. According to him, this incident led to the formation of a players' union, the "Ballplayers' Fraternity" (formally, the Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America), an early version of what is now called the Major League Baseball Players Association , which garnered some concessions from the owners. During his career, Cobb was involved in numerous other fights, both on and off
9375-477: The fight, Cobb produced a penknife and slashed the watchman across the hand. Cobb later claimed that the watchman, who had the upper hand in the fight, had his finger in Cobb's left eye and that Cobb was worried he was going to have his sight ruined. The fight finally ended when the watchman produced a gun and struck Cobb several times in the head, knocking him out. Cobb would later plead guilty to simple assault and pay
9500-472: The first major leaguer to win the award at two different positions. Charlie Gehringer batted .313 while collecting 101 walks (for a .428 on-base percentage) and scoring 108 runs. Bobo Newsom was the ace of the Tiger pitching staff in 1940, going 21–5 with a 2.83 ERA. An unlikely hero on the mound this season was 30-year-old rookie Floyd Giebell . Making just his third major league start on September 27, Giebell
9625-508: The game. Both teams were staying at the Oriental Hotel, and at dinner that evening, Herzog walked up to Cobb and challenged him to a fight. The two met an hour later in Cobb's room, where the Tiger outfielder had prepared for the fight by moving furniture out of the way and pouring water on the floor. Cobb's leather-soled shoes enabled him to get better footing than Herzog, who wore tennis shoes. The fight lasted for thirty minutes, over
9750-409: The helm, the Tigers topped out at 86 wins and never won a pennant. In 1921, the Tigers amassed 1,724 hits and a team batting average of .316, the highest team hit total and batting average in AL history. That year, outfielders Harry Heilmann and Ty Cobb finished #1 and #2 in the American League batting race with batting averages of .394 and .389, respectively. The downfall of the 1921 Tigers, however,
9875-487: The hitting of outfielders Ty Cobb (.350) and Sam Crawford (.323), and the pitching of Bill Donovan and Ed Killian (25 wins each), the Tigers went 92–58 to win the AL pennant in 1907 by 1.5 games over the Philadelphia Athletics . They moved on to their first World Series appearance against the Chicago Cubs . Game 1 ended in a rare 3–3 tie, called due to darkness after 12 innings. The Tigers scored only three runs in
10000-473: The large temporary bleacher section in left field. The Tigers 1935 lineup featured four future Hall of Famers (Hank Greenberg, Mickey Cochrane, Goose Goslin and Charlie Gehringer). Although they did not challenge the 1934 team's 101 wins, their 93–58 record was good enough to give them the AL pennant by three games over the New York Yankees. Greenberg was named AL MVP after hitting .328 and leading
10125-448: The late teens and into the 1920s, Cobb continued to be the marquee player, though he was pushed by budding star outfielder Harry Heilmann , who went on to hit .342 for his career. Hughie Jennings left the Tigers after the 1920 season, having accumulated 1,131 wins as a manager . This stood as a Tiger record until 1992, when it was broken by Sparky Anderson . Cobb himself took over managerial duties in 1921, but during his six years at
10250-491: The league by almost a year. Although he hit only .240 in 41 games, he signed a $ 1,500 contract to play for the Tigers in 1905. As a rookie, Cobb was subject to severe hazing by his veteran teammates, who were jealous of the young prospect. The players smashed his homemade bats, nailed his cleats in the clubhouse, doused his clothes before tying knots in them, and verbally abused him. Cobb later attributed his hostile temperament to this experience: "These old-timers turned me into
10375-487: The league in home runs (36), extra-base hits (98) and RBIs (168). Incredibly, Greenberg's RBI total was 48 higher than the next closest player ( Lou Gehrig , with 120). The Tigers also got strong contributions from Gehringer (.330), Cochrane (.319) and starting pitchers Tommy Bridges (21–10) and Elden Auker (18–7). The Tigers finally won their first World Series , defeating the Chicago Cubs , 4–2. Game 6 concluded with Goslin's dramatic walk-off RBI single, scoring Cochrane for
10500-737: The major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Ty Cobb As manager Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "
10625-526: The man had no hands, to which Cobb reportedly retorted, "I don't care if he got no feet!" According to Russo, the crowd cheered Cobb on in the fight. Though extremely rare in the 21st century, attacking fans was not so unusual an activity in the early years of baseball. Other notable baseball stars who assaulted heckling fans include Babe Ruth , Cy Young , Rube Waddell , Kid Gleason , Sherry Magee , and Fred Clarke . The league suspended him . His teammates, though not fond of Cobb, went on strike to protest
10750-595: The oldest continuous one name, one city franchise in the AL. Ty Cobb , who played his first season with Detroit in 1905, later became the first Tiger to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. Since their establishment as a major league franchise in 1901, the Tigers have won four World Series championships ( 1935 , 1945 , 1968 , and 1984 ), 11 AL pennants (1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984 , 2006 , 2012 ), and four AL Central division championships (2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014). They also won division titles in 1972, 1984, and 1987 as
10875-502: The other Highlanders infielders gathered nearby to watch. Realizing that no one on the Highlanders had called time, Cobb strolled unobserved to third base and then casually walked towards home plate as if to get a better view of the argument. He then suddenly broke into a run and slid into home plate for the eventual winning run. It was performances like this that led Branch Rickey to say later that Cobb "had brains in his feet." Describing his gameplay strategy in 1930, he said, "My system
11000-532: The other team reacted, filing away in my mind any observations for future use. —Ty Cobb in The New York Times Cobb led the AL that year in numerous other categories, including 248 hits, 147 runs scored, 127 RBI, 83 stolen bases, 47 doubles, 24 triples and a .621 slugging percentage . Cobb hit eight home runs but finished second in that category to Frank Baker , who hit eleven. He was awarded another Chalmers car, this time for being voted
11125-510: The other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly
11250-478: The previous year defending himself on several occasions from assaults by Schmidt, with Schmidt often coming out of nowhere to blindside Cobb. On that day, several reporters did see Cummings, who appeared to be "partially under the influence of liquor," approach Cobb and shout "Hello, Carrie!" (the meaning of which is unknown) and go in for a hug. Cobb then pushed him away, which was the last interaction that anyone saw between Cobb and Cummings. Shortly thereafter, hearing
11375-412: The record set by Cap Anson of the old Chicago NL team in 1884. By the end of the series Cobb had gone 12 for 19 with 29 total bases, and afterwards reverted to his old playing style. Even so, when asked in 1930 by Grantland Rice to name the best hitter he'd ever seen, Cobb answered, "You can't beat the Babe. Ruth is one of the few who can take a terrific swing and still meet the ball solidly. His timing
11500-462: The renamed New York Yankees from the Boston Red Sox , had established himself as a power hitter, something Cobb was not considered to be. When his Tigers showed up in New York to play the Yankees for the first time that season, writers billed it as a showdown between two stars of competing styles of play. Ruth hit two homers, a triple, and two singles during the series, compared to Cobb's two hits of
11625-402: The same year where Cobb had allegedly grown pessimistic and was quoted as saying: "It seems I am a burden to the Detroit club, as a trespasser of its rules. If that be the case, let Mr. Navin put a price on me and I'll take a chance on being able to negotiate my own release. I don't think I shall ever play ball again. This is positively my last statement in this matter." This attributed statement
11750-492: The scandal led Judge Landis to hold additional hearings in which Leonard refused to participate. Cobb and Wood admitted to writing the letters, but claimed that a horse-racing bet was involved and that Leonard's accusations were in retaliation for Cobb's having released him from the Tigers, thereby demoting him to the minor leagues . Speaker denied any wrongdoing. On January 27, 1927, Judge Landis cleared Cobb and Speaker of any wrongdoing because of Leonard's refusal to appear at
11875-428: The season and finishing with a 24–8 record. The Tigers would fall in the 1934 World Series in seven games to the " Gashouse Gang " St. Louis Cardinals . After winning a tight battle in Game 5 with a 3–1 decision over Dizzy Dean , Detroit took a 3–2 series lead, but would lose the next two games at Navin Field (Tiger Stadium). For the second time in a World Series Game 7, Detroit folded. St. Louis scored seven times in
12000-536: The season to edge out the Red Sox slugger, .34291 to .34276. The 1950 season was particularly frustrating, as the Tigers posted a 95–59 record for a .617 winning percentage, the fourth-best in team history at the time. However, they finished that season three games behind a strong New York Yankees team that went on to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series . Over the next 10 years,
12125-475: The second game, igniting a three-run rally, but that was the high point for him, finishing with a lowly .231, as the Tigers lost to Honus Wagner and the powerful Pirates in seven games. Although he performed poorly in the postseason, he won the Triple Crown by hitting .377 with 107 RBI and nine home runs, all inside the park , thus becoming the only player of the modern era to lead his league in home runs in
12250-573: The semipro Tennessee–Alabama League , with his father's stern admonition ringing in his ears: "Don't come home a failure!" After joining the Steelers for a monthly salary of $ 50, Cobb promoted himself by sending several postcards written about his talents under different aliases to Grantland Rice , the Atlanta Journal sports editor. Eventually, Rice wrote a small note in the Journal that
12375-405: The single-season home run record held by Babe Ruth (60). He went into the season's final weekend against the Cleveland Indians with 58 home runs, tied with Jimmie Foxx for the most by a right-handed batter at the time, but he failed to homer. During the final week of the 1938 season, the Tigers presciently held out doubts about a pennant in 1939, but figured that 1940 would be their year. In
12500-680: The sport's most unlikely complete games . The pre-1901 record for the most hits and runs given up in a game is held by the Cleveland Blues ' Dave Rowe . Primarily an outfielder, Rowe pitched a complete game on July 24, 1882, giving up 35 runs on 29 hits. The current post-1900 record for most hits in a nine-inning game is 31, set in 1992 by the Milwaukee Brewers against Toronto; however, the Blue Jays used six pitchers. The strike ended when Cobb urged his teammates to return to
12625-407: The stands in a May 15, 1912, game to attack a fan that was abusing him, and was suspended. Three days later, the Tigers protested the suspension by fielding a team of replacement players against the Philadelphia Athletics . They lost 24–2. During this five-season stretch, Cobb posted batting averages of .383, .420, .409, .390 and .368, winning the batting title every year. In 1915, the Tigers won
12750-399: The station for the game. Cobb refused to speak any further of the issue. He would go on to hit 2–3 with two singles and a run scored, as well as batting .418. The Tigers lost 2–3. In 1913, Cobb signed a contract worth $ 12,000 for the six-month season (equivalent to $ 369,939 in 2023), making him likely the first baseball player in history to be paid a five-figure salary. This occurred in
12875-490: The succeeding four games, never scoring more than one run in a game, and lost the Series, 4–0. The Tigers won the AL by just a half-game over the 90–64 Cleveland Naps with a 90–63 record. Cobb hit .324, while Sam Crawford hit .311 with 7 home runs , which was enough to lead the league in the "dead ball" era . The Cubs , however, would defeat the Tigers again in the 1908 World Series , this time in five games. This would be
13000-551: The suspension, and the lack of protection of players from abusive fans, before the May 18 game in Philadelphia. For that one game, Detroit fielded a replacement team made up of hastily recruited college and sandlot players plus two Tiger coaches and lost 24–2, thereby setting some of Major League Baseball's modern-era (post-1900) negative records, notably the 26 hits in a nine-inning game allowed by Allan Travers , who pitched one of
13125-428: The third inning off starter Elden Auker and a pair of relievers, while Dean baffled the Tiger hitters en route to an 11–0 victory. The final game was marred by an ugly incident. After spiking Tigers third baseman Marv Owen in the sixth inning, Cardinals left fielder Joe Medwick had to be removed from the game for his own safety by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis after being pelted with debris from angry fans in
13250-474: The timely return of Hank Greenberg and others from the military, the Tigers won the AL pennant by just 1.5 games over the Washington Senators with an 88–65 record. Virgil Trucks returned from the U.S. Navy in time to pitch 5 + 1 ⁄ 3 innings of 1-run ball in the pennant-clinching game, with starter Hal Newhouser pitching the final 3 + 2 ⁄ 3 innings in relief. Newhouser won
13375-423: The title was a Chalmers automobile . Cobb sat out the final two games to preserve his average. Lajoie hit safely eight times in a doubleheader but six of those hits were bunt singles. Later it was rumored that the opposing manager had instructed his third baseman to play extra deep to allow Lajoie to win the batting race over the generally disliked Cobb. Although Cobb was credited with a higher batting average, it
13500-522: The way the infielder had conducted himself in the fight. In 1917, Cobb hit in 35 consecutive games, still the only player with two 35-game hitting streaks (including his 40-game streak in 1911). He had six hitting streaks of at least 20 games in his career, second only to Pete Rose 's eight. Also in 1917, Cobb starred in the motion picture Somewhere in Georgia for a sum of $ 25,000 plus expenses (equivalent to approximately $ 595,000 today ). Based on
13625-406: The way. When Cobb had gotten out of the car to confront the men, they had asked for money and instigated a physical fight, with Cobb defending himself from one of the men by punching him in the chin as another had fled the scene. After being grabbed by the neck by another man, the man had pulled a knife and stabbed him in the back before he forced him away and returned to his car to continue driving to
13750-469: Was acquitted on March 31, 1906. Ty Cobb later attributed his ferocious play to his late father, saying, "I did it for my father. He never got to see me play ... but I knew he was watching me, and I never let him down." Cobb was initiated into Freemasonry in 1907, earning the 32nd degree in 1912. In 1911, Cobb moved to Detroit's architecturally significant and now historically protected Woodbridge neighborhood, from which he would walk with his dogs to
13875-528: Was a Tigers record for 104 years, finally being broken by Max Scherzer 's 13–0 start in 2013 . It was hoped that a new opponent in the 1909 Series , the Pittsburgh Pirates , would yield different results. The Tigers performed better in the Fall Classic, taking Pittsburgh to seven games, but they were blown out 8–0 in the decisive game at Bennett Park. The Tigers dropped to third place in
14000-462: Was a crusade." Baseball historian John Thorn said in the book Legends of the Fall , "He is testament to how far you can get simply through will. ... Cobb was pursued by demons." Cobb was having a tremendous year in 1911, which included a 40-game hitting streak . Still, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson led him by .009 points in the batting race late in the season. Near the end of the season, Cobb's Tigers had
14125-400: Was all offense. I believed in putting up a mental hazard for the other fellow. If we were five or six runs ahead, I'd try some wild play, such as going from first to home on a single. This helped to make the other side hurry the play in a close game later on. I worked out all the angles I could think of, to keep them guessing and hurrying." In the same interview, Cobb talked about having noticed
14250-481: Was also a celebrity spokesman for the product. In the offseason between 1907 and 1908, Cobb negotiated with Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina , offering to coach baseball there "for $ 250 a month, provided that he did not sign with Detroit that season." This did not come to pass, however. The following season, the Tigers finished ahead of the Chicago White Sox for the pennant. Cobb again won
14375-454: Was born in 1886 in Narrows, Georgia , a small, unincorporated rural community of farmers. He was the first of three children born to William Herschel Cobb (1863–1905) and Amanda Chitwood Cobb (1871–1936). Cobb's father was a state senator. When he was still an infant, his parents moved to the nearby town of Royston , where he grew up. By most accounts, he became fascinated with baseball as
14500-594: Was called upon to pitch the pennant-clinching game against Bob Feller of the Indians. Feller surrendered just three hits, one being a 2-run homer by Rudy York, while Giebell blanked the Tribe for a 2–0 victory. The Tigers lost the 1940 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games. Despite a heroic effort by Bobo Newsom, the Tigers came up short in the deciding game, losing 2–1. Newsom's father had died in
14625-672: Was first published on an April 19, 1913, edition of the Los Angeles Herald . Cobb did not play that day as the Tigers won 4–0 against the St. Louis Browns . In June 1914, Cobb pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace after pulling a revolver during an argument at a Detroit butcher shop. He was fined $ 50 (equivalent to $ 1,521 in 2023). In 1915, Cobb set the single-season record for stolen bases with 96, which stood until Dodger Maury Wills broke it in 1962. That year, he also won his ninth consecutive batting title, hitting .369. During 1917 spring training, Cobb showed up late for
14750-478: Was in 1924, when the Tigers finished in third place, six games behind the pennant-winning Washington Senators . The Tigers had also finished third in 1922, but 16 games behind the Yankees. Cobb blamed his lackluster managerial record (479 wins against 444 losses) on Navin, who was arguably even more frugal than he was, passing up several quality players Cobb wanted to add to the team. In fact, he had saved money by hiring Cobb to both play and manage. In 1922, Cobb tied
14875-482: Was in vain. He also asked for the police to intervene, but they refused. The situation climaxed when Lucker allegedly called Cobb a "half-nigger." Cobb, in his discussion of the incident in the Holmes biography, avoided such explicit words but alluded to Lucker's epithet by saying he was "reflecting on my mother's color and morals." He went on to state that he warned Highlander manager Harry Wolverton that if something
15000-474: Was later discovered in the 1970s that one game had been counted twice so that Cobb actually lost to Lajoie. As a result of the incident, AL president Ban Johnson was forced to arbitrate the situation. He declared Cobb the rightful owner of the title, but car company president Hugh Chalmers chose to award one to both Cobb and Lajoie. Cobb regarded baseball as "something like a war," future Tiger second baseman Charlie Gehringer said. "Every time at bat for him
15125-458: Was located on East Lafayette, then called Champlain Street, between Helen and East Grand Boulevard, near Belle Isle . In 1895, owner George Vanderbeck decided to build Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, which would remain the team's base of operations for the next 104 seasons. The first game at The Corner was an exhibition on April 13, 1896. The team, now occasionally called
15250-425: Was not done about that man, there would be trouble. No action was taken. At the end of the sixth inning, after being challenged by teammates Sam Crawford and Jim Delahanty to do something about it, Cobb climbed into the stands and attacked Lucker, who it turned out was handicapped (he had lost all of one hand and three fingers on his other hand in an industrial accident). Some onlookers shouted at him to stop because
15375-419: Was only stopped when catcher Charles "Boss" Schmidt knocked Cobb out. However, aside from Schmidt's statement to the press, no other corroborating witnesses to the assault on Cummings ever came forward and Cummings himself never made a public comment about it. Author Charles Leerhsen speculates that the assault on Cummings and his wife never occurred and that it was a total fabrication by Schmidt. Cobb had spent
15500-418: Was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961 and the Tigers played there until 1999 . From 1901 to 2024, the Tigers' overall win–loss record is 9,676–9,567–93 (.503). The franchise's best winning percentage was .656 in 1934 , while its worst was .265 in 2003 . The franchise was founded as a member of the reorganized Western League in 1894. They originally played at Boulevard Park, sometimes called League Park. It
15625-411: Was the absence of good pitching. The team ERA was 4.40. Without pitching to support the offense, the 1921 Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League at 71–82, 27 games behind the New York Yankees . On August 19, 1921, Cobb collected his 3,000th career hit off Elmer Myers of the Boston Red Sox . Aged 34 at the time, he is still the youngest player to reach that milestone, also reaching it in
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