Ty and the Babe: Baseball's Fiercest Rivals; A Surprising Friendship and the 1941 Has-Beens Golf Championship

by Tom Stanton

Book Overview

Early in the twentieth century, fate thrust a young Babe Ruth into the gleaming orbit of Ty Cobb. The resulting collision produced a dazzling explosion and a struggle of mythic magnitude. At stake was not just baseball dominance, but eternal glory and the very soul of a sport. For much of fourteen seasons, the Cobb-Ruth rivalry occupied both men and enthralled a generation of fans. Even their retirement from the ball diamond didn''t extinguish it...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312361599
• ISBN13: 9780312361594
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Myth of Ty Cobb - Busted!

What a fun book to read. I love how author, Tom Stanton, ties the history of the period with the baseball history he is highlighting. This truly made the story come alive for me and enhanced Mr. Stanton's already wonderful ability to tell a story. And, what a story it is! I am someone who loves the game of baseball, but has a limited historical background. It was certainly interesting to read and learn more about the similarities the two men shared as well as the intensity the two brought to their rivalry. For people of my generation, the legend of Ty Cobb is more of a myth than reality. Mr. Stanton has certainly helped me to understand this great icon in Detroit sport's history. It is obvious that Ty Cobb was much more than the standard "picture" that has been painted about him over time. This book brought out the human side of Ty Cobb and certainly brings life to that four-letter, numberless name I see immortalized in center field of Comerica Park. Tom Stanton tells a wonderfully entertaining story of two of my favorite topics, baseball and golf.

baseball history at its best

Ty and The Babe captures the early history of American baseball in all its glory. Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth defied the simplicity of early American baseball through their intense rivalry and their personal mission to change the game. Stanton gives new insight into this rivalry, the strategic strengths of Cobb and the outstanding physicality of Ruth. Beautifully written in language that will be appreciated by the true baseball fan, Ty and The Babe reveals a thoroughly researched journey into the backgrounds of these baseball legends. Stanton's book is highly enjoyable and lends to any fan's understanding of baseball history.

Brings "The Georgia Peach" and "The Bambino" Back to Life

Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth are names that resonate at the summit of baseball history in much the same way that Washington and Lincoln look out from Mount Rushmore. Like much of history, my previous encounters with the legends of Ty and the Babe were from dry, dusty tomes. People who were excited about them when they played preserved their names, but it's not hard to see why people today aren't as excited about Babe Ruth as our grandpa was. Tom Stanton has done a service to baseball fans everywhere in "Ty and the Babe." He has preserved the legends of these two great ballplayers in a time capsule of words that brings the era of Tyrus and George to living, breathing, rip-snorting life. We can almost see the green outfields at Navin Field and Yankee stadium. We can almost smell the onions on the hot dogs. We can hear the crack of horsehide against Ruth's Louisville slugger and we can feel the gasp of surprise from thousands of fans when they realize that Cobb has dashed from third base - HE'S TRYING TO STEAL HOME! They were remarkably different: Cobb - the son of a Georgia State Senator, baseball scientist, expert of the bunt, the sacrifice, the well-placed base hit and the stolen base. He was a master of baseball psychological warfare and believed that everyone in a baseball park who wasn't actively trying to help his team was a mortal enemy. Ruth - the son of a Baltimore saloon-keeper who was in a Catholic School for delinquents when he was drafted to pitch for the Boston Red Sox. Some forget that Babe Ruth was one of the best pitchers in the American League before the exploding popularity of his titanic home runs pressured Babe into becoming an every day player. Cobb resented the fact that Home Runs were becoming the rage in the roaring twenties. He always thought that the smart combination of timely, controlled hitting and aggressive baserunning was the way to score. Home Runs seemed barbaric in contrast, and Ruth was the engine driving the train of popularity of the long ball. Ruth hated the fact that Cobb publicly portrayed Babe as a crude bumpkin while Cobb was the intelligent master. Over the years they developed a gradual respect for one another - as men and as baseball players. We get a sense not only of the icons as real people, but also of how they changed over time, including the ways that they changed each other. Stanton's work here is meticulously researched - an addendum gives details of every single game Ruth and Cobb played together. But he gives elegant life to pale statistics reminiscent of the way that Joseph Ellis brings the Founding Fathers to life in his award-winning books. This is a must-have for baseball fans.

A Thorough Look At A Rivalry Between Two Baseball Greats

Author Tom Stanton has provided us with a unique look at the rivalry that existed between two players, one representing the superstar from the dead ball era while the other represented the changing of the game to that of the slugger. Babe Ruth gave baseball a much needed boost with his ability to draw fans out to the stadiums with his ability to hit home runs following the infamous Black Sox scandal, and Ty Cobb believed the game of baseball that he symbolized was being threatened by this newcomer who posed a threat to his position and popularity in the game. Both Cobb and Ruth were initially bitter rivals fighting for supremacy of the baseball public. Each had their own way of playing the game suitable to the skills they possessed, and each had an ego that needed to be fed. Each was viewed as a threat to the other, and author Stanton provides us with a number of anecdotes involving games between Cobb's Tigers and Ruth as a Red Sox and Yankee. This is not a rehash of stories you have heard several times before. Cobb and Ruth came to have a mutual respect for one another as the seasons progressed. Cobb, for his part, never forgot the support he and Tris Speaker received from Ruth when scandal reared its ugly head following their retirement from their respective teams in 1926. Ruth described Cobb and Speaker as "the finest names that baseball has ever known." Cobb felt Commissioner Landis kept them unduly waiting before exonerating them of the charges causing Cobb to later purposely miss the group photo at Cooperstown in 1939 to avoid being photographed with Landis, who wasn't in the photo anyway. Speaker, as is well known, did show up for the photo of the game's immortals on that day. The final section of the book covers the best two out of three golf meetings Cobb and Ruth did for charity in 1941 when their rivalry was renewed with good-natured ribbing although each was still competitive enough to want to beat the other. A lot was taking place in the game at that time. DiMaggio was on his way to hitting in 56 consecutive games, Williams would become the first batter to hit .400 since Bill Terry in 1930, and Gehrig died on June 2nd. The text of the book is 238 pages long in addition to an appendix that includes how Cobb and Ruth did against each other in each of the games they appeared together. Also included is an impressive bibliography from which the author has done research. I would like to point out that Ruth also had to deal with a tense rivarly with Giants' manager John McGraw who viewed Ruth as an intruder in New York City in addition to the one he had with Cobb. I do not hesitate to rate the book five stars even though there are a few profanities sprinkled throughout the book that make me question whether I should order extra copies for some kids who might appreciate reading it.

Showing Cobb and Ruth in their glory as competitors, rivals, and even as grudging friends

As interesting as I thought this book would be, it is actually more interesting and engaging than I had anticipated. Tom Stanton takes us through the careers of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth by taking us through their intense rivalry. This works so well because Cobb was considered, by far, the greatest baseball player of all time and epitomized the "deadball" era that emphasized base hits, base running with lots of stealing, and intense gamesmanship. The trash talking of our era would have seemed tame back then. Ruth was a very fine pitcher who could also hit very well (an exceeding rare combination). There was even resistance to his wanting to emphasize hitting and playing everyday because he was so valuable an asset on the mound. As Ruth changed the game in favor of power and home runs, Cobb and the other veterans derided it as a fluke. However, as others adopted Ruth's style and the number of home runs exploded (and the ball became livelier), the number of people attending ball games exploded. The patrons decided which style of ball they wanted. The older proponents of Baseball Science who loved the old style of play complained that the new fans understood nothing of the game and that the power game had changed things for the worse. What is undeniable is that the game was changed forever. Stanton also helps us see Cobb and Ruth more as real human beings rather than as two-dimensional myths. Again, their competitiveness and their rivalry for baseball supremacy helps us understand them as flesh and blood men through the stories of their encounters. In the appendix, the author provides us with a short summary of every game that Cobb and Ruth played against each other. Fascinating stuff. Both Cobb and Ruth were avid golfers of some skill. Ruth had a lower handicap, but Cobb never ever stopped competing no matter the situation. They had challenged each other to a golf match that finally took place, for charity, in 1941. There were three match-play events with the last being played in Detroit, Cobb's baseball home. This is another fascinating story and shows us these men after their glory days were behind them. I also appreciate that Stanton takes on the wholly negative image that Cobb has in today's popular mind. This is in part due to a scurrilous writings of Al Stump and a movie made from his book. We should remember how he was regarded by the men who played with him and by the writers of his time. It is true that we judge baseball according to the lights of the power game, but to disregard Cobb's manifold achievements is to show disrespect to the history of the game. For heaven's sake, Cobb stole home 54 times! No one is even close. I do wish that Stanton had taken a couple of extra pages and shown their records that both Cobb and Ruth held when they retired and who surpassed them and when (and which they still hold today). That would have been a helpful touch. Stanton also provides us with a great bibliography of mate