Ty Cobb Bat on Shldr

Tyrus Raymond "The Georgia Peach" Cobb (1886–1961) is shown here in the T206 White Border Bat on Shoulder pose, one of four T206 Cobb variations alongside the Bat Off Shoulder, the Red Portrait, and the Green Portrait — the full Cobb T206 quartet being a holy grail for any deadball collector. Born December 18, 1886 in Narrows, Georgia, the left-handed-hitting and right-handed-throwing outfielder debuted with Detroit in 1905 at age 18 and stayed twenty-four seasons in the majors through 1928. He retired with 4,189 hits, twelve American League batting titles, and a career average of .366 that no player has matched. He took the inaugural Chalmers MVP Award in 1911, batting .420 with 248 hits, and led Detroit to pennants in 1907, 1908, and 1909, though never to a World Series win. He served as the Tigers' player-manager from 1921 through 1926 and closed his career with two seasons in Philadelphia. He died July 17, 1961 in Atlanta and is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Royston, Georgia. He was elected in the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 1936, taking the most votes of the five.