Cobb personally wrote the story of his life for a newspaper syndicate after his 20 record-setting years in baseball. This illustrated edition is the first commercial publication of his words in book form.

Details the life of the legendary, record-holding baseball player, who retired in 1928 and became the first inductee into the Hall of Fame, but who has also been categorized as a belligerent, aggressive player and a racist who hated women and children.

"Highly successful in knitting together this story of the life of a most remarkable and dedicated player--perhaps the most spirited baseball player ever to have graced the diamond."--Library Journal. "I find little comfort in the popular picture of Cobb as a spike-slashing demon of the diamond with a wide streak of cruelty in his nature. The fights and feuds I was in have been steadily slanted to put me in the wrong. . . . My critics have had their innings. I will have mine now."--Ty Cobb "Frank, bitter, trend-setting autobiography."--USA Today Baseball Weekly "One of the most remarkable sports books ever written."--Los Angeles Daily News "The old Tiger still spits and snarls off the pages."--Cooperstown Review "Of Ty Cobb let it be said simply that he was the world's greatest ballplayer."--New York Herald Tribune (1961 editorial on Cobb's death) This Bison Book edition of My Life in Baseball is introduced by Charles C. Alexander, a professor of history at Ohio University, Athens, and the author of a biogrpahy of Ty Cobb.

Veteran sports writer S. A. Kramer recounts the on-the-field triumphs and off-the-field troubles of the tormented "Georgia Peach," perhaps the most hated man ever to play baseball.

The Deadball Era (1901û1920) is a baseball fanÆs dream. Hope and despair, innocence and cynicism, and levity and hostility blended then to create an air of excitement, anticipation, and concern for all who entered the confines of a major league ballpark. Cheating for the sake of victory earned respect, corrupt ballplayers fixed games with impunity, and violence plagued the sport. Spectators stormed the field to attack players and umpires, ballplayers charged the stands to pummel hecklers, and physical battles between opposing clubs occurred regularly in a phenomenon known as ôrowdyism.ö At the same time, endearing practices infused baseball with lightheartedness, kindness, and laughter. Fans ran onto the field with baskets of flowers, loving cups, diamond jewelry, gold watches, and cash for their favorite players in the middle of games. Ballplayers volunteered for ôbenefit contestsö to aid fellow big leaguers and the country in times of need. ôJoke gamesö reduced sport to pure theater as outfielders intentionally dropped fly balls, infielders happily booted easy grounders, hurlers tossed soft pitches over the middle of the plate, and umpires ignored the rules. Winning meant nothing, amusement meant everything, and league officials looked the other way. Mark Halfon looks at life in the major leagues in the early 1900s, the careers of John McGraw, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson, and the events that brought about the end of the Deadball Era. He highlights the strategies, underhanded tactics, and bitter battles that defined this storied time in baseball history, while providing detailed insights into the players and teams involved in bringing to a conclusion this remarkable period in baseball history.

Published in 1914, Busting 'Em was the first of three books credited to Ty Cobb the author. Though in fact it was ghostwritten by John N. Wheeler, who also penned Mathewson's Pitching in a Pinch, the book fascinates with its insights into Cobb as a public figure. The reader is presented Cobb's explanation of the beating incident at Hilltop Park, the Baker spiking, and his contentious relationship with teammates. His thoughts--or those he sanctioned--of umpires, his contemporaries, crowds, and strategy are also shared. This book, long out of print and increasingly hard to find, is essential reading for those who would understand Cobb's awareness of and investment in the shape of his public image.