Comments on: The Knife in Ty Cobb’s Back http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/ History with all the interesting bits left in Wed, 22 May 2013 17:36:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: Penaflor,J http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-1556 Penaflor,J Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:06:06 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-1556 I read the 2nd Stump book on Cobb. It is nice to find out some of the stories were exaggerated. I didnt like the Ted Williams story especially. Seems as though Stump was just in it for personal gain the whole time and had hatred toward Cobb. I read the 2nd Stump book on Cobb. It is nice to find out some of the stories were exaggerated. I didnt like the Ted Williams story especially. Seems as though Stump was just in it for personal gain the whole time and had hatred toward Cobb.

]]> By: Gilbert King http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-404 Gilbert King Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:13:32 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-404 Thanks for the update, Peter. Interesting stuff. Thanks for the update, Peter. Interesting stuff.

]]> By: Glenn Gray http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-369 Glenn Gray Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:37:01 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-369 Another fine and interesting piece by Gil King. Another fine and interesting piece by Gil King.

]]> By: MJMiles http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-313 MJMiles Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:12:09 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-313 I enjoyed this as much as Mr. King's other work including Steinmetz and Minter's Ring. He has a very eclectic range of interests. Keep 'em coming. Kudos to Smithsonian for a great "get"!!!!! I enjoyed this as much as Mr. King’s other work including Steinmetz and Minter’s Ring. He has a very eclectic range of interests. Keep ‘em coming. Kudos to Smithsonian for a great “get”!!!!!

]]> By: Further Reading: Links on Chckens, the Canadian Economy and Ty Cobb | Risk and Return http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-312 Further Reading: Links on Chckens, the Canadian Economy and Ty Cobb | Risk and Return Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:01:29 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-312 [...] The Knife in Ty Cobb’s Back [...] [...] The Knife in Ty Cobb’s Back [...]

]]> By: jeff engels http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-302 jeff engels Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:04:58 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-302 Very interesting piece. I have been fascinated with Ty Cobb all my life, mostly for his on the field exploits though I had always heard of many off field adventures. He is still in my book one of the top five players of all time and apparently conventional wisdom in baseball circles concurred with that until the 60's when Ruth overcame him as the consensus choice as best player in history. I would have loved to watch him play....http://jeffsmariners.com Very interesting piece. I have been fascinated with Ty Cobb all my life, mostly for his on the field exploits though I had always heard of many off field adventures. He is still in my book one of the top five players of all time and apparently conventional wisdom in baseball circles concurred with that until the 60′s when Ruth overcame him as the consensus choice as best player in history. I would have loved to watch him play….http://jeffsmariners.com

]]> By: Peter Nash http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-301 Peter Nash Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:27:58 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-301 In the article you note that Sotheby's had removed the Stump/Cobb items from the Halper Collection sale. The only item that was removed from the sale that was depicted in the catalogue was the shotgun, and the auction house stated publicly in an adendum that was because of firearm sales guidelines, not an authenticity issue. All of the other items (all highly suspect and likely Stump forgeries) sold for over $50,000, including Cobb's alleged dentures. Ron Cobb states that a Cobb bat and a slew of documents didn't pass authentication at Sotheby's and never made it into the catalogue, but all of the other items were sold. An alleged Cobb uniform Stump sold to Halper (another forgery) has never surfaced. Halper was informed that the Stump collection was full of forgeries by auctioneer Josh Evans years before the Sotheby's sale. And while revisionists like to say that they knew the Cobb shotgun was a fake and that's the reason it was pulled from the auction, these sentiments were only aired after Ron Cobb's article, not at the time of the auction. In fact, when the shotgun was returned to Halper he kept it and when interviewed by Sports Collectors Digest at his home in 2004, Halper held out the shotgun as the genuine article with no question whatsoever as to its authenticity, even recounting the story of how Cobb's mother shot his father. Also, the article mentions Stump's forged Cobb diary. The diary was purchased from Halper by the Hall of Fame in 1998 with MLB funds and was displayed in the Hall's Halper Gallery from 1999 to 2001. In 2007 the diary was featured in the HOF's magazine Memories and Dreams. It wasn't until expert Ron Keurajian called the diary a forgery at the time the article was published, that the HOF sent it to the FBI for analysis. The FBI concurred with Keurajian's findings. Sadly, the same forged Cobb diary was even featured in the 2010 MLB produced book, "Treasures of Major League Baseball." In the article you note that Sotheby’s had removed the Stump/Cobb items from the Halper Collection sale. The only item that was removed from the sale that was depicted in the catalogue was the shotgun, and the auction house stated publicly in an adendum that was because of firearm sales guidelines, not an authenticity issue. All of the other items (all highly suspect and likely Stump forgeries) sold for over $50,000, including Cobb’s alleged dentures.
Ron Cobb states that a Cobb bat and a slew of documents didn’t pass authentication at Sotheby’s and never made it into the catalogue, but all of the other items were sold. An alleged Cobb uniform Stump sold to Halper (another forgery) has never surfaced.
Halper was informed that the Stump collection was full of forgeries by auctioneer Josh Evans years before the Sotheby’s sale.
And while revisionists like to say that they knew the Cobb shotgun was a fake and that’s the reason it was pulled from the auction, these sentiments were only aired after Ron Cobb’s article, not at the time of the auction.
In fact, when the shotgun was returned to Halper he kept it and when interviewed by Sports Collectors Digest at his home in 2004, Halper held out the shotgun as the genuine article with no question whatsoever as to its authenticity, even recounting the story of how Cobb’s mother shot his father.
Also, the article mentions Stump’s forged Cobb diary. The diary was purchased from Halper by the Hall of Fame in 1998 with MLB funds and was displayed in the Hall’s Halper Gallery from 1999 to 2001. In 2007 the diary was featured in the HOF’s magazine Memories and Dreams. It wasn’t until expert Ron Keurajian called the diary a forgery at the time the article was published, that the HOF sent it to the FBI for analysis. The FBI concurred with Keurajian’s findings. Sadly, the same forged Cobb diary was even featured in the 2010 MLB produced book, “Treasures of Major League Baseball.”

]]> By: baseballfan http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-296 baseballfan Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:54:46 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-296 I too heard all these nasty stories about Ty Cobb, and it's so sad that I'm now hearing he was quite the opposite. Why hasn't this side of him received the same strength of publicity as the negative side? Where is the movie about this side of him? Why do we feel the need to make heroes villains, and those with shady pasts, heroes? I too heard all these nasty stories about Ty Cobb, and it’s so sad that I’m now hearing he was quite the opposite. Why hasn’t this side of him received the same strength of publicity as the negative side? Where is the movie about this side of him? Why do we feel the need to make heroes villains, and those with shady pasts, heroes?

]]> By: Jonathan http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-295 Jonathan Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:05:00 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-295 This is a similar article to what Rob Neyer did in his book http://www.amazon.com/Rob-Neyers-Book-Baseball-Legends/dp/B001O9CB7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314741881&sr=8-1 Not to take anything away from it. Did you happen to read that one as well? I know he talks about it. Good piece of writing regardless. Thank you! This is a similar article to what Rob Neyer did in his book

http://www.amazon.com/Rob-Neyers-Book-Baseball-Legends/dp/B001O9CB7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314741881&sr=8-1

Not to take anything away from it. Did you happen to read that one as well? I know he talks about it. Good piece of writing regardless. Thank you!

]]> By: Dave C http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2011/08/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back/#comment-293 Dave C Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:58:51 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=1084#comment-293 "In the days when Detroit was a fairly rough town"? When has it not been? “In the days when Detroit was a fairly rough town”? When has it not been?

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