A terrible beauty author charles leerhsen rich ehisen. There is a heavy emphasis on setting the record straight on cobbs life. A true tale of mystery, mayhem and the birth of the indy 500, 2011, etc. Book overview a fascinating and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, ty cobbthe best work ever written on this american sports legend. Drawing upon numerous solid sources, leerhsen lays out each of the assumptions about cobb one by one and disputes the findings published in previous books and articles about cobb by showing how his sources of information contradict the myths. He has written for rolling stone, esquire, and the new york times. Largely thanks to scholarship that emerged only at the very end of cobbs life and interestingly, at odds with evidence from much earlier periods his reputation is that of a miserable, friendless, racist lout. Charles leerhsens book corrects popular misconceptions of ty cobb. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twentyone years with the detroit tigers and two with the philadelphia athletics, he held more than ninety records. May 12, 2015 charles leerhsen is a former executive editor at sports illustrated. I sat down a while back with leerhsen, a former editor at sports illustrated and the author of two other sports themed books, to. Baseball fans familiar with major league records remember ty cobb for his. Ty cobb, then with the philadelphia athletics, and giants manager john. Join facebook to connect with charles leerhsen and others you may know.
A true tale of mystery, mayhem, and the birth of the indy 500. Ty cobbthe best work ever written on this american sports legend. A terrible beauty by charles leerhsen the boston globe. The great ty cobb the institute for faith and freedom. Cobb was indeed a bruised peach but, as the author shows convincingly, not a thoroughly rotten one.
Charles leerhsen is a journalist, author, and adjunct professor at the city. He has been an editor for sports illustrated, people, and us weekly, and. From the moment this book begins, leerhsen makes it clear that he is out to disprove and reject earlier biographies of cobb, two in particular which he repeatedly. A fantastic sports read about one of the two or three greatest baseball players of. Mar 07, 2016 ty cobb was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and king of the socalled deadball era.
Removing the fangs from ty cobbs notoriety the new york times. Ty cobb a terrible beauty, written by charles leerhsen and published in 2015, is a colorful and well balanced biography. Finallya fascinating and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, ty cobb. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twentyone years with the detroit tigers and two with the philadelphia athletics, he held more than. The former executive editor of sports illustrated explores the idea that tyrus raymond cobb 18861961, perhaps the greatest player in baseball history, was also a violent, racist, roundly hated person. Setting the record straight, charles leerhsen pushed aside the myths, traveled to georgia and detroit, and retraced cobbs journey, from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time, to americas first true sports celebrity. Cobbis a model any biographer, not just those writing about sports.
Ty cobb book by charles leerhsen official publisher page. A new cobb emergesmanyfaced and passionatein this important, original view of a figure well installed in baseball lore. These incidents are recounted in charles leerhsens new biography, ty cobb. Charles leerhsen is a former executive editor at sports illustrated. Instead of sending off these pieces right away, ty would drop them in mailboxes at various points along the steelers circuit, the better to create the impression of a grassroots movement. Leerhsens cobb was a moderate on race relations at least for his time and a fine fellow to many within the game.
Setting the record straight, charles leerhsen pushed aside the myths and retraced cobbs journey, from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time. A terrible beauty, one of the most well researched, well written nonfiction books ever written on a sports figure. He is the author of several books, including crazy good. A noted case is the book written by sportswriter al stump in the months after cobb died in 1961. To the relief of cindy cobb and the rest of ty cobbs descendents, leerhsens extensive research and factchecking paints a fuller and more truthful portrait of a very complex man, who, as the. A terrible beauty is not only the best work ever written on this american sports legend, but its also a major rehaul of a reputation unfairly maligned for. Charles leerhsen s biography of detroit tiger great ty cobb won a casey award for being the best baseball book the year that it came out. Some historians, including wesley fricks, dan holmes, and charles leerhsen have defended cobb against unfair portrayals of him in popular culture since his death. In writing this combination earlybaseball history and legal brief, leerhsen, a onetime editor at sports illustrated, has chosen a formidable reclamation project. Some may even remember that he held more than 90 baseball records. A terrible beauty has convinced that nearly everything i knew about cobb was wrong.
May 12, 2015 alas, charles leerhsen has revised the story of cobb in a wonderful new biography that is certain to generate consternation among the baseball literati. He was a member of the baseball hall of fames first class. Removing the fangs from ty cobbs notoriety the new york. A terrible beauty, charles leerhsen expected to uncover new examples of monstrous monstrosity. Ty cobb was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and king of the socalled deadball era.
A terrible beauty charles leerhsen is a journalist, author, and adjunct professor at the city university of new yorks graduate school of journalism. Leerhsens previous book was the highlyacclaimed crazy good. May 16, 2015 a new biography of baseball legend ty cobb disputes the longheld beliefs that cobb was a racist and a dirty player. Ty cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. A terrible beauty may be the most important baseball book in decades. Book, granddaughter present kinder image of ty cobb.
The true story of dan patch, the most famous horse in america. Ty cobb book by charles leerhsen official publisher. A new biography of baseball legend ty cobb disputes the longheld beliefs that cobb was a racist and a dirty player. A terrible beauty, by charles leerhsen the new york. He has been an editor for sports illustrated, people, and us weekly, and spent eleven years as a senior writer at newsweek. A terrible beauty, charles leerhsen examines cobb s rivalry with babe ruth as the dead ball era came to a close and a new style of baseball emerged. Superbly reported, wonderfully written and often quite funny, charles leerhsens ty cobb. A terrible beauty, is a highly enlightening and highly enjoyable book. Ty cobb retired as baseball s alltime hits leader in 1928 the record stood for nearly 60 years. Several scandalous and tabloid quality books have been written about him with many incidents that were largely made up. Author charles leerhsen and his dramatic transformation to the.
A terrible beauty, a book largely intended to rehabilitate its subjects reputation. Its a major reconsideration of a reputation unfairly maligned for decades the boston globe. Charles leerhsens biography of detroit tiger great ty cobb won a casey. Charles leerhsen, a former executive editor of sports illustrated, aims to square the outsized image of cobb with the reallife man in the new biography, ty cobb. Ty cobb was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and king of the. The definitive biography of ty cobb tim hornbaker and ty cobb. May 12, 2015 finallya fascinating and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, ty cobb. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, he held more than 90 records. Charles leerhsen audio books, best sellers, author bio. Charles leerhsens biography of ty cobb reassesses the toxic.
But for all that, most americans think of him first as an awful person. Ty cobb is really tearing up the horsehide in the tennesseealabama leaguejack smith. This book doesnt argue as much that cobb wasnt a racist as much as available evidence doesnt show that he was. Leerhsen lays the blame for this toxicity primarily at the feet of al stump. Alas, charles leerhsen has revised the story of cobb in a wonderful new biography that is certain to generate consternation among the baseball literati. He has written for rolling stone, esquire and the new york times. Setting the record straight, charles leerhsen pushed aside the myths, traveled to georgia and detroit, and retraced cobbs journey from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time to americas first true sports. May 31, 2015 charles alexanders 1984 cobb biography says both the watchman and the bellboy were black, but when asked by leerhsen where he got that information, alexander offered no specific source. But if veteran sportswriter leerhsen is correct about cobb and his book is assiduously. Charles alexanders 1984 cobb biography says both the watchman and the bellboy were black, but when asked by leerhsen where he got that information, alexander offered no specific source. But despite his success, he was far from universally admired. The talent as a player is confirmed and the reputation is debunked in this extensively researched biography of the georgia peach by charles leerhsen. First, it is the definitive biography of the greatest baseball player from the deadball era and indisputably one of the greatest players of all time. Author charles leerhsen and his dramatic transformation to the legacy of baseball legend ty cobb.
A terrible beauty, charles leerhsen examines cobbs rivalry with babe ruth as the dead ball era came to. I sat down a while back with leerhsen, a former editor at sports illustrated and the author of two other sportsthemed books, to talk about cobb. Charles leerhsens biography of detroit tiger great ty cobb won a casey award for being the best baseball book the year that it came out. The intentional spiking of opponents, the ugly accounts of racism, the overall dirty playthese and other conceptions have, as leerhsen shows, infected much of the. Ty cobb by charles leerhsen a fascinating and authoritative biography of. Jun 09, 2015 charles leerhsen, a former executive editor of sports illustrated, aims to square the outsized image of cobb with the reallife man in the new biography, ty cobb. Setting the record straight, charles leerhsen pushed aside the myths, traveled to georgia and detroit, and retraced cobbs journey from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time to americas first true sports celebrity. Leerhsen s previous book was the highlyacclaimed crazy good. A terrible beauty is not only the best work ever written on this american sports legend, but its also a. Oct 09, 2016 to the relief of cindy cobb and the rest of ty cobbs descendents, leerhsens extensive research and factchecking paints a fuller and more truthful portrait of a very complex man, who, as the. Those who stubbornly cling to that myth really should read leerhsens fantastic book ty cobb. May 08, 2015 in an excerpt from his new biography ty cobb. Author charles leerhsen joins bill littlefield to explain how his research.