Casey Award Winner: The Best Baseball Book of the Year “Elegantly written and genuinely moving.” — Publishers Weekly “An unforgettable story . . . that will alter how you feel about baseball’s most demonized star.” — Tom Stanton, author of Ty and the Babe The previously untold legacy of Ty Cobb, the greatest baseball player who ever lived Ty Cobb’s grandson Herschel saw a side of him that very few others did. While baseball fans were familiar with Cobb’s infamously cold competitive nature, his relationship with his own children was also deeply difficult. Despite this, Cobb embraced the opportunity to form a loving bond with his grandchildren during their summertime visits in his later years. Herschel Cobb grew up in a chaotic, destructive household. His father was cruel and abusive, and his mother was an adulterous alcoholic. After his father died, when Herschel was eight he began to spend a portion of each summer with his grandfather. Along with his sister and brother, Herschel visited Ty Cobb at his home in Atherton, California, or at his cabin at Lake Tahoe. These days were filled with adventures, memorable incidents, and discoveries as “Granddaddy” warmed to having his “three redheads” with him. Heart of a Tiger is Herschel Cobb’s moving account of how a retired sports star seized a second chance at having a close family, with his grandchildren the lucky recipients of his change of heart. He provided wisdom, laughter, and a consistent affection that left an indelible mark. He proved the enormous power of a grandparent to provide stability, love, and guidance. As he developed this new, wholly different legacy, in turn he would finally come to peace with himself. “Elegantly written and genuinely moving, this heartwarming account is sure to resonate with readers.” — Publishers Weekly “Not your grandfather’s Ty Cobb? Perhaps not. But Ty Cobb was Herschel Cobb’s grandfather. And the story Herschel Cobb tells reveals a far gentler side to his grandfather, one buried deep beneath the persona Ty Cobb created during his playing days. Heart of a Tiger: Growing up with My Grandfather, Ty Cob is a warm, sentimental memoir. Herschel Cobb is not trying to write a revisionist history of his grandfather; he is merely retelling the memories he had of ‘Granddaddy,’ never realizing until he was a teenager that Ty Cobb was a famous — and sometimes polarizing — baseball player.” — Bob D’Angelo, Tampa Tribune “I could rave about this book for hours and I feel I would still never do it justice. It’s a book that hooks the reader from the very beginning and in spite of the sometimes difficult content, keeps you hanging on until the very end.” — Charlene Martel, The Literary Word “A personal memoir can enrich the statistical account, as does this one about the great Ty Cobb. Readers should find justice has been done to the Georgia Peach.” — Ron Kirbyson, the Winnipeg Free Press “Actions sometimes speak louder than words. But Herschel Cobb’s words speak volumes on why The Georgia Peach just might have always been a peach of a man that no one could find out, unless you were kinfolk and not a prying member of the media like Al Stump trying to fulfill an assignment.” — Tom Hoffarth, Farther Off the Wall “An unforgettable story … that will alter how you feel about baseball’s most demonized star.” — Tom Stanton, author of Ty and The Babe Herschel Cobb is the grandson of Ty Cobb. He lives in Menlo Park, CA. HEART of a TIGER GROWING UP WITH MY GRANDFATHER, TY COBB By HERSCHEL COBB ECW PRESS Copyright © 2013 Herschel Cobb All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-77041-130-2 Contents PREFACE, ix, ONE The Snake River, Idaho, 1949, 1, TWO 223 Pierce St., Twin Falls, Idaho, 34, THREE The Passing of Two Sons, 60, FOUR Mist and Clarity at Lake Tahoe, 95, FIVE The North Shore Club, 131, SIX My First Visit to His Office, 166, SEVEN A Chance Meeting in the Night, 199, EIGHT Spencer Lane to Cave Rock, Through Lodi, 225, NINE "So, You Met Mr. Al Stump!", 246, TEN July 17, 1961, and Beyond, 273, CHAPTER 1 The Snake River,Idaho, 1949 I sat between my father and my grandfather in the front seatof my father's Packard, being bounced around as we incheddown a rutted dirt road. High above in the darkness loomedthe rim of the Snake River Canyon. We were headed to myfather's small boathouse, set on the river's edge. The headlightsjumped up and down, left and right as we lurched from potholeto pothole. My father also shined a spotlight along our path withhis outstretched left hand as he steered the car with his right,wanting to avoid a fallen branch or startled deer. From our houseto the dirt road had taken only twenty minutes, but we wouldneed another twenty-five minutes to wind down the face of thecanyon. My dad told me we'd sleep at the boathouse, then get upbefore dawn to go duck hunting. I was dreading the opportunity.I was frightened whenever Dad had a gun in his hands, and th