Steve, it seems like Stump had an axe to grind, so if you find a hand-written letter by Cobb that shows him in a good light, it's probably not Al Stumping for Cobb.

I read every handwritten Cobb letter I see up for auction, and have placed bids on many of them. Only ended up with one, but I paid my price :)

Bob Wolff interviews Ty Cobb

...from SportsCollectingNews.com

"Bob Wolff, whose 74-year career is the longest in sports broadcasting history, has donated about 1,400 audio and video recordings, consisting of well more than 1,000 hours, to the Library of Congress"

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...dio.html?_r=1

Great old vintage audio clip with Ty Cobb, who comes across as a charming and respectable man.

About eight years ago I went to a baseball game with a very old man who a friend of mine brought along. Very interesting guy. At some point after that, my friend and I were talking about Cobb - every year when we drive from Atlanta to North Carolina we intend to stop by Royston but never have - and he said something like, "Remember xxxx, who you were talking with at the baseball game? He met Ty Cobb when he was a young man. He was working at the hospital that Cobb spent his last days in, and got to talk with him a few times." I haven't seen the guy since then, but would love to go to one more baseball game with him :)