Ty Cobb Mounted Cabinet Photo

[T206Jim]

Since I posted the photo last fall I have examined quite a few Cobb photos out of curiosity. As some still appear to be curious I’ll let you in on what I found, but lest any potential buyers feel the least angst, this is purely for entertainment purposes as I am far too fond of the photo and the scene depicted, Cobb or not, to sell it in the foreseeable future.

Let’s start with the overall batter. Here is my photo next to a known Cobb swing photo just a tad later in the follow through on a ball hit to right rather than left or center. Note the stride, the shoulders and overall posture.

Ty-Cobb-cabinet-batting Net 54 small.jpg cobb-swiniging Net 54.jpg

As for the slenderness issue, here is a 1925 photo of Cobb still looking slender, he is broader across the waist which shows in a forward photo, but had not developed the belly forward that would show in a side shot, my shot shows the hips directly from the side. For full participatory credit strike this pose in front of mirror at 90 degrees to it and notice how much slimmer you appear with your legs sprawled wide, just don’t even try to explain to your wife what you are doing.

1925 ty cobb- Net 54.jpg

Before we move on to the profile views, here is the ump in my photo next to a known 1922 photo of an AL umpire. Same chest protector and uniform.

Cobb-photo--umpire small.jpg 1922 AL umpire garb Ed Walsh-same as Cobb photo - Net 54.jpg

Now let’s examine Cobb’s profile. Here is the zoomed headshot portion of my photo next to several other profiles and a head on shot that showcases a pertinent feature of Cobb’s ears. Note on the forward facing shot the extent that the back of Cobb’s ears protrude, now look at my photo and note how the back of his ear almost disappears the way his head is rotated to the right, I posit that is because the back of Cobb’s ear which protrudes is pointed towards the camera. In the profile with the bat you can see the nose and ear are similar, remember his head is less rotated than in my photo, allow for the rotation and the back of the ear starts to disappear. I include the other profile of an older Cobb to accentuate the nose, ear and hairline similarities. You may also want to go back to Bryan’s nice work with his composite photo post.

Ty-Cobb-cabinet-photo-zoom-web-head.jpg Cobb Brown Brothers - Net 54.jpg

cobb-side-1923-25-web- Net 54.jpg Cobb side - Net 54.jpg

I am in the legal profession, so forgive me the legal reference but I think it is apt. To sum it up, I believe under a civil “preponderance of the evidence” that it is Cobb, but under the criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt” I can’t get there (probably only a annotated photo would). I appreciate the uncertainty would drive some of you mad, but fortunately for me and my enjoyment of the photo I am quite satisfied with the way things stand and have enjoyed working on the mystery. Thanks again to all and happy collecting I hope you've enjoyed the conversation as much as I have!