Cobb Audiobook By Al Stump cover art

Cobb

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Cobb

By: Al Stump
Narrated by: Ian Esmo
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About this listen

As a boy in the 1890s he went looking for thrills in a rural Georgia that still burned with humiliation from the Civil War. As an old man in the 1960s he dared death, picked fights, refused to take his medicine, and drove off all his friends and admirers. He went to his deathbed alone, clutching a loaded pistol and a bag containing millions of dollars worth of cash and securities.
During the years in between, he became, according to Al Stump, "the most shrewd, inventive, lurid, detested, mysterious, and superb of all baseball players." He was Ty Cobb.
In Cobb, Stump tells how he was given a fascinating window into the Georgia Peach's life and times when the dying Cobb hired him in 1960 to ghostwrite his autobiography.©1994 by Al Stump (P)1997 by Blackstone Audiobooks
Baseball & Softball Sports
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Critic reviews

"Stump has resurrected Cobb in all his terrifying malevolence...Spellbinding." (The Washington Post)
"Cobb is a big, raw, rought-cut diamond of a book and the most powerful baseball biography I have read." (Roger Kahn, author of The Summer Boys)

Compelling Biography • Fascinating Baseball History • Suited Narration • Well-researched Content • Engaging Storytelling
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The stories were good but the statistics were a little overdone. I understand his dominance but it was a little drawn out. Stump took some liberties with his racism reputation. He was a huge advocate for Jackie in 1947.

The Georgian dialect by the performer was hard to listen to.

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This fine biography would obviously be a must-listen for any baseball fan. It's a story packed with incident, controversy and a flavor of baseball's past that is brought to life so fully that it seems as contemporary as Bonds and Pedro.

My only question is: Would a non-fan be interested? I think quite possibly not, although Ty Cobb was such a head-case that this is clearly not your average sports biography. It is also part history, part psychology and part simply evidence of thorough research.

Baseball Plus

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I did too. I didn't. Nor did I really have a flavor for the beginnings of Major League Baseball. Al Stump's book not only gives a balanced look at Cobb but it also details other interesting aspects of early baseball, from equipment and style to greedy owners (like today). Any baseball fan should read this.

Think you know Ty Cobb?

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As a life-long baseball fan I have always been aware of Ty Cobb's various record accomplishments and his notorious cruelty and rascism. However until I heard Cobb I only had fourth or fifth hand anecdotes and tall tales. Well... many of them turned out to be true and Cobb a much more complex man than I imagined. There is plenty of pure baseball here to keep the hard core fan attentive and also more than enough of Cobb's tragic life story and objective, well-informed opinion by author Al Stump to fill up the 14 hours of the reading. The narraration of this books makes it quite an enjoyable listen and I couldn't wait to hear the each installment.

Cobb's Third Side

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if you like baseball history, this is a great listen. The impact that Ty Cobb had on the game makes this story very interesting.

Excellent listen, great baseball history.

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This is a glorious book about one of the strangest and most talented sportsmen who ever played. While there is plenty of baseball action and history, you don't have to know a bean ball from a foul ball to enjoy this book. Ty Cobb was such a unique character, on and off the field, that his story is worth listening to. You may finish by hating this man, pitying him, or admiring the qualities that made him the greatest baseball player who ever lived. The writing is as compelling as the story, and the author's relationship with the subject is an interesting sideline.

What a man -- what a book!

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Fast paced, lot of fun, lot of facts. Very good narrator, he grows on you, give it a few minutes. There are a few spots where they read several pages of stats and that gets to be kind of a pain, but it's only a few minutes here and there. Well worth the time and money. Just as good or better than the Ted Williams bio.

Great bio about a great player.

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I'm from Australia and I've never had more than a passing curiosity in baseball, I'd only really heard of Babe Ruth until this book.

This man Cobb had such an interesting life (as do most high achievers) and the story so well told, that I find myself flicking over to ESPN to catch a baseball game once a week, just a great story, the best biography I've heard on audio so far.

I'm glad I took the gamble based on the reviews from audible.com.

Riveting

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I don't play nor like baseball. But, Cobb was so intriguing to me especially after falling in love with the move Cobb. The man may have been a beast but he did know greatness. But, it came at a terrible price for him and those around him.
the narration was good and very much suited for this type of a story. Great work from all!

Simply the Best Player...

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I thought I knew and understood baseball , but this book opened up a different way of looking at it. Obviously? it's about Ty, but there's so much more to the book - baseball history, human psychology, baseball strategy.
In the end, I felt sorry for Ty and have a much greater appreciation for the history of baseball. of course I also feel sorry for everyone that Ty hurt as well; however, hurt people hurt people.

Entertaining and Educational

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