This image is of Ty Cobb. It was taken at Bennet Park in Detroit which was demolished after the 1911 season. The photographer was Detroit’s own Fred G. Wright who also provided the photography for the 1907 H.M. Taylor Detroit Tigers postcard set, as credited on the Sam Crawford postcard below. Also shown are the H.M. Taylor Cobb from that set and the 1907 Dietsche Cobb which used the same photo as the Taylor set. Note the similarities of these images to our Cobb photo; the vantage point, shadow, crowd scarcity and the ball in flight in the Crawford image.

Note that in our photo Cobb has swung and missed, we can see the baseball in flight well behind him. But, how do we know it is indeed Cobb himself? Comparison to known photos of Cobb is the key.

Here are a two more images of Cobb in the same setting and uniform as ours at right.

The right image is the one we are trying to determine if it is Cobb or not, the other two are known images of Cobb that are obvious by facial recognition. 

The photos were all taken at Bennett Park in Detroit, the home of the Tigers. They were all likely taken during batting practice given the smattering of fans in the grandstand and the other players visible in the backgrounds. Upon close examination of the uniform and body dynamics of the players in the three photos it is likely the images were all taken the same day’s batting practice, though not on the same swing.

Start with the overall body symmetry of the three images, they all appear to be close matches. The stance, the stride, the foot placements, the shoes and the calf tapering all appear very similar. The uniforms all match; dark stirrup socks, white uniform, cap with dark bill and striping, and belt buckle to the left side, the better for a head first slide.

Now let’s break the comparison down into zones starting with the legs.  Here are crops of the three images in the order they are shown above from left to right.

These are very telling and indicate they are of the same player on the same day.  Note the angle of the shadow in all three images, virtually the same, indicating they were taken at the same time of day.  Now look at the right leg, note the tear in the stocking in the first two images towards the outer right top of calf. Now look at the third image, note the black bulge from fraying that is sticking out on the stocking in the same place on the calf. Consider this image was taken later in the swing when the knee has come closer to a 90º angle over the foot and the body and leg have rotated to the right, with that rotation the white gap exposed by the tear in the stocking has rotated out of sight save and except the black bulge which is still visible in our photo.

Look at the scalloping on the stirrup of the right foot as it enters the shoe, the same fraying of the outer edge of the “U” of the stirrup is evident in all three photos. Also note the wrinkling at the back of the bottom of the stirrup, it is same in photos.

Now look at the left foot. In all three images there is white wrapped around the ankle which emerges from the shoe tops. You can also see a taller white support piece behind the heal in each photo which doesn’t appear on the right foot of any of the photos. The shoes appear to be the same even down to the wrinkle just below the top of the left foot.

Now let’s look at the head on the three images.

While it is impossible to facially recognize the player in the right photo, we can notice that the collar is upturned in all three, the cap is the same style and the wrinkling indentions in the cap at the bottom of the panel just behind the ear is very similar in all three images.  The hair, to the extent we can see it, appears similar as well.

This photo was also obtained from a source that procured many Cobb photos from a Georgia estate. It was part of the “Cobb Collection” find, many of which has been auctioned off by Heritage Auctions. Combine all of these factors and it is incredibly likely that our image is of Ty Cobb.