Historian and Memorabilia Collector Uncovers Truth About Ty Cobb Artifacts and Shotgun Allegedly Used to Kill Cobb’s Father

Ron Cobb, SABR member, historian and memorabilia collector, has penned a fantastic article that recently appeared in The National Pastime: Baseball In the Peach State , titled “The Georgia Peach: Stumped by the Storyteller,” in which the writer uncovers evidence that Cobb biographer Al Stump sold off a collection of Cobb memorabilia that proved to be inauthentic, the letter, diaries and autographed publication pages and photographs forged by Stump himself.  Stump also passed off a shotgun as the one Cobb’s mother used to kill his father on August 8, 1905.  The problem is, Ron Cobb provides ample evidence to suggest that Amanda Cobb actually killed her husband W.H. Cobb with a pistol.

Ron does an excellent job uncovering newspaper reports, eye-witness testimony and the Franklin County coroner’s report that all but proves W.H. Cobb died from a “pistol bullet wound from a pistol in the hands of Amanda Cobb.”  He then traces the infamous shotgun story back to Stump, who wrote an article titled “Ty Cobb’s Wild 10-Month Fight to Live” for True Magazine in July 1961.  From there, the shotgun becomes the murder weapon—Amanda was actually arrested for voluntary manslaughter—and its use in the tragic death has been recounted by a number of Cobb biographers since.

To read more about this incredible story, head on over to HaulsofShame.com where you’ll find a nice write-up of Ron’s investigative work and a link to his article.