Hilltop Park - Ty Cobb

Ty Cobb

Detroit outfielder Ty Cobb, "The Georgia Peach", made many a mark on the game of baseball, some famous and some infamous. At least one of each happened at the Hilltop:

• In a game "sometime in 1909" according to photographer Charles M. Conlon (some sources claim an alternate date, July 23, 1910), Conlon snapped a photo of Cobb sliding into third base, stealing the base and spilling Highlanders' third baseman Jimmy Austin. This photo became one of the most famous and widely circulated baseball photos ever.
• On May 15, 1912, after being heckled for several innings, Cobb leaped the fence and attacked his tormentor. He was suspended indefinitely by league president Ban Johnson, but his suspension was eventually reduced to 10 days and $50. The Tigers went on a one-game strike for the next game, at Philadelphia, but rather than forfeit, the Tigers owners filled the lineup with a makeshift group of ex-college players and whoever else could be found. Coincidentally, one of the substitutes, Billy Maharg, would become involved behind-the-scenes in the Black Sox Scandal seven years later.