Ty Cobb's Connection to Rotary

You just never know. On Tuesday, I was driving down I-85 to go from Fair Play breakfast club to the Westminster noon club. There is an old faded billboard about the Ty Cobb Museum in Royston, Georgia. I am a hard core baseball fan and once coached a Little League team to within one game of Williamsport.

With a few hours to spare, I drove to Royston. The Ty Cobb Museum is actually in the lobby of the Joseph A. Cobb Professional Building, which houses a clinic at the Ty Cobb Memorial Hospital. Ty Cobb was arguably the greatest hitter in the history of the game. In his 21 year career with the Detroit Tigers (1905 to 1926), he chalked up a .366 lifetime average and scored 2245 runs, still lifetime records today. He was the first player elected to the baseball hall of fame.

Cobb was not the most well-liked of baseball players. He would do anything within the rules to achieve his goals. His take-out slides and sharpened spikes were legendary.

What I did not know was Cobb's philanthropy after baseball. He never made more than $40,000 per year as a ball player. However, Cobb was the first athlete to endorse a a little known southern beverage - Coca-Cola. His shrewed investments in Coca-Cola and General Motors made him a multi-millionaire by the time he was 40.

In 1949, he endowed the Cobb Memorial Hospital to honor his parents. Over the years, the hospital has grown into the Ty Cobb Healthcare System consisting of hospitals, convalescent centers, and health services to the rural areas of Northeast Georgia. In 1953, Cobb created a scholarship fund for needy Georgia students. As of July, 2008, the Cobb Scholarship Fund has distributed over $12,000,000 to help Georgia students go to college.

When I got to Westminster, I told Assistant Governor Kim Gramling about my visit. She laughed. She knew all about Ty Cobb. Her maiden name was Cobb and she is a distant relative.