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One of four poses of Ty Cobb, a Hall of Famer (Others: Bat Off Shoulder, Bat On Shoulder, Red Portrait). All four Ty Cobb cards have been included in Joe Orlando's book "The Top 200 Sportscards in the Hobby."

"A Chinese sage wrote that exaggeration is to paint a snake and add legs. With me, they attached fangs, claws, file-sharpened spikes, and fire snorting out each nostril." - Ty Cobb, "My Life in Baseball: The True Record."

Tyrus Raymond "Ty," "The Georgia Peach" Cobb (1886-1961), Outfielder, played for the Detroit Tigers in the American League (1905-26) and the Philadelphia Athletics in the American League (1927-28). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Jim Gentile ranks Ty Cobb as the 4th greatest baseball player of all-time in his book "Baseball's Best 1,000." Gentile discussing Cobb: "Seventy-five years after he retired from baseball, Ty Cobb still owns the best career batting average of al time: .366. And he still holds the distinction of being the nastiest SOB of all time. There are no stats for that; Cobb has retired the trait.
"Be that as it may, the man could hit: a total of 12 batting championships, including five in a row from 1911 to 1915. He had back-to-back .400 seasons in 1911 and 1912, with another .400 season in 1922, and more than 4,100 career hits, a record that stood for 50 years.
"Cobb wasn't a slugger in the present sense of the word, but he still had a career slugging percentage of .512, and led the league in that category eight times.
"And he could run: 892 stolen bases, leading the league six times. He was the all-time leader until Lou Brock passed him in 1978.
"Was he mean? Yeah, he was mean. He used to sharpen his spikes in the dugout as opposing teams took batting practice, and he wasn't afraid to jab a slow-footed infielder when sliding into second or third base. He had more than his share of fights, and in 1912, went into the stands after a heckling fan.
"He's known to have cheated. According to pitcher Dutch Leonard, he paid off Cleveland's Tris Speaker and Joe Wood to throw a game to the Tigers so Detroit could finish third. He may have tried to fix other games, but it was impossible to determine.
"Cobb, were he alive today, would probably say that he played to win, at any cost. He did. And it paid off. In 1936, he was the top vote-getter for the first class of the Baseball Hall of Fame, topping Babe Ruth, Cy Young, and Honus Wagner."

In "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract," James ranks Cobb as the second best center fielder of all-time behind Willie Mays. He also takes a different perspective on Cobb's reputation as an SOB and a racist. "Ty Cobb's racism and his anger, I believe, were fueled not by smugness or even resentment, but by an unusually intense fear of his own limitations. No one is more macho than a man who feels inadequate; no one walks straighter than a man who is half durnk. When Ty Cobb felt threatened he lashed out at the world. He felt threatened a lot - but as long as he wasn't challeneged, he was a very nice man."

Cobb's lifetime stats: .366 batting average, 117 home runs, 1,937 runs batted in, 4,189 hits, 892 stolen bases.

Orlando on the T206 Cobbs: "A legendary quartert of a legendary player... The demand for the portrait version (Green and Red) has always been exceptional due to the fact that many collectors prefer to collect the portraits because of their outstanding visual appeal, however, in terms of demand, the two Cobb with bat variations have traditionally enjoyed more attention than the Red Cobb due to their multi-colored presentation. All four Cobb cards featured in this subset are, without question, near the top of this list in terms of pure importance with the Green Portrait leading the way... With the exception of the few major rarities in the T206 set, these Cobb cards are the four keys to the set. As a collector, you just can't ignore his astounding numbers and, as time goes on, those numbers will continue to enhance the desirability of his cards. Pete Rose may have the career hit record, but Cobb had the dominance. As the key cards in perhaps the most popular set in the hobby, the demand for these cards should always be strong."