How Ty Cobb’s Most Infamous Fight With A Fan Led To The Strangest MLB Game In History

MLB legend Ty Cobb

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The origins of baseball stretch back to the start of the 18th century, which means the sport that’s long been known as “America’s Pastime” is steeped in a virtual unrivaled amount of history defined by the steady stream of legendary players who defined the eras where they dominated.

That includes Ty Cobb, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the Tigers in 1905 to kick off an illustrious career where he spend a grand total of 22 seasons playing for Detroit.

It’s impossible to talk about Cobb without discussing the mythos surrounding him, as he’s long been painted as a short-tempered and violent man with racist tendencies. However, a number of baseball historians have set out to rehabilitate his image and correct the many misconceptions that have become accepted as fact over the decades.

Contrary to popular belief, Cobb did not sharpen the spikes on his cleats to try to injure other players or hold a grudge against the Black people he repeatedly went out of his way to aid at a time when those gestures were viewed as fairly unfashionable in America.

With that said, there is one infamous incident involving Cobb that definitely happened on May 15, 1912, which transpired when he leaped into the stands to attack a fan who heckled him during a game between the Tigers and the New York Highlanders (the franchise now known as the “Yankees”).

While most baseball fans are likely familiar with the altercation in question, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard about the fallout that resulted in one of the strangest MLB games ever played.

How Ty Cobb’s fight with a fan led to one of the weirdest games in baseball history

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There’s a reason this particular fight has managed to stand the test of time, as the fan in question (Tammany Hall underling Claude Lucker) had lost eight of his ten fingers in a printing press accident that led to an iconic (and possibly fabricated) interaction defined by a one-liner for the ages chronicled by The New York Times:

Cobb suddenly vaulted into the stands toward Lucker, seated about 12 rows up in the grandstand. Knocking Lucker down, Cobb began kicking and stamping him.

“Cobb,” someone cried, “that man has no hands!”

“I don’t care if he has no feet!” he yelled, continuing the attack with his cleats. Some fans tried to intervene, but several teammates who had followed Cobb into the grandstand held them off with bats. An umpire and a police officer finally pulled Cobb away.

A story about one of the best players in the league assaulting a supposedly disabled fan (while his teammates used baseball bats to fend off anyone who tried to intervene) was obviously not a great look for the MLB, which found itself dealing with the 1912 equivalent of “The Malice at the Palace.”

It’s subsequently easy to understand why American League Ban Johnson opted to hit Cobb with an indefinite suspension. However, that didn’t sit well with the Tigers, as the rest of the team refused to play in solidarity with the sidelined superstar.

Manager Hughie Jennings ended up in an unenviable situation when Tigers owner Frank Navin told him he needed to put together a roster for the team’s next game thanks to the $5,000 fine the league threatened to hit the franchise with if they failed to play against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18th.

Jennings got an assist from a Philly-based sportswriter who used his connections to convince a ragtag group of glorified scabs to suit up for the Tigers, who took to the field with a team of perennial minor leaguers, a couple of 40-something assistant coaches, and some other more or less random guys who pounced at the chance to claim the $25 they were offered to suit up.

It was the ultimate mismatch on paper and arguably more lopsided in practice.

The A’s pulled out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the fifth inning and walked away with a 24-2 win in a game where one member of the Tigers lost multiple teeth while trying to field another ground ball and another was almost knocked out after getting drilled in the head with a fly ball they’d tried (and failed) to catch.

That debacle resulted in Cobb’s teammates mercifully opting to end their strike after a single game at his urging, and he would ultimately serve a 10-game suspension before being reinstated.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.