The Washington herald., 1920-12-19
TY COBB SIGNS
l,YEAR CONTRACT
TOLEAD TIGERS
Fiery Star Consents to
Take Reins for Paltry
$4,000 Salary.

/. NEW YORK. Dec. 1s.-Base balls
prima donna, the feriest and most
temperamental player In the ma
tional game, star of fourteen
years whose career Is filled with
brilliant baseball. fights. brawis and
dissensfons. is now a big-time man
ager.
Ty Cobb, the Georgia Peach, the
original hero before Babe Ruth,
signed a contract here this after
noon to manage the Detroit Tigers
for a year at a reported salary of
$4,000
baseball will have no more in
teresting feature next year than
Cobb's experiment to make q win
ner out of q club that Dame Rumor
has accused him of wrecking.
In the army they say. only he
can command who has learned we'll
to obey"
Never Observed Rules.
Tho Peach" has never been
charged with scrupulous observance
OF club rules.
Can he exact obedience from the
very same pldyoEs whO nave seen
him laugh at regulations?
Frank Navin. owner of the team.
evidently believes he can, because
he Is giving him a salary equal to
that OF Ban johnson, president OF
the league. and greater than the
pay check Of any player in history.
Furthermore, Navin offered him q
longtime contract. but Cobb re-
fused II.
Let me try II for one year and IL
again" he said.
great success for Cobb in his new
Job. pointing to the general opinion
that he has been managing the club
for several seasons. Hughey Jen-
nings being sort Of a flgurehead in
the clubhouse.
II was Cobb's disregard of train
ing and club rules. his assumption
of managerial Jurisdiction and his
independence among the players
that created the dissention which
kept the club down and caused
Jennings to give UP his job.
Just one instance
Cobb has always maintained that
SpTlH6 was iHtiltCIudI anu
unnecessary and he refuses to re-
the South.
The other players had to follow
orders and they didn't like IL.
As q manager. will Cobb change
his mind about spring training?
Two-asted Fighter.
If baseball brains and a two
listed ability to enforce orders count
for anything, Cobb will be a sue
cess as a manager II the club will
loosen its strings and let him get
some new blood.
Cobb knows baseball and he's
enough of a fighter TO make the
players do what he orders.
Buck Herzog will substantiate
the statement that Cobb is a fighter.
Several years ago during an ex-
.hibition game in Dallas. Cobb
spiked Herzog and the fiery Ma
tional Lacquer challenged Cobb for
a meeting after the game Cobb
met him that night and gave him
a terrific beating.
That he means business in his
new position is indicated by the
statement that IL veach. Flagstead
and any other of the anti-Cobb
faction on the club do not recognize
his authority they will be released.
Cobb Needs Pitchers.
His advent as the second playing
manager of the majors will also be
interesting to watch.
Late in the past season, which
was not one of his best, Cobb told
the newspaper men:
They say I'm through. Ell? Well,
you watch me next year; I'm going
out and get them"
II he has any talent in developing
or handling pitchers he should make
more of a success of the club than
Jennings did, because\ that was the
one fundamental weakness OF the
old Oriole.
Cobb says he has already signed
some new recruits and has his eyes
on more.
Personally, Cobb is a fine fellow
and well met" He Is generally
popular of the field among those
who really know him.