Tyrus

By Patrick Creevy

Tyrus Raymond Cobb. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in a nearly unanimous vote. Highest lifetime batting average in baseball. Highest lifetime number of runs scored. Second highest lifetime number of hits. The run of statistics goes on, making it clear that Ty Cobb was baseball's greatest overall player. But before Ty Cobb was a legend, he was a young man trying to escape from his famous father's lengthy shadow. William H. Cobb, former state senator, renowned educator, champion of the Southern cause in the late 1800s and early 1900s, a gentleman and a scholar. Tyrus Raymond Cobb, his oldest son, was to carry on the proud Cobb family traditions, as explained by Ty Cobb: The honorable and honest Cobb blood . . . never will be subjected. It bows to no wrong nor to any man . . . . The Cobbs have their ideals, and God help anyone who strives to bend a Cobb away from such. Unfortunately for W.H., Ty's greatest desire was to play baseball-a trivial game that would bring him into contact with low people. Yet the father could not deny that the son's passion for his chosen profession burned hot, reflecting the very strength of will that was the hallmark of Cobb men. After much struggle, W.H. blessed his son and encouraged him to continue playing ball. The reconciliation nearly came too late, for soon after, W. H. Cobb was shot twice at close range-murdered-by his wife of more than twenty years. Ty was nineteen years old. The grief-stricken boy burned with rage as rumors circulated through the small Georgia town--rumors that his mother had been having an affair and that his father had caught her in the act. With his father newly buried and his mother awaiting trial, Ty Cobbwas summoned to Detroit to play for the Tigers. Tyrus is a fictional account of this time in young Cobb's life-that pivotal half-season when Ty had to prove his value on the field or forever lose any chance of playing professional ball. Subjected to a rookie hazing that would have destroyed a lesser man, Cobb carried his battle with his teammates from the clubhouse onto the field and emerged bloodied but unbowed. The sights and sounds of cut throat baseball are brilliantly evoked-a type of baseball that Cobb said was about as gentlemanly as a kick in the crotch. This thoroughly researched novel is a deft psychological portrait of a young man at a time of turmoil and transition. Patrick Creevy, whose earlier novel was praised as intense and full of] poetic yearning and literary allusion (Kirkus Reviews), takes a unique literary look at the man dubbed the Meanest Man in Baseball as he left boyhood behind and began the baseball journey that made him a legend.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765300141
• ISBN13: 9780765300140
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Forge Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.4" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

Ty Cobb's Baptism Of Fire

This novel offers the reader insight into the troubled mind and tortured soul of one of baseball's most remarkable players, Ty Cobb. A brief introduction to Cobb for non-baseball fans: he began a 24-year-career in the major leagues in 1905 and went on to set more records than any other player. Until Pete Rose came along, he had the most hits of any player in history; Rickey Henderson has finally surpassed his record for most stolen bases. But Cobb's lifetime batting average of .367, highest ever, is surely unchallengable.But there was more to Cobb than the numbers. He was the most aggressive and hated man ever to step onto a ballfield. He was widely charged with being a dirty ballplayer--an accusation he fiercely denied until his dying day. An actual Cobb quote on the cover of the book accurately sums up his attitude toward the game: "Baseball is a red-blooded sport for red-blooded men. It's a struggle for supremacy, survival of the fittest."What was the wellspring of this passion? Cobb's life was truly the stuff of tragedy. In an afterword, Creevy describes Cobb as an American Hamlet, and the paralells are there. In the summer of 1905, Ty's second in professional ball, his mother shot and killed his father, who had been trying to enter their home through a second-story window. Amanda Cobb claimed that she thought William Cobb was a burglar. There was never any certain explanation as to why the senior Cobb attempted to enter the home in this way, though rumors of marital problems abounded. Just days after this tragedy, Cobb was called to the big leagues for a trial with the Detroit Tigers. The following spring, Cobb received permission from the club to miss the opening week of training so that he could attend his mother's trial on manslaughter charges.Creevy's story is set entirely in these pivotal few months of Cobb's life. Using the historical record as his framework, he vividly brings to life the furies burning inside this supremely talented and supremely troubled young man. The reader travels with Cobb on his lonely journey north; experiences his anguish as his new teammates greet him with indifference or hostility; and feels his desperation as he struggles to establish his position in the game. In some cases, the author has used the novelist's license of invention; in other instances he's taken incidents from later in Cobb's career and moved them back to his rookie season. (This is explained in the afterword.)The past couple of decades have brought some fine biographies of Cobb. But anyone who wants a more complete understanding of the man can also profit from this work. I was going to call this an outstanding baseball novel, but it's really about much more than the grand American game.--William C. Hall

A Compassionate Portrait of Ty Cobb (for a change)

Ty Cobb was a monster, a demon in spikes, a sadistic racist with no redeeming value as a human being except as the greatest ballplayer ever to grace the diamond. Well, this is the modern, if inaccurate, version of Ty Cobb's story, anyway. However, it will be a very pleasant surprise to all Cobb fans who know the true facts of his life to find that, as a historical novel, Patrick Creevy's, "Tyrus," portrays Cobb in a very positive manner. If you are expecting a book chock full of action and a rapidly moving storyline, then you are reading the wrong novel. Tyrus is more of a psychological portrait of what Ty Cobb as an eighteen year old boy thought and felt the months after his beloved father's sudden and violent death, his first months in the major leagues, and the trial of his mother. Instead of the typical, albeit false, caricature of Cobb as a mad lunatic, Creevy depicts the sensitive and talented boy in such a way that, instead of revulsion, the reader will feel sympathy and even empathy for Tyrus. And while it is only the author's supposition, his narration of young Tyrus' thoughts and feelings are very plausible and, frankly, very moving. This excellent novel will leave the reader with admiration for a boy who determines to use the grief and torment he experiences at this turning point in his life to become the greatest player in baseball. The Ty Cobb fan, as well as those who are curious to know the real Cobb, will find this well-researched novel a refreshing and compassionate portrait of a fascinating man.

Worth picking up, baseball fan or not

I was very pleased with the story and the style of writing was unique without being difficult. As a yankee in the south I found the thoughts of young Tyrus interesting. The baseball situations in the book are very well written and the description of Detroit on the advent of the automobile even more so...like I said worth the read.

Tyrus is Terrific

Patrick Creevy is an excellant writer. He is able to make the reader actually feel emotions, especially the pain and anguish that Ty Cobb experienced as a major league rookie.This book is not light reading but without question is well worth the effort. After reading some sentences and paragraphs, I paused, astounded at Creevy's insights and his writing ability. I wondered how he thought of what I had just read. I particularly liked the trial of Cobb's mother. Rather than simply describing the process and the testimony, Creevy captured the emotional roller coaster of examination and cross-examination. I highly reccomend this book.