My Life in Baseball: The True Record by Ty Cobb, Al Stump
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Book Reviews of My Life in Baseball: The True Record
Book Review: What we now know about Al Stump and this book
Summary: 3 Stars
This book had been called "one of sports literature's great whitewashes and cover-ups" but that characterization has to re-evaluated in what we now know about the co-author: Al Stump. In 2010, Al Stump was shown to have been a forger and an author of false documents concerning Ty Cobb. A alleged Cobb diary presented to the baseball hall of fame was proved in 2009 to have been a forgery. He had even sold a shotgun to a collector which he alleged was the gun which killed Cobb's father. (Cobb's father was not killed by a shotgun). Stump's reputation is now effectively destroyed and nothing he said has much remaining credibility. That calls for a re-evaluation of this book and the stories around it.
Al Stump later claimed that this book, written with Cobb and approved by Cobb, was not the truth. Stump claimed to have been kidnapped by Cobb and forced to write the book a particular way. Stump also traded after the book was written in variety of lured stories: (i.e. the killing of Cobbs father, Cobb killing people during his career, Cobb fixing games, Cobb firing guns in hospital rooms and so on).
For many years, this book has been dismissed as untrue or manipulative due to Cobb's influence. But in light of what we know of Al Stump now, everything written in the last 20 years about Cobb needs to be re-evaluated. This book still has two flaws: (1) It was written by Stump and (2) Its an autobiography and as such will reflect the point of view of the subject. But with a degree of caution, it can probably be used as a source for Cobbs view of himself and events in his life.
In light of what we know now, Stump's later "Cobb: A Biography" needs to be dismissed as this book was once dismissed. This book has been rehabilitated. Though Stump's hand in it will always raise some questions.