That was true. Cobb was probably the least liked, but most respected player of his time among his peers.

A former major league catcher, Steve O'Neill, who had grown up on the same street that my dad did, but was a generation older, was fond of recalling a game, in which he picked off Cobb at first base.

When Cobb got to the plate for his next AB, he muttered, "You son of a bitch, you'll never do that again," to which O'Neill replied, "You son of a bitch, you'll never take that lead on me." O'Neill, who went on to manage the Tigers to a World Series, played against Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, etc., and thought that Cobb was the best and fiercest player he had ever seen.

I never have seen the Tommie Lee Jones movie that SC mentioned, but always meant to. Maybe this summer I will.